I never like retailers that have too generous return policy because at the end of day it is the consumers who are paying for those guarantees. As someone who rarely ever returns anything, other than true defects, I am paying for all of those people out there who think boots, sweaters, etc should last longer than few years.
Neiman Marcus is so generous that a friend returned a pair of Prada pants after it was altered and she wore to an event.
Good for LL Bean. Boo to the few who took advantage of the return policy.
Here’s a little more on the decision:
We only return stuff that is either (a) NIB or almost NIB (if it is impossible to shove it back in box) or (b) such poor quality that it is obvious. The only time I returned a worn pair of shoes was when kiddo got holes in the soles of her day old leather shoes from Target. The clerks had a blast - the uppers of the shoes were brand new and the receipt clearly showed that they were bought the night before.
Here is a person who returned a live Christmas tree back to Costco after the holiday season?
http://fortune.com/2018/01/11/woman-returns-dead-christmas-tree/
Good article in post #23. Some highlights:
“The company is also imposing a $50 minimum for free shipping as part of a belt-tightening that includes a workforce reduction through early retirement incentives and changes in workers’ pension plans.”
So, other changes are being made. I guess it doesn’t surprise me as I’ve seen them run many more sales in the last 6 months are so. Sounds like business is off in addition to the return problems.
“The outdoor specialty retailer said returns of items that have been destroyed or rendered useless, including some purchased at thrift stores or retrieved from trash bins, have doubled in the past five years, surpassing the annual revenue from the company’s famous boot. Gorman knows first-hand: He said a shirt that he had donated to Goodwill, with his name printed in it, was once returned to a store.”
With more online selling of goods - facebook yard sale pages, craiglist, etc. it is so easy to search for LL Bean stuff, for example.
“Internal surveys indicate 85 percent of customers are OK with the new return policy, he said.”
Yup.
Years ago – it must be 20 years – I bought S2 red snowpants and a matching jacket from LLBean. After he wore them once, I received a catalog showing something very similar on sale. I called Bean to ask if I could exchange my worn outfit for their on-sale outfit, and the woman told me Yes! I was amazed. It turned out that the on-sale item wasn’t in the right size so I didn’t exchange it, but I was amazed they would have done that.
That said, I think I’m the cause of their change in policy. Based on something someone said on CC – that they have a lifetime warranty of all their goods – I called because several zipper toggles have broken on my 15-year-old LLBean suitcase. I explained my problem to the woman on the phone, hoping she would offer a replacement suitcase. Nope. She told me to go buy new zipper toggles and said that they would reimburse me that cost.
25 - wow. But they make $ off membership fees, so probably wanted to retain her as a customer. I wish the others in the return line whipped out their smartphones and tweeted the photos of this jerk. Public shaming can be a good deterrent to others (doubt this woman would be shamed at all).
Cutco still has has a forever guarantee. I have full sets in both our homes so it’s north of 80 knives and utensils. And I’ll admit I have bought some of them on ebay because there is no way I would have this many otherwise. Every year or two I box up the knives and send them in for sharpening for something like $11. They sharpen and polish everything and if there is something they can’t bring back to great condition it is replaced free of charge. I’ve never intended to take advantage of the system by purchasing on ebay but maybe I am?? I don’t look for damaged ones just to send in for replacement. I buy knives that are very usable and then perform regular maintenance. I hope I’m not a bad apple.
I have seen many people return food or flowers at Costco but I never have. I just don’t feel right doing that even though there are some times I probably should have. Just recently I bought a large bag of lemons and several were moldy when I got home and at least another 10 molded within a couple days.
I returned food to Costco twice. Once, I was in charge of the concessions stand at a meet held by kiddo’s team. We purchased supplies at Costco the day before. When we arrived to set up, the only keys to the athletic facility were in the hands of two folks who got ill! The meet was cancelled. I went back to Costco and inquired if we could return the stuff we bought, and they said yes! I took it as them making a donation to our team as otherwise the team would have had to absorb the costs.
The other time… I bought a pie and discovered a used bandaid in the box that obviously slipped off someone’s fingertip. That was disgusting! I wanted to alert the store manager that someone at their bakery should be doing better, so instep of tossing the pie, I took it back.
IIRC, someone did get video of the woman who returned a used Christmas tree to Costco.
I don’t have a problem with a more realistic return policy. We buy a lot of DH’s work clothes from LLBean. He’s hard to fit, so I need to keep retailers around who can get him good-quality clothes that meet his exacting needs.
If Costco revamps their policy, I do hope they retain their fabulous warranty on computers. It’s the main reason I buy that stuff from them.
One year is still very generous. I always cringe a little bit when my husband returns stuff to LL Bean (not 15 year old boots, but a 3 year old raincoat with a ripped pocket, a jacket he wore for 3 months and then decided he didn’t like the fit, etc.)
I worked at a big retailer when I was in college and they would give store credit for just about anything. I thought it was nuts and had to keep from rolling my eyes - “Oh really, you kid’s outdoor plastic toy is faded and dirty and showing a lot of wear and tear after sitting outside for 4 years? Hmm”
One additional thing - I have been known to take months deciding which item I want to keep when I get stuff at LL Bean. By using our LL Bean Visa credit card, we haven’t had to worry about finding receipts when we’ve done returns - and some of these have been even 14-18 months later. Especially jeans. I have two new pairs now that I bought probably 10 months ago and I am still hoping to fit into them a bit more comfortably.
I hope I won’t have to dig out the receipts for these, and they will still be able to look up the items on the LL Bean Visa.
The prices at LL Bean are quite often a bit higher than competitors - I always assumed this was due to the quality as well as the cost of the guarantee. I wonder if they will be dropping their prices to reflect this - I would think that in this age of big data, they’d be able to fairly easily quantify how much these excessive returns have been costing them, vs. the regular, ongoing type of returns for the occasional defect, etc.
The change in policy makes sense. I had people urging me to return my old Bean Boots when the stitching between the upper and lower part of the boot failed. My response was that I thought 30 years of heavy use justified the purchase of a new pair of boots.
One of my kids forgot their boots at home and bought a pair of Beans at the local Goodwill for $7. The idea that he could have returned them for replacement never would have occurred to either of us.
I think reasonable return policy is necessary to protect consumers, but it shouldn’t be used by people who couldn’t decide if they want a piece of clothing after few months (when a summer shirt is returned in Dec it is not salable, at least not at full price). Every retailer needs to keep a certain margin to stay in business, so they just pass on all that costs to the consumers. All of those generous return policies do not come cheap. People should just think about higher price as paying for insurance on your purchase (similar to your trip protection insurance).
Capitalism at its finest. It is surprising that LL Bean held out this long against the accountants who advised against it. No reason to buy LL Bean now if they cost more. They are just like everyone else. Welcome to the Walmart race to the bottom.
I disagree. I think a one-year return policy is very generous, and I think their quality is better than most others.
I still think LL Bean will be gracious with its returns/refunds. They just refuse to be taken advantage of, which isn’t surprising considering the gall of some customers.
I’m not sure what extra value Bean has anymore with the discontinuance of the guarantee. Bean products cost 30-50% more than some competitors and they are not significantly better. We’ve had issues over the years with disintegrating waterproof linings on jackets, hats, separating soles on shoes, and broken zippers, etc. Generally just wanted a replacement. What would make sense would have been to keep the guarantee with an original receipt to the original owner.
One year is insufficient, especially for merchandise that is only used for a few months at a time or just occasionally.