WSJ article: "REI Ends Era of Many Happy Returns"

I suppose now I'll have to repair my climbing shoes (just F-ing kidding, you filthy animals!) Not that I haven't returned a pair of shoes to REI but I didn't abuse the policy to death. Still, end of an era indeed.

link to WSJ article 9/15/13

They actually went public with this via an email to all members back in early June. I don't have the email any more, but this article talks about it:

blogs.denverpost.com/travel…

Outdoor-gear retailers Orvis, L.L. Bean and Patagonia have similarly liberal approaches.

A customer at a New York Orvis store recently showed up with the charred remains of luggage he bought years earlier. The man brought a newspaper article proving that he was the victim of a house fire, although Orvis would have taken back the luggage without it, says Bill Eyre, Orvis's director of corporate marketing.

At Patagonia, a man in May returned a backpack and a shirt that was shredded after he was stabbed while traveling in Cairo, says Joy Lewis, a district manager in New York for the Ventura, Calif. company.

Stores also often see returns from customers who have broken limbs while engaging in extreme sports such as skiing and rock climbing. When they return clothing, it comes with tears where rescue workers cut through the fabric, Ms. Lewis says. The company always replaces the gear.

Patagonia, L.L. Bean and Orvis, which is based in Manchester, Vt., say they have no plans to change their return policies. "We trust our customers know where the line is," Mr. Eyre says.

make sure you read the comments section though ....


As REI expanded & opened more stores in narcissistic, "yuppie", urban liberal areas like Santa Monica , Berkeley, and San Francisco , perhaps it was inevitable the new clientele would abuse the liberal exchange/return policies.
Too bad ... a few ruined it for the many.

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And let's not forget who ran REI recently, one Sally Jewell who is now BO's Interior Secretary. Part of the reason for her selection is she did such a bang up job at REI over the 8 years she was at the top echelon at REI. Yeah, right. But that return policy is perfect for government work.

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Just another example of the fall of society in this country. We are going backwards people.
No integrity.
No accountability.

That REI shopper who said he returns it because REI profits enough is all you need to know about society today. Most of his Obama supporters think exactly like he does.

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long overdue. they shouls have even stricter return policy. I personally saw people return in REI completely used, worn off product, claiming "doesn't fit well". And I pay for that with higher price. Socialist attitude, get everyhting for free and fool everyone. Obama's army.

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Hippies can't run a business? Shocking.

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Obama has certainly contributed to the fact that some people are more willing to trade their dignity for anything else.

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The Sc(u)m will always find a way to abuse the system for their own personal gain...These same people will vote Democratic by the way...and it is getting worse...that is why we need Voter I.D...and only one day to vote...not ten...

This is what you get when you build your business model on catering to hippie, granola crunching liberals.



the next time anyone returns anything here ... ill be sure to call em obama voting, granola crunching, narcissistic, hippie liberal scum

wheres my granola bar now???

;)

Their return policy is still fine with me. After this change I was still able to return a 3-month old pair of climbing shoes; the side of the shoe had developed a tear, and I was able to replace them with a brand new pair. If these shoes had been a year old or more, I wouldn't mind getting a refusal for a refund. A year of climbing from a pair of shoes isn't great, but it's bearable.

"Returning a $2500 carbon road bike after ... driving into your garage with the bike on the roof of your car;"

at least they can probably still return the error-prone $500 gps unit that they must have used

Bill Shubert wrote:Their return policy is still fine with me.

Agreed.

Beware, however, that Backcountry has also changed their policy and will only allow returns of used gear for three months after purchase.

They were a little bit sneakier with that change than REI was though...

Backcountry.com wrote:We do accept used gear – as long as it is received within 90 days of purchase date – and we will issue a credit for full purchase price

I think it's a good thing really...to be blunt people were straight up A-holes with it. I realize the article only focused on the extreme elements, but give someone a yard they'll take you a mile.

Wearing out your gear and then returning it really just is a lack of ethics and morals. Plain and simple, no matter what kind of justification your brain allows for.

It's just too bad that they changed this policy AFTER they put every small outdoor shop owner out of business. It's rather brilliant actually. Put your competitors out of business with policies that your competitors cannot wish to imitate, then after they are out of business, cancel those policies.

The real question is what happens to the warranties on the millions upon millions of pieces of equipment they have already sold under the previous warranty?

For those of you defending this corporate giant, eat my balls. How do you think they created their quasi monopoly? Through this policy. It seems very disingenuous to cancel that policy after they have eliminated their competition.

J Q wrote:I The real question is what happens to the warranties on the millions upon millions of pieces of equipment they have already sold under the previous warranty?

they will honor anything sold before june 2013 ... they really have no choice unless they want to face a class action lawsuit ....

so if you find that old REI pack while dumpster diving ...

just make sure you vote for OBAMA, and eat a few granola bars at the same time

;)

bearbreeder, you're blaming REI for not accepting immoral returns on liberals, and Obama?

ryan albery wrote:bearbreeder, you're blaming REI for not accepting immoral returns on liberals, and Obama?

read the comments in the WSJ article

the most upvoted comments blame granola munching, yuppie, hippie, obama-voting democrats with a sense of entitlement for REI policies change

i reposted some choice quotes above for everyone to read

;)

I returned a pair of Technos that were two years old. The shoes were so bad I was told they couldn't be resoled! I wasn't abusing the policy it's just I found out they were the wrong size six months after I got them. I should have known not to get fitted for climbing shoes at REI in Baltimore! I didn't hear about REI return policy until two years had passed. So I returned a pair of two year old Technos that were blew out. Abuse of the system.. The guy should've gave me the right size!! I used the credit to get a pair of Muira VS. Too much shoe for a noob like me but for $19 and change WTH!.. Haha.

What the hell does this have to do with Obama?

I saw Obama returning a sleeping bag and tent after he used them on a "weekend trip".

Talk about a dirt bag!

Can't be your responsibility. Gotta have a scapegoat.

Kirby1013 wrote:The guy should've gave me the right size!!

Um, this.

I can't tell if some of the accounts in this article of returning used gear are true or just filled with sarcasm...

"The guy should've gave me the right size!!"

This is why you should shop at a local shop

"I should have known not to get fitted for climbing shoes at REI in Baltimore!"

This is why you should not return the shoes. Instead, take responsibility for your mistake as a consumer and deal with it until they wear out, sell them on eBay, donate them, or simply don't climb in them.

Dr. Crankenstein wrote:"The guy should've gave me the right size!!" This is why you should shop at a local shop "I should have known not to get fitted for climbing shoes at REI in Baltimore!" This is why you should not return the shoes. Instead, take responsibility for your mistake as a consumer and deal with it until they wear out, sell them on eBay, donate them, or simply don't climb in them.

I know all this now but those Technos were my first pair of climbing shoes. I felt the same way you do about this but my climbing buddies talked me into it with the " they sold you the wrong size".

Interesting way of looking at the situation though.

Dr. Crankenstein wrote:This is why you should shop at a local shop

+1

What local shops?! REI put them all out of buziness, but according to the moral and ethical police here, we can't return to REI...

... so before I do a return, I bow 3 times daily in the direction of the nearest REI for supplication, I also whip myself like a Penitente.