Could be true but would think this is a reman starter that I bought three months ago and it started the day I bought it. Wouldn't the company that reman'd it do that? With it having a warranty I think it be better to get an exchange on it.
Also still cold here in houston so will probably check out things this weekend when it warms up.
FWIW, I had a Denso reman starter that would not engage the flywheel fresh out of the box. I couldn't figure it out, ended up returning it. I never would have expected that from Denso, but it was a good lesson in "just because it's new, doesn't mean it works."
I'm not saying yours is similarly non-functional, but just thought it was a relevant tidbit of info.