I just read this article in The New Yorker about returned purchases, and it has some facts that startled me.
I know people often return things. Every time I go to the UPS store, there’s someone sending something back. I’ve done it sometimes. Something might be defective, or it’s not remotely close to the advertised size – things happen.
But the article says that some online apparel retailers average 40% returns. US returns just for the Christmas season are $300 billion a year, which is 1.5% of the US gross domestic product, larger than the annual GDP for many countries, like Portugal, Peru and Panama.
What’s more, only a fraction of returned items are resold as new. The article quotes Amazon’s head of returns for its house brand electronics and he says if the seal is broken on the box, it’s almost never sold again as new. Odds are it is sold as refurbished, or just destroyed.
Going Back, Back, Back, Way Back?
So let’s talk returns, Deadsplinterreboxers! One of the sad facts of a lot of modern manufacturing is that some purchases legitimately need to be returned, due to a crack, stain, or chip. Do you find a lot of things you buy are a problem? Phones that can’t connect after a day, shoes with no insoles, moldy bread?
Our cat needs special canned food which we order online, and for a while they shipped the cans without bubble wrap. We’d regularly get at least a few cans broken open in shipping, which as you can guess is pretty gross since they leaked all over. They only asked for the cans back once, and more recently they’ve been coming swathed in bubble wrap, so they must have been getting a lot of complaints.
Have you ever had a nightmare story of returns? You’ve had the receipt, you could point to the problem, but the person at the desk started clicking away at the terminal with a concerned look, then called the manager, who then called a “loss control” officer, who then called the main office….
Or do you find that some retailers or items are so inscrutable in their product descriptions or sizing that you’re basically forced to buy multiple versions of the same thing to find the one that works for you? That article notes the Amazon returns person admitted to buying shoes in two different sizes to be sure one would fit.
Share something about returns here. Or if you think this NOT stinks, send it back and demand a refund!
Wife left town this morning so we started new floor project.  Got almost 1/3 of old floor removed in just a few hours.  Then we realized we needed a toe kick saw to cut the floor flush to the cabinets.  Never seen one or used one but pretty cheap at Harbor Freight.  Got it home & my buddy is about to go to town with it when I hear him yell.  He cut half his finger off through his glove.  I’ve now been at the ER for the past 2 hours while they try to fix him up.  So, I guess I might be returning a slightly bloody toe kick saw?
Omg!!!
soooo…..did they manage to re assemble him?
hope hes okay
I used to return Amazon stuff all the time when it was conveniently picked up at my door for free. Now the only free option is for me to drop it off at Amazon Fresh. That change curbed my purchasing habits… that and how terribly they treat their employees and unions, climate change, war, capitalism etc.
Have you been to the Big Box Outlet store?  It is a store of Costco returns & possibly some other stores.  My wife goes sometimes, I’m not a fan but some crazy cheap deals.
I haven’t but I did score a new “opened box” stroller on Amazon last year for 30% off. Double strollers with wheels that can handle our hills, jagged sidewalks and nature trails are not generally cheap.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those were returned because people didn’t realize the brakes were on.
Apparently a lot of vaccums get returned because people don’t know they’re supposed to empty them. In defense of some people, some manufacturers also cheap out like crazy on instructions and labelling of where the releases are and how to reattach the pieces.
Having had a Shark stick vac, which my roommate’s mom (one of her PCA’s) would regularly use until it was full, *never* cleaned, *AND* wouldn’t check the beater-bar for clogs?
I absolutely belive that most folks don’t know/understand how to properly empty a vacuum cleaner!
I literally pulled apart that vac SO many times, hand-washed the “canister” part, washed out the sponge filters with soap and water, and removed hair-clogs from the beater bar (which were NOT my hair!!!🤢🤢🤢), and would still find that the damn thing was full, dirty, and had yet ANOTHER hair clog on the beater bar, the next time I went to use it, that I finally started putting it in the front hall closet, after my roommates got a shark upright vac, with a larger canister…
Mine was FINALLY being left in a clean state, and I no longer NEED to worry about the motor getting burned out, because someone is using it STUPIDLY, and not paying attention to the most basic maintenance a vacuum needs!
If you have really long hair? You have to check the beater bar, every 2-3 uses, and cut the hair off the beater bar, or it will eventually clog up the suction port & burn out the vacuums motor *OR* it’ll wrap around the beater bar’s gears/spin mechanism & wear *those* out, making the beater bar inoperable & costing a significant amount of money to repair…
My roommate’s mom either didn’t “know” about that–or as I suspect is more likely, since SHE didn’t own the vac–she didn’t care.
I’d gotten the vacuum on sale for Black Friday, shortly after we’d moved in here, when it was half off… but I’ve only used it a few times, because our apartment complex only has carpet in the bedrooms-so i was *usually* using it to snag the fur balls from Lily before sweeping & mopping, and the semi-annual vacuuming of my room (dark carpet meant you couldn’t easily see the dog fur).
In my new apartment, it’ll mostly be a cobweb snagger, until I get a new dog, and it’ll be perfect for cleaning the couple area rugs I’ll have.
I have to shout out Tackle Warehouse. They send a return label with every shipment. Anything you don’t want, that’s unopened, you can throw back in the box, slap the label on it, and ship it back at their cost. Even if you’ve had it for months and months.
Have you ever used it? That article talks about how return policies have become extremely important to customers when they decide whether or not to shop with someone. I can’t say it’s top of mind for me.
I have. I sent back a couple of lures that I had in the package for 9 months and never used. They gave me a credit, no questions asked.
Two years ago I bought an electric snowblower because I’ve been trying to eliminate gas powered motors. I got one that plugs in because I know it would have more power than a battery.  But these fucking things are made out of plastic and break after a single use. First time it happened they did an exchange no problem. But then no snow for the rest of the winter or the following year. This year after our first major snow I use the new machine and it breaks after 30 minutes. It was still in the warranty period but they refused a refund because I bought it from Amazon. Said the best they could do was store credit. I said why the hell would I want store credit for things that immediately break? So I’m breaking down and buying a gas powered machine this weekend. Just in time for another major snow on Monday.
Returns used to be repaired much more frequently, but the awful quality of stuff like this means they can’t even get much salvage value anymore. Instead of getting 25% of the value by reselling, they’re scrapping for a few cents on the dollar. And they also get a lot more returns because of all the breakage.
I’m getting better at returning things. I didn’t used to be so comfortable with it, but now I’m OK.
Been lucky so far… never had to return anything not even food.
Costco is the easiest place to make returns.
i order almost nothing online….and as such…almost never have to return anything
years and years ago….i had to return a built to order custom pc tho….because of a sticker
the warranty seal specifically
i could see through the venting holes in the case that the reason my shiney new 19 year old me had too much spare cash to blow on toys gaming pc wasnt turning on coz the psu wasnt connected…..
opening the case to fix it would void warranty….
that was really quite annoying…
My ADHD i think, is part of the reason I typically *don’t* return anything… even things I should, and which I did mean to return!😖🥴😂
I was *supposed* to return some of the blue jeans I bought for Dad from Fleet Farm–i’d picked them up when he needed new pants, and was PLANNING to return the ones he didn’t like, when I bought them almost two years ago, now…
They’re in my closet, still have the tags on, and it’s FAR too late to return them now…
I also have a couple clothing items for *me* which I took a chance on, from Zulily… they didn’t fit right, *or* they were just things I couldn’t get comfortable in… they’re in my closet, too🤪😂🤣
At *some* point, I’ll either donate them, or re-work them to use the fabric… but I’ll be moving them when I move this next week😆
Returns in general don’t tend to happen in my world, because it’s *another step* for my lack of Executive Function Skills to try and manage… and the last few years–and particularly the last few *months*, I’ve been FAR too burnt out to manage that sort of “multiple step” & “out of my usual habits” type of routine.
He’ll, I haven’t shopped at Target or Walmart *combined* more than probably a dozen times, since the school year started last fall… trying to return anything to *anywhere*, when i can barely get to the store for essentials?!?
NOT gonna happen!
I’m honestly very much looking forward to getting into my new studio apartment🥰🤗🥳
I’ll have TIME to slowly get it set up in a way which functions well for me, I’ll fiiiiiinally be able to set up my Cricut Maker–that I’ve had since getting my 2020 or 2021 tax refund, but haven’t even ever managed to take out of the box…
Aandi won’t need to worry about cleaning up a Bajillion “not my dishes,” “not my mess(es),” on the stove before I start cooking, or “not MY trash mixed with the recycling!” like I’ve HAD to deal with, since… honestly the fall of 2019–but *especially* since midway through 2020, through now.
The extra spoons I’ve HAD to spend, cleaning up messes, dishes, and clutter I didn’t create, while being *blamed* for those things and *so* much more (although YES, plenty of that “more” was honestly my fault, I WILL freely admit!), has meant that I had *zero* spoons to get shit taken CARE of, around the apartment.
The fact that most times when I needed to eat, I had to either: wash enough dishes to prepare and EAT my meal, wash the pans to COOK my meal, clean the splattered grease off the stove so I didn’t start a grease fire, *or* I had to *at least* wash enough dishes to be able to lower the pile in the sink, so that I could ACESS the water?!?
That meant that by the time I got my supper cooked and cleaned up (usually *also* washing 80-100% of the dishes in the sink while my meal cooked!), I had no spoons LEFT to deal with the stuff I’d *meant* to do in the evenings…
I’d try again the next time I was home in the evening–but when I was working at the Grocery Store? By the time Monday rolled around, the sink was FULL, the stove was covered in splatters *again*, annnnd I’d have to start the whole “Wash ALL the Dishes, clean the stove, take out the trash & recycling!” routine all over again🙃
I’m honestly looking forward to being the only one making the mess, at my new apartment, because while I *may* leave the dishes for one day? It’s ONLY one day, without the addition of 2-3 additional people using dishes & not washing any of them!
It’ll be SUCH a relief to be able to fully relax, to be able to THINK again, and to be able to DO creative things, because I don’t NEED to clean up after three of us, just *myself*.
There have been SO many times, the last few years–when I have asked for help with household stuff like the dishes, because I’m NOT MAKING most of the dirty dishes, but I am WASHING the vast majority of dishes (boy-roommie would SERIOUSLY go BUY paper & plastic plates, glasses, & cutlery, rather than WASH the damn dishes, plenty of times, if I didn’t wash them, and then ALSO used ALL the Rubbermaid food storage containers for *eating* out of, rather than just fucking WASH THE DISHES–so that I literally had to wash EVERY damn DISH & plastic food storage container!!!
I am SO glad to be getting GONE from here!
🤗🤗🤗🥳🥳🥳😃😃😃😃😃