I've only had one instance of being able to get a replacement for a faulty/damaged product without having to return the original, but that was under exceptional circumstances, which are entertaining enough to share.
It was StudioCanal's blu-ray of When Marnie Was There, which was widely reported as being defective. Their replacement scheme required old discs to be sent to a distribution centre, but I was unable to even open my set - in case the police needed to fingerprint it for evidence.
At the time, a lot of packages sent to my house weren't being delivered and it got to the point where the police had become involved. The theory they were investigating, was that as some people attached to the post office knew that I was a reviewer and worked in the film industry, they were targeting my post hoping to score some movies.
On day, an opened Amazon order for my copy of When Marnie was There arrived in the mail box, hours after the post had already been - and all invoices were removed. It was at that point that we contacted the police and were advised to not touch the contents.
When the replacement scheme was announced, I sent an email to the address StudioCanal provided. While they were initially confused, the distribution centre and StudioCanal discussed the issue and agreed to send me a fixed disc, on the condition that I provide proof of purchase. Also luckily, the day after Mum mentioned in the post office that the police were involved, everything turned up the next day... not suspicious at all, but we'd had no problems since.