Posted on 02/18/2008 11:02:07 AM PST by Cagey
Jimmy Deignan's first time was with a $500 portable DVD player.
He bought it a few years ago at Best Buy for a Boston-to-Los Angeles flight, knowing he would return it for a full refund when he got back. More recently, in November, rather than spending $600 to rent a LCD projector for a business presentation, the Holden resident purchased one at Staples, then returned it a few days later and got his money back.
The way Deignan sees it, he is just a smart shopper: He gets the things he needs, uses them for as long as he wants, and saves money. But to retailers, this is wardrobing, a practice they say is unethical, damaging to their bottom line, and increasingly common.
Nearly two-thirds of merchants had items wardrobed in 2007, up from 56 percent the year before, the first year the National Retail Federation started tracking the trend. Merchants blame tough economic times and a "customer-is-always right" mentality gone too far. They say a growing number of shoppers feel entitled to return used items they no longer want, and probably could not afford in the first place - from costly cocktail dresses for big events to pricey plasma televisions bought exclusively to watch the Super Bowl. So, they are striking back, instituting more restrictive return policies, imposing restocking fees, and keeping a blacklist of serial wardrobers.
"The economy drives people into this behavior - going through their closets and looking for things they can return, regardless of when they bought it or how many times they've worn it," said Dan Doyle, vice president of loss prevention at Bealls Department Stores, a retailer based in Florida with stores across the Sun Belt.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Not sure, but I think that's an east coast phenomenon.
I’ve bought plenty of stuff from Future Shop, based partially on the knowledge that I can always return the item within 30 days if it doesn’t meet my expectations. I make use of the policy as I believe they intended it to be used, and they have benefitted from that. I make no apologies or excuses for making use of THEIR policy.
As to Timothy Eaton and his company, what ran them out of business was the increasing irrelevance of the big department store in the modern world, especially one that tried to be upscale. It’s too bad, because my family bought a lot of stuff from them over the years - and only returned a little of that stuff.
“Let’s not. No point getting the government involved where it doesn’t have to be. Private industries can take care of themselves much better than the government would manage.”
I was saying “Let’s legislate that!!!” sarcastically. People on this thread we’re starting to sound like they wanted laws passed to force companies like Best Buy to modify their return policies.
IMHO, if you don’t like their policy then don’t spend your money there.
Yes, Future Shop allows this, and therefore encourages it.
They have to add all of their costs to the bottom line, however, so we all pay for the policy, whether they charge the individual customer a restocking fee or not.
As for Eaton’s, I discussed the return policy with some salespeople there, a few years before they went bankrupt.
I was told they refunded stuff that hadn’t even been purchased there.
The point is, there are too many dishonest, and thoughtless people, and they cost everyone money.
You mean I’m supposed to have a point? I wish somebody had told me....
I’m not a fan of Best Buy at all but I do like the fact that all of their rebates are instant now. Many people have problem with rebates from every company which is why I never buy anything based on the rebate price (eg if Best Buy has a laptop for $450 and Circuit City has the same laptop for $600 with a $200 rebate, I’ll grab it at Best Buy).
Without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to track who is doing returns and analytical software, it is very difficult to tell most of the time who is legit and who is not. Of the ones that are questionable, probably at least half are legit (I work in retail food so my experience may differ greatly from clothing though). This cost (or ease of return) is of course passed onto the legitimate consumer. Unfortunately, the bad apples always ruin it for the good ones.
Indeed. Another scam, practiced at Wal-Mart and probably other stores, is to pick up a receipt from the floor or parking lot, select the same item as on the receipt, and present it for a refund. Wal-Mart emps are instructed to tear up any they find. The more enlightened store managers have the emp write their name on the back of the receipt, which is put in a jar. Once a month one receipt is pulled out and that emp gets a $5 or $10 slip to spend in the store.
They are the ones that take the financial loss....The customer who pays is the one who takes the financial loss.
That’s a pretty good idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.