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 ...
My husband has a “friend” who spent over a year “testing” different home entertainment systems.
Got himself on everybody’s list, including some interesting notes added to his credit history.
(Not that there’s any connection—but he’s a lib)
;^)
Absolutely a thief! I saw a guy bring back a pair of used sneakers to Wal-mart that were totally worn out once (back when Sam was alive) and they took them back!.....
No, dishonesty drives people into this behavior. An honest man wouldn't do it, even if he was flat broke.
“So, they are striking back, instituting more restrictive return policies, imposing restocking fees, and keeping a blacklist of serial wardrobers.”
You KNOW the wardrobers are going to whine about this. Stupid arses, it serves you right.
I know people who have done this type of thing and are proud of it. They don’t care that those of us who do not engage in this crap end up paying for it.
Of course not!
Everyone knows that the economy is controlled by the Jooos.
We should all blame them.
I know of people who do this with cameras, I’ve bought several refurbs that never had a flaw, just used for a few days and returned. One guy I know has had 4 new cameras in the last 6 weeks.
So you're saying it's the retailers fault and our buddy Jimmy here is a victim.......you MUST BE a democrat.
Jimmy Deignan has a business, although I think I might be a little leery of doing business with someone with his lack of integrity. Here is a link to his website: http://craftsmankits.com/
It’s creeps like this that make it so real consumers who simply don’t like the purchase and want to return it are screwed.
That was an episode of "Wings" where Brian did the same thing, only he destroyed it in the process. Funny show.
When I buy Captain Crunch or oatmeal, I would never think of returning it.
Where did I say Jimmy is a victim?
I know full well that liberal return policies are a pain in the rear for retailers. But if they are going to have such policies in place, then they should not be surprised when people exploit them.
It is like handing out free candy. Everyone is going to want some, and unless you stop handing out the candy, you really sound foolish when you complain that people take it all.
My daughter told me about this about a year ago. She was at a wedding and one of her friends was actually bragging about the fact that she was going to return her “very expensive” dress the following week.
I had no idea it’s going on as much as this story indicates.
For a lot of electronics, the only way to really know if it will work for you is to take it home and try it. That’s easier if the company allows you to return it, and good for the company because you might buy something you would otherwise be too nervous about working.
But people who abuse this mess it up for everybody else.
What you need is a way to track who buys and returns things, so a store can see if you have purchased the same or similar item and returned it before.
What is his return policy?
“The economy drives people into this behavior...”
Back in the 80s there were several “Why Johnny Can’t Read or why Johnny can’t do whatever; the theme was always that failure on the part of the larger society drove him to this behavior and the solution was to change society.
One of the stories was why Johnny stole his boombox but I can’t remember enough of the title to bring up the actual story on Google - can anyone help?
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