Fashion

[TY]

I just read an article on Slate that shows the return abuse -- the writer had worn out a pair of  shoes, went to the store and a salesperson told him he could return the old ones and get a new pair. So he did that. Then he figured out that he could do it again and again so it became a yearly tradition for 6 years. It was an inside joke in his family by then as he would make his yearly trek to the store to trade in his worn shoes for a new pair for free.

[winamac1]

Spoiler

I love the whole history and premise of LL Bean, and I have no problem with their return policy.

That being said, the quality of much of their merchandise has gone down in the past 5 to 10 years.  Much of their merchandise is now not made in the USA, and it's overpriced.  I was at their flagship store 2 years ago, and it was a nice experience in and of itself.  

I saw much of the merchandise that looked like it would be sold in a Walmart type of store--some of their blouses, etc.

The duck boots are still really nice and made in the USA.  Their employees are friendly too.

 ETA:  I have no idea how I listed this as a spoiler, LOL.  I certainly didn't mean to.

Anyway, to continue--people returning items years later is abuse and LL Bean should put an end to it. 

[winamac1]

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wrote:

I just read an article on Slate that shows the return abuse -- the writer had worn out a pair of  shoes, went to the store and a salesperson told him he could return the old ones and get a new pair. So he did that. Then he figured out that he could do it again and again so it became a yearly tradition for 6 years. It was an inside joke in his family by then as he would make his yearly trek to the store to trade in his worn shoes for a new pair for free.

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Disgusting.

[BirkiLady]

When this news first broke, a QVC poster (shall remain nameless) wrote that she had returned a 20-year old backpack because the zipper was broken. She had, apparently, tried to have the zipper repaired but was unable to do so locally. So she decided to approach LL Bean after 20 years of using the backpack!! What could LL Bean say? She returned the old, old (probably very worn back pack) - and no, they could not repair the zipper. Anyone surprised?? Of course not. True to LL Bean's warranty, they provided the QVC poster with another backpack! She thought that was pretty awesome.

The first couple of us reading her post were horrified. Our immediate reactions were, "You returned a 20-year old backpack?" and "Did you look up the cost and send LL Bean a check for the new backpack?" and similar comments. Immediately the poster deleted her original, very proud post!

We have all kind of people on this Forum. It's more sit back and enjoy the comedy of errors than to jump in and join the conversation. You learn so much more. 

[I am still oxox]

I recently found a beach cover up that was from Lands End, it didn't fit I packed it away intending to return it when I swapped out my closet I found it with the receipt. I called and wow after over 2 years I was able to return it, I was totally amazed

[SurferWife]

Quite frankly, it blows my mind that a customer would return an item that s/he purchased over a year ago...good grief...I think a 90-day return policy should be max for most items.

Costco has a liberal return policy as well.  One day when we were purchasing our Vitamix, we met a lady who actually admitted that she just returned her original one that she had purchased 5 years ago because she wanted to upgrade.  Costco accepted it!  What a disgrace.