Back when Sam Walton was still alive, WalMart had a similar return policy.
I waited in line at the customer service desk at our Walmart behind a guy who brought in a pair of sneakers that looked like they came out of a dumpster, torn, ragged, stained and absolutely ruined. I would have been embarrassed to hold them much less have the guts to return them for a REFUND............WHICH THEY GAVE HIM!............
The beginning of the end was a couple of years ago when there were a bunch of articles promoting their return policy. They made it sound like an infinite guarantee. Their PR people are responsible.
Some jerks took advantage of their generous return policy, returning things which weren’t even theirs.
Yet another in a long list of examples of “Why we can’t have nice things.”
Kind of a dumb policy. Life time is way too long for clothes and shoes. Of course, people will return the stuff if there is a life time warranty. I would imagine that if your engine dies in your car during the warranty, you would have the dealership replace it. No? I think you better think long and hard before you answer.
REI had a similar policy when I worked for them in 1990. Stinky hippies would bring in worn out socks and get new ones.
Management was wise to not let me anywhere near customer service.
You're not kidding!
A reflection that the country’s morals and ethics are in decline....we’re losing our country.
My brothers girlfriend worked at a LL Bean for several years. Most returns were in good faith, clearly a defective item. But then there was just egregiously old heavily used/abused/worn stuff people had no shame returning, completely violating the spirit of the policy. They had gotten more than their money’s worth out of the item and were just being jerks abusing the original intent.
They had a great store in my area in the Sixties-Eighties, then they went out of business. It was a high end store specializing in electronics and consumer goods.
Their return policy was a no questions asked policy. I used to buy there all the time, because if you had any issue, you just brought the thing back, and they would give you a refund or exchange, no hassle.
I found out there were people who would purchase a large format TV to watch some sporting event, and return it the next week.
I had an acquaintance who purchased a high end SLR camera and lens to take with him on vacation, and he returned it when he got back for a refund.
I was appalled. I couldn’t believe the guy would do that.
Turns out a lot of people did stuff like that to them. And that is why you cannot depend on people to do good. You have to not plan on it, because they have a name for it if you do plan on the good in people to do what is right:
Liberalism.
Has the quality of their products deteriorated in recent years?
40 some years ago my mom worked in a bra and girdle department in a major department store. Styles really didn’t change much over the years. Women would buy a new bra. A week later they would bring an old worn out one with the new receipt and want their money back.
Although personal integrity may be going down, slime bags have always been here. Thank God at least girdles are gone!
Sounds like a good decision.
I think their policy is a great one ... if you’re living in a society primarily composed of decent honest people.
When the takers and scammers become legion, they ruin it for the rest of us.
I also recall that Nordstrom’s used to have a no questions asked return policy. They would accept returns without receipts and even sometimes accept returns and exchanges on items they never carried or sold. Their belief at the time was that few people would take unfair advantage, and even among those who did, they might end up being customers in the future or the good word of mouth and positive PR would offset any losses. But I think they changed or cracked down on that not long ago.
It’s about time.
You still get a year,with receipt.
.
The quality of all the Bean stuff is way down. I still have Bean clothes from the 90s that I use.
Darn, and I just finished boxing to this canoe.