Well…while I do like my wicked good slippers…I think I’m going back to Acorns. Or has the quality of Acorn gone down too?
I would never return an item twice! I only returned my first pair of slippers because my other brand fleece slippers lasted a LOT longer.
I totally agree with this policy change.
Le Crueset has an excellent return policy also. They don’t always replace…but if they don’t, they give you a very generous credit you can use to purchase a replacement.
A couple years ago we were in the customer service line in the Freeport store, quiet time of day, one man in front of us. He was trying to return a fancy leather jacket. The clerk asked a bunch of questions an asked the man to try it on. The man claimed the jacket was his, but he couldn’t even put it on, it was way too small. Before we knew it, security was walking him somewhere else, and the clerk apologized that we had to see that. Stolen goods being returned for cash was apparently the issue. It is amazing that the company has had the return policy for so long. There are probably a myriad of reasons for the change.
My daughter’s Wicked slippers fell apart within a year. It wasn’t the fleece lining it was the connection between the sole and the body of the shoe. I had no qualms about returning them and they gave me a new pair, it was obviously faulty. I wonder if that will be the case if I bought a pair and they fall apart under the new policy.
My son had a backpack that lasted over 5 Years From L.L.Bean. the quality was amazing. It was there a large Super Deluxe backpack… seems like it was made of parachute material on the top handle was plastic and fantastic. We still have it. On the other hand, my youngest got the Super Deluxe backpack a few years later and it was completely different. The handle is sewed on and not plastic. The material is thin. Before the school year ended the handle had ripped off and I returned it and got a new one. This one has lasted longer and I won’t return it however the quality is not the same as what they used to produce.
Perhaps with this new return policy they can go back to some of the quality materials they used to use in their products that they have more recently replaced with less quality.
I’m a lawyer for a retail company and fraudulent returns is a big thing. Stolen goods and returns- no receipt, of course. The new thing is looking for discarded receipts in the trash or parking lot, going into the store and grabbing the merchandise and “returning” it.
“The only thing I sent back was a dog bed that was warranted to be indestructible. It took my Golden a couple of years, but he ripped it up!”
I would think several years is about the life expectancy for any dog bed but probably not smart for any retailer to market a dog bed as indestructible in the first place.
I think the issue isn’t that so many people were returning products that they had to drop their quality, but the opposite: they sold such long-lasting items that their sales were too low. If you have to replace your boots after 3 years instead of 20, you buy a lot more boots — and a lot more people return them. I had already decided not to buy boots there any more before the policy change., because their things are wearing out so quickly.
This will benefit customers in the long run, because we won’t be paying for other customers’ abuses. I will say that I’ve seen a decline in some of LLBean’s products over the past few years, particularly their sweaters. My husband has a 20 year old Norwegian fisherman’s sweater that developed holes in the elbows. I went to LLBean to buy a replacement, only to find that they just don’t make them like they used to. We had patches put on the elbows instead.
And while their boots are still excellent, I’ve started buying my shearling slippers at Cabela’s because the last two Bean pairs I owned didn’t last a year. I don’t want a free, poor quality replacement. I want slippers that last a few years.
Yep…Cabelas carries Acorns!
@ChoatieMom I have been a Nordstrom customer for years (family lives in Seattle, but N now has stores in New England). Their customer service is top notch. It’s one of the few stores (with clothes at all price points) where you can go to the dressing room with a handful of items, then send the sales person out for more items for as long as you need.
A good dog bed (washable) will last a long time if the dog doesn’t eat it.
We had a cocker spaniel…so not a huge dog. He loved squeaky toys but could trash a squeaker within seconds.
Anyone remember the Orvis mallard Duck for dogs? Supposedly it had a squeaker that was guaranteed NOT to not be able to be removed. It took our pooch about 10 minutes to get that squeaker out…so I returned it to,our local Orvis store. The sales person was shocked! Said NO ONE had had this issue and gave me a second squeaky duck.
Yep…the pooch pulled that squeaker out too.
I didn’t return it again…the pooch liked the toy well enough without the squeaker.
It was a $30 dog toy!
Why would you return an item that still looks great after several years of use?
@thumper1: Do companies hire dogs to test toys ? If so, there’s your tuition.
My pups LLBean dog bed is 7 years old and looks as good as new. We have replaced the inner cushion but wash the outside often (he sheds!) . Granted he is not a rough dog (corgi beagle). I WISH it would wear out so I could feel like I could get something different but I hate to change it out cause it’s 100% fine! Monogrammed and all with his name. 
The dog isn’t alive anymore!
Sorry to read that.
@austinmshauri, you left off a key part when you quoted me. I was talking about my D and H’s LL Bean wicked slippers, one of which was destroyed within 6 months (D) and the other which has a big hole within a year of use (H).
I own a similar pair of slippers that are uggs, which I’ve had for 5 years with no problems. All I paid approximately the same for.
I was thinking that the LL Bean slippers should last more than one year, since my similarly priced and style of slippers have lasted for more than 5 years.
But now that LL Bean has changed their return policy I won’t return H’s slippers, I will buy another brand though next time.
As usual for me, I probably wasn’t very clear. Between me and spellcheck, I wonder how I make a coherent post.
Folks who have read CC for a while know the story of my pooch
But back to the topic.
I seldom return things…at all. But with regard to LLBean…for so long! There really wasn’t any place else to buy quality outdoor wear. Over the years, that has has really changed! For example! My DH had two goretex jackets from Beans…but when it came time to replace…he went with the Northface. He thinks the quality is better.
Agree with @thumper1 . Back in the 70s and 80s, LLBean was the only game there was. PLUS- when I was at college I could call in the middle of the night and order a sweater to arrive in the mail! Now there are myriad places both locally and online, and I got to where I felt the LLBean selection was sort of frumpy. I used to also like Lands End, but haven’t even considered anything from there for 30 years. I DO admire LLBean as a company and am glad they paved the way.
The last two statements, very fair, very true. I do still order occasionally from LLBean - heck I have their credit card though I don’t use it a lot - but when I do order it’s pretty much only things like athletic wear or outerwear.