LL Bean Changing Returns Policy

[greenmtnboy]

They were asinine to have an open ended policy; but they didn't really honor it in a lot of cases anyway, giving you the double whammy when you came in to get a replacement! I'm sure they have voodoo dolls of the worst offenders, having their Haitian docs. do their worst! lol
LL Bean isn't really about real outdoor serious hiking and camping anyway, but is second rate, for the yuppies, trust fund make believe weekend outdoors people who can brag about hiking the White Mtns..

[MuddyWaters]

Sears sold the Craftsman line a few years ago.

Closed 11 mo ago.
Point is the craftsman name was built on lifetime guarantee, and was worth $900 million.

Much of that i thinkt was being at right place right time. Consumers choices were limited and Sears was everywhere for many yrs we hen was American institution.

[MuddyWaters]

The return policy is priced into their business model. It's not stealing from you. You have the option to make your purchase wherever you want.

Running Warehouse still allows people to return used shoes and exchange them.
Why? Because buying shoes mail order is going to be prone to some dissatisfaction and this was a part of their business model. It works and it works well. They have only a limited number of used returns they're going to allow a person to do a year though. It's at their discretion. Their prices are also higher than other places. You pay for the policy. You can get the same free shipping and free return shipping for trying shoes from Zappo's. But you can't return used shoes to Zappos.

[Lnj]

I just have to say that LL Bean does make their products VERY WELL. I bought both my kids backpacks/book bags online when they were both in middle school, because I heard LLBean had great ones that lasted and then the awesome return policy, and I was tired of replacing them year after year because my kids are just so abusive to them... My daughter is a freshman in college now and my son is a sophomore in high school and both are still carrying them. They are in great shape. I did replace my daughters in high school because the zipper finally broke. They replaced it without a blink and it was a few years old then. I will always buy from them for any type of bag. Don't know about other stuff, as that's all I have ever bought from them. Just throwing some love on LLB. Hard to find good products made well these days. Most companies make stuff designed to fail within a few years so you have to go buy again and they get the opportunity to possibly get more money out of you. I see the business view on that, but quality builds loyalty and loyalty spreads the word and grows customers.

[Time Zone]

I just have to say that LL Bean does make their products VERY WELL.

Yes and no. I generally agree with you on packs. I'd put my LLB daypack up against any other in a test of durability. But dang, it ought to be durable, since it is quite heavy for its volume. My LLB backpacking pack is tough too, but closer to mainstream* for weight to volume.

Their book packs are famously durable. And some people value durability - and that late great satisfaction guarantee - over whether it's light weight. They're not wrong for doing so. Just different than those who value light weight above all.

But I've not had good luck with their insulated Wildcat boots.

It all depends on what vendor they're using, and what build specs they're giving them.



*Kelty, Gregory, Deuter, Osprey (non-Exos)

[rocketsocks]

I got a pair of LL Bean wing tip shoes that’s 35 years old and just now showing signs of a floppy sole.

[saltysack]

Surely you saw the news story: Woman returns 'dead' Christmas tree to Costco in January.

This kind of behavior saddens me.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timei...christmas-tree


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LMAO....you got to be kidding! Costco is another retailer forced to tighten their return policy.


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[Offshore]

LMAO....you got to be kidding! Costco is another retailer forced to tighten their return policy.


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Costco is misleading when tout their return unlimited return policy. It's really at the discretion of the front-end or store manager - so, it's technically not a "policy" at all. I've (happily) watched people wheeling in well used patio furniture and grills at the end of the season only to be sent packing by the returns desk. I roll my eyes when I hear Costco acolytes gushing about the return policy and not realizing that those costs are sometimes pushed back to the vendor but most often to the retail customer in terms of higher prices. I've always viewed these lax policies as a negative - it's people who treat the policy reasonably paying for the scammers who return cut Christmas trees in January, grills in October, and yes, even Darn Tough socks after putting 1000 miles on them.

[saltysack]

Costco is misleading when tout their return unlimited return policy. It's really at the discretion of the front-end or store manager - so, it's technically not a "policy" at all. I've (happily) watched people wheeling in well used patio furniture and grills at the end of the season only to be sent packing by the returns desk. I roll my eyes when I hear Costco acolytes gushing about the return policy and not realizing that those costs are sometimes pushed back to the vendor but most often to the retail customer in terms of higher prices. I've always viewed these lax policies as a negative - it's people who treat the policy reasonably paying for the scammers who return cut Christmas trees in January, grills in October, and yes, even Darn Tough socks after putting 1000 miles on them.

I agree with ya I witness the same crap every month when I do my Costco trip....they used to have a crazy computer return policy they did away with as it got abused like crazy!


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[Deacon]

I got a pair of LL Bean wing tip shoes that’s 35 years old and just now showing signs of a floppy sole.

No excuse for that. Send them back and demand a replacement!


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[rocketsocks]

No excuse for that. Send them back and demand a replacement!


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i just can’t do it, I’d be embarrassed, besides I got a great cobbler that could prolly use the dough if he’s still alive, haven’t had to go in a year or two.

[Deacon]

i just can’t do it, I’d be embarrassed, besides I got a great cobbler that could prolly use the dough if he’s still alive, haven’t had to go in a year or two.

Oh I know. Just kidding.


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[BuckeyeBill]

When I was younger and in the process of building my tool set, I Was buying from Craftsman, Mac Tools and Snap-On. One of my Snap-On phillips screwdrivers had rounded over. When I showed it the the salesman, he said that's not covered under warranty. He then chucked it up in a vise took a small sledge hammer and broke the shaft off. He looked at me and said "That's covered under warranty.

[swatsullivan]

Darn Tough has a ludicrous policy. They depend on the vast majority of their buyers not using it. So, for that matter, did LL Bean and REI.

DT makes some nice socks, though.

They are all I wear now, even to work with a suit and tie. Makes it all the more nice that if any get holes, I can return them, but so far, they have held up better than any of the more "formal" black socks I used to wear to work.

I do not buy anything from LL Bean anymore--not like I did when I was young or like my parents did. I still have my Maine Hunting Shoes (a/k/a Bean Boots) from the early 80s when I was in middle school. I am not sure that the things they produce now are much better than other, lower cost alternatives.

I tried buying some things at LL Bean a few years ago. I was looking for a wide-brimmed hat a couple of years ago to wear hiking in NM. I go one from LL Bean, but did not like it. Returned it and got one from REI that I absolutely loved. I got a raincoat from LL Bean that was light and fairly expensive that did not keep water out. I got one at REI that did keep water out. So I learned my lesson about LL Bean--more style than function it seems.

[Lnj]

But the book bags are awesome!

[swatsullivan]

But the book bags are awesome!

Now until you mentioned it, I hadn't thought about it. My cousin (in ME) just had a baby boy, and we got him an LL Bean book bag. I used to have one, and each of my kids (I have 4 boys) has had more than one. I should've returned the ones that they banged up or where zipper failed, but it never occurred to me. We got our money's worth out of them, though! I still use one of their old ones to carry odds and ends around from time to time.

[Time Zone]

Someone is suing LL Bean for changing their warranty policy:

http://www.13newsnow.com/news/local/...ange/518715326

... it appears that the substance of the claim is that the new policy is being enforced upon items bought under the old policy (not that they can't change the guarantee for future sales). If that's true, I suspect that's a difficult spot for LLB, though IANAL. They sold stuff under the guise of an indefinite satisfaction guarantee. The deal was, you pay this amount of money, you get these goods, and this guarantee.

As of yet unverified are reports that a Bean spokesman responded to the lawsuit by saying, "I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it any further."

[Time Zone]

PS bean lawyers: that's a joke! Sarcasm, parody.

[fiddlehead]

I imagine there will be a class action lawsuit.
How can you tell someone that the item they bought is guaranteed for life, and then say: Never mind. We lied. So the jokes on you. haha.

[Slow Trek]

Pretty simple really. You honor the warranty for items sold before the policy change,and require proof of purchase date for items sold after the new policy is in place. There really is no free lunch,and there comes a point where you can no longer absorb the cost of abusive customers. I sell professional grade tools with a legendary warranty,and average a grand a week in free tools for warranty. 90 percent of the warranty comes from 10 percent of the users,some from people that simply use them more,but most from people that use the tool improperly. The cost is born by 100 percent of the customers. Bean has no doubt done the math,and found that they cannot simply increase prices enough to pay for abuse of the ten percent,so they have only one other choice,if they intend to show a profit.