L.L. Bean, Citing Abuse, Tightens Its Generous Policy on Returns
L.L. Bean, Citing Abuse, Tightens Its Generous Policy on Returns
The purveyor of outdoor products, famous for its 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, said that a growing number of customers had abused the policy by treating it as a “lifetime product-replacement program.” The retailer will immediately begin enforcing stricter rules for shoppers seeking to exchange items or obtain or get refunds. Under the new policy, consumers will have a year to make returns, and will be required to provide proof of purchase...
L.L. Bean’s decades-old refund-and-replacement policy, one of the most generous in the retail industry, had increasingly been abused, Mr. Gorman wrote. “A small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent,” he wrote, adding that some people had sought “refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales.”...
L.L. Bean’s turnaround is similar to a change in policy at the outdoor retailer REI. In 2013, after people bragged of taking used REI products bought at swap meets to the store for cash refunds, the company began requiring customers to make their returns within a year of purchase
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