Ultimately, the only “issue” I’ve had with Pulse is their tendency to get stuff really late. That’s changed some the past couple of years. And, I’ve just gotten very accustomed to waiting a really long time for things anyway (close to a couple of years in some cases).
Not _entirely_ true. Walmart's buying practices in particular have led to manufacturers making different (cheaper) SKUs for them, so an X bought at Walmart isn't the same as an X bought at Sears or Lowes or Target. With Amazon being the new Walmart, I can see history repeating. Whether Hasbro does this, who can say? It's not information they'd be likely to volunteer either.
In my experience - which is in the UK - the couple of times I've contacted them they've offered me a refund or an exchange for a new item, if available - a refund if it isn't. They certainly didn't care about it being unopened, I hadn't even kept the box...
I use Pulse and BBTS as alternatives to Amazon sometimes but they each have Pros and Cons. With Pulse, I've been lucky they have gotten Scraphook (that I forgot to cancel) and Tarn in before Amazon. But the drawback about Pulse is they hardly ever have sales, they took away the free shipping after x amount of dollars (unless premium then its all free shipping), and a horrid return process if you ever have any issues with any of your Pulse purchases. BBTS has been pretty good to me and I've been using them for almost twenty years. They do get stuff in alot slower but they make up for it with fantastic customer service, packing items very carefully, and they do have random sales. They also have the pile of loot that can hold your items and ship them at one time reducing shipping cost. They do have the $4 shipping option as well but it can be painfully slow sometimes. Another drawback is when they restock harder to find items, they do sometimes up the price or in the case of exclusives from other stores, they really raise the price but that is due to those exclusives from a middle man. I alluded to this just a few seconds ago, but the big benefit of BBTS and Pulse is they actually ship your items in a box. So if you are someone who likes keeping stuff in package at times or like me and prefer not to get a figure banged up in an envelope, BBTS and Pulse are both a great second option to Amazon.
While what you're saying is true for alot of different products at Walmart from jeans to housewares and almost everything in between, I highly doubt Hasbro is selling different, lower quality toys to Walmart or Amazon for that matter. I've bought Transformers from all different retailers for over 20 years. And the quality of the toys from Amazon and Walmart have been no different than anywhere else.
The other reason I like using Amazon for pre-orders is that they will auto-pricematch if their system detects a lower price at a competitor. But only when it is a "pre-order"...not just an item that you are paying for that is currently out of stock. (What I don't like is that they won't pricematch after the item ships...or even adjust the price if they drop their own prices!)
Unless it's for Transmetal II Megatron here in the UK, where they simply waited until after sending out delivery notices on the day of delivery to cancel everyone's £39 pre-orders citing 'stock unavailability' (they mysteriously have it in stock for £62, though, and tried suggesting people reorder at that price).
I recommend just sticking with Amazon for the ease of returns if you get a dud. In all honesty QC has been all over the place since lockdowns started in 2020. The only thing I can suggest is if the figure you want isn’t highly sought after and likely to hang around, hold off for a few months and wait for later cases. Not guaranteed to get you a better figure, but that’s about the best I can recommend. I know many first copies of Sludge had knee issues, but by the time of its rerelease with the Fallen in a later wave the knees were reported to have been much sturdier in comparison.
