What's going too far with "buy then return" at retail stores?

[SunnyD]

We all hate the folks that ruined the awesomeness that was Costco's TV policy from years of yore. But that's water under the bridge. I've seen a growing trend of retail store "rental" lately... in fact it spills over into online shopping. People buy something to tide the over for a little bit until the next big thing comes in, or whatever they previously had gets repaired, and then they return their "new" item.

My wife pulled one on me the other day that made me question a similar situation on whether it was wrong or not.

Cliffs:
- Hosting kid B-Day party event
- Planned for X total attendees (RSVP's accounted for plus a "few" extra last minute maybes)
- A few drop out at the last minute due to illness (not many though)
- Party goes off, kids have fun
- Wife notes that she apparently overbought on several supplies (themed prepackaged paper plates, napkins and party favors)
- Wife returns unopened overbought supplies

Now the overbuy was definitely a bit in excess of the TOTAL headcount that was invited, let alone that RSVP'd. So there was obviously a bit of poor planning involved.

Does this fall under the "retail rental" category? Or should this be deemed acceptable?

 

[Eureka]

I think it's fine. She bought with the intention of keeping, didn't open it or use it.

Returns, IMO, are fine insofar that the customer believes they were buying to keep (or the potential to). Buying, with the purpose of returning is shady. Buying to try, with a high potential for keeping, is OK.

 

[cronos]

This is definitely acceptable, imo.

To me, it's only abuse if it is intentional. Your wife just took advantage of a good return policy.

 

[Kamrooz]

That seems acceptable to me. Working at frys I have to admit I see some shady shit from customers. Literally no joke, atm, half our graphics card inventory is open box. Customers just buy stuff, use it temporarily, and end up returning it.

Sad part is,..We can't test every component that comes back as well...and from time to time depending on item, we take the customers word for it if the item is still functional...Which unfortunately ends up with either a broken item on the shelves...Or even a incomplete contents of the package...

People are just flat out evil at times =*(.

But yea....You're fine...^_^

 

[SlitheryDee]

As long as it can be resold as new then there's no problem. If she never opened the supplies then this shouldn't even be a question.

Also, I don't really see this as a question of intent. I run a retail store and customers will quite often buy clothing or other items with the stated intention of trying them on later and bringing them back in new condition if they don't work for any reason. I have no problem with that. But if they wear them for a week, wash them twice, and then decide to bring them back for no reason other than "I don't like how they fit" or some such, I won't take them because I can't resell them as new. The first is totally reasonable and the second is a dick move that I can't believe someone with any decency would even try. In the second case the person may not even have intended to bring the item back when they bought it, but buyers remorse kicked in and they decided after they had already put noticeable wear on the item that they should be able to get their money back for it.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Completely acceptable. Where it crosses the line is either buying something with the specific idea of returning it after use (i.e. Big screen TV before Super Bowl) or simply getting bored and wanting something better somewhere down the line or in the case of electronics, using for 6 months and then getting a better price after the inevitable drop. Overbuying in good faith you can return with a clear conscience.

 

[Ayah]

Yours is fine. It's mostly the people who buy, use, then return who walk/cross the line.

 

[Midwayman]

This is pretty much the most acceptable case of return. Overbuy supplies so you don't run out in the middle and return the extra. Pretty much like you should be doing at home depot when buying lumber, etc.

 

[Anonemous]

As long as it wasn't opened-> used a few pieces -> returned.

/has seen people return half an empty container of milk and meat products back to Costco....

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I was at a family dinner a few months back(wife's side) and her cousin's wife said that she bought some underwear, wore it, and then returned it without washing. She started laughing until she saw how silent the entire table had gotten.

 

[Destiny]

Almost a decade ago I used to work at a SAMs Club in an affluent/wealthy So. Calif city... I see people buying gas BBQ grillers at the beginning of summer and see the same people returning them after Labor day...

Heck... I see people return half empty boxes of shrimp and meats too...

They don't really care because they make money off your membership dues - and many of SAM's club merchendise terms including food is almost like cosignment... the vendors will have no choice but to take them back and issue credit memos to Costco/SAMs club... if the vendors don't they get the boot...

 

[Tiamat]

Your situation is pretty much one of the major ones that are acceptable. Returning unopened product that is non perishable is acceptable and relatively easy for the store to handle with the least overhead. People who buy stuff to use temporarily is what causes businesses hardship. Returning opened and defective items also costs businesses hardship, but they eat it for a while for the sake of customer service. However, companies like Amazon track how many items you return for any reason and cut you off if they find you costing them too much overhead.

 

[Mixolydian]

Party supplies? Yeah perfectly acceptable to return in unopened condition.

What's not acceptable (IMO of course) is returning opened/used electronics or other items valued at >$100.

 

[TheVrolok]

I'm rooming with a guy for two months in a furnished apartment provided for us. There was on old crappy TV here already but that wasn't good enough for him so he went out and bought a 50" lcd from Walmart that he will be returning at the end of the two months. Disgusting.

I think the OPs situation is acceptable, though.

 

[jaedaliu]

That seems acceptable to me. Working at frys I have to admit I see some shady shit from customers. Literally no joke, atm, half our graphics card inventory is open box. Customers just buy stuff, use it temporarily, and end up returning it.

Sad part is,..We can't test every component that comes back as well...and from time to time depending on item, we take the customers word for it if the item is still functional...Which unfortunately ends up with either a broken item on the shelves...Or even a incomplete contents of the package...

People are just flat out evil at times =*(.

But yea....You're fine...^_^

I thought standard inventory practice was to send the returned item back to the manufacturer to deal with. That way it's their job to make sure it works before selling again.

I guess the 1% mark down for open box items at Fry's might not be as good a deal as I thought.

 

[SunnyD]

As long as it wasn't opened-> used a few pieces -> returned.

/has seen people return half an empty container of milk and meat products back to Costco....

Hey now! I've returned a partial package of chicken breast before. But that's because I opened it, it kinda smelled a little off but for some reason not enough to fail the smell test (in retrospect, it just shouldn't have - period - I don't know what I was thinking). So some of it still got cooked, which just made it worse. I tried one bite of it and said, "There's no way in hell I'm feeding any of this to my kids... something is definitely wrong with this chicken."

Sell date was fine, and it didn't sit out or was neglected at home. After inspecting the package, you could kind of tell that about half of the subpackages were likely spoiled in a similar manner. We just returned the whole thing, which Costco (and just about any grocery store) would be happy to do for you. They don't want to be responsible for tainted food.

 

[Tweak155]

As long as you aren't taking it to another store and getting a larger refund

 

[highland145]

Condoms?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I think this particular case is fine, because a) its not a large dollar amount, b) its high margin product (meaning what wasn't returned offered retailer a large margin of profit), and c) as long as it was 'allowed' by the retailer she isn't doing anything wrong.

A good contrary case was in the early 1990's people would go into Best Buy the day before the Superbowl, buy the largest RPTV 'for the game' and then return it.

 

[waggy]

As long as it wasn't opened-> used a few pieces -> returned.

/has seen people return half an empty container of milk and meat products back to Costco....

/this

IF its UNOPENED then yeah you are fine. i don't think any place would have an issue with that.

Now if you open it and even use 1 napkin then to bad.

 

[darkewaffle]

If it's not used that's fine imo.

 

[kranky]

Abuse is a big part of the reason why a lot of retailers are working with a company (The Retail Equation) to maintain a database of how often someone returns something. And if they feel you've indulged too often, you can get cut off from returns - not just at that store, but at any store that uses The Retail Equation. People think as long as they return something in working order there can't be any loss to the store, when in fact it might cost the store $50 or more to process it - clerk time to process the return, inspecting and testing (if electronics), handling the return to the manufacturer. If a store scans your drivers license when you return something, there's a decent chance it's going into The Retail Equation's database.

The other part of why returns are tracked is people scamming. They either grab something from the shelf and walk over to CS to get a refund, or they buy with a stolen CC and bring it back without the receipt to get store credit in a gift card that they sell to somebody for cash.

My wife buys stuff at Home Depot at least a couple times a week for the volunteer projects she does and often returns any unused items in perfect condition. Never had a problem even though she makes 3-4 returns a month though.

 

[PingSpike]

Hey now! I've returned a partial package of chicken breast before. But that's because I opened it, it kinda smelled a little off but for some reason not enough to fail the smell test (in retrospect, it just shouldn't have - period - I don't know what I was thinking). So some of it still got cooked, which just made it worse. I tried one bite of it and said, "There's no way in hell I'm feeding any of this to my kids... something is definitely wrong with this chicken."

Sell date was fine, and it didn't sit out or was neglected at home. After inspecting the package, you could kind of tell that about half of the subpackages were likely spoiled in a similar manner. We just returned the whole thing, which Costco (and just about any grocery store) would be happy to do for you. They don't want to be responsible for tainted food.

Yeah, I don't get the hate with the half eaten. If it was completely consumed, that's total BS most likely but if you pour a ton of rotten milk on some cereal or cook up some rotten steaks are you suppose to try to dump the rotten milk with cereal chunks back into the carton and wrap up the cooked rotten steaks before returning? And sometimes we'll eat a half of loaf of bread and find out there's mold growing all over the back so no one wants to eat anymore of it. Do I have to shit in the bread bag before I return the rest of it?

 

[dank69]

It baffles me that you think your wife did anything wrong in this case. Why do you hate your wife?

 

[Legios]

I'm rooming with a guy for two months in a furnished apartment provided for us. There was on old crappy TV here already but that wasn't good enough for him so he went out and bought a 50" lcd from Walmart that he will be returning at the end of the two months. Disgusting.

I think the OPs situation is acceptable, though.

Destroy the retail box so he cant return it, fight the power.