LL Bean ending it's legendary return policy

[sk!mom]

Honestly, a lifetime guarantee was pretty ridiculous. Their products were really well made but lifetime??? I got my DD's backpacks from them as she grew up. She tired of them and wanted new before they wore out. I never returned anything but really-- don't offer it if you aren't serious.

 

[MillauFr]

Fortunately, Costco will take the return.

Even Christmas trees in January.

 

[wenrob]

My son is a jr in high school and I bought him a clearance LL Bean backpack when he was in 5th grade. Best 12 bucks I ever spent. He is still using it today 7 years later and it still looks new! And he's hard on stuff. I love LL Bean stuff always got great quality! Them changing the return policy won't faze me in the least.

Same. Matter of fact I have stuff in my cart right now.

“Lifetime Guarantee” (although it’s been stated that L.L. Bean’s policy is not Lifetime) refers to the lifetime of the product not a person’s lifetime. It’s based on how long a product should reasonably last. Backpacks or boots aren’t expected to last 20 plus years. The company has been generous and loose with their policy and people have taken advantage of it. Just head over to the Budget Board and search “L.L. Bean” and you will find plenty of iffy return brags. I don’t blame them one bit.

 

[pooh'smate]

My son is a jr in high school and I bought him a clearance LL Bean backpack when he was in 5th grade. Best 12 bucks I ever spent. He is still using it today 7 years later and it still looks new! And he's hard on stuff. I love LL Bean stuff always got great quality! Them changing the return policy won't faze me in the least.

I still use mine that I got for college over 20 years ago. It still looks brand new. I don't use it very much anymore but it does go to Disney with us every year as my carry on.

 

[maxiesmom]

It is sad, but I understand why they have to do it. Too many people making returns because they could, and not because they should.

 

[Missy1961]

Same. Matter of fact I have stuff in my cart right now.

“Lifetime Guarantee” (although it’s been stated that L.L. Bean’s policy is not Lifetime) refers to the lifetime of the product not a person’s lifetime. It’s based on how long a product should reasonably last. Backpacks or boots aren’t expected to last 20 plus years. The company has been generous and loose with their policy and people have taken advantage of it. Just head over to the Budget Board and search “L.L. Bean” and you will find plenty of iffy return brags. I don’t blame them one bit.

I remember reading quite a few of those threads. It's becoming more and more common lately - how customers abuse stores because "the customer is always right." I've been working retail since last summer, and I've spent quite a few days working in customer service, and I see it all the time. I had a guy that demanded I still use the expired coupon because he returned the items he bought with it, and these items were replacing them. Another customer wanted to use coupons she earned when she spent a certain amount, even after returning the items. And on and on and on. I work for a store with a pretty generous return policy, so it takes a lot for our managers to deny someone, but you would think they were committing some kind of crime when they won't let someone return something.

It's sad when stores have to change long time policies like this. I'm sure a large majority of their customers were fair about their returns, but as usual, the bad eggs ruined it for them.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Literally this morning, we discovered our 2 year old LL Bean waterdog mat is separating between the plastic bottom and carpet type top. I told DH immediately it'd probably be $20 (or more) to ship it if we were trying to return to LL Bean. Looks like I'm just calling to get their advice on fixing this. Honestly, it stinks when you buy something expecting the "lifetime" guarantee and then they change it.

ETA: For us on these rugs in particular. we spend hundreds of dollars each on door mats (indoor and outdoor) to outfit two doors and expected the guaranteed quality.

See yours is one that LLBean would be perfectly fine with taking back under the old policy. But you're not caught up in the policy change.

 

[brooke789]

See yours is one that LLBean would be perfectly fine with taking back under the old policy. But you're not caught up in the policy change.

We're not? Are purchases before the change grandfathered in? I didn't get that from the email.

 

[Pooh2]

A year long policy is extremely generous...
Pretty disappointing about the free shipping though! I often bought sale items that do not hit the $50 mark.

 

[firecracker725]

We're not? Are purchases before the change grandfathered in? I didn't get that from the email.

I would be willing to bet that they'll make it right. They're not unreasonable, just cracking down on obvious abusers. Contact them and give them a chance, will you?

 

[Keli]

Where have I been? I have never realized ll bean had such a generous return policy. Honestly it doesn't matter though because I was literally looking at their catalog yesterday trying to decide whether to buy a couple t-shirts that are expensive for t-shirts. But I hate thin, ill-fitting ones and that's all I see locally so I was considering giving them a shot. Now that I see I can return them within a year if they are thin or ill-fitting then I think I will buy them. I don't want to abuse any company's return policy but if they have a good policy for returns (a year is generous) then I'm good with that.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Hardly shocking. People are terrible.

I remember someone on budget board wanting to return something they bought at a second hand store to the original manufacturer because it had a lifetime guarantee.

Sears Craftsman has a lifetime guarantee and they honor it so far.

So anyone know if LLB are outsourcing as a part of this new business model? I heard rumblings that they were going to outsource last yr? I could not find it though.

 

[Action City]

Where have I been? I have never realized ll bean had such a generous return policy. Honestly it doesn't matter though because I was literally looking at their catalog yesterday trying to decide whether to buy a couple t-shirts that are expensive for t-shirts. But I hate thin, ill-fitting ones and that's all I see locally so I was considering giving them a shot. Now that I see I can return them within a year if they are thin or ill-fitting then I think I will buy them. I don't want to abuse any company's return policy but if they have a good policy for returns (a year is generous) then I'm good with that.

Try Duluth Trading Company. They are what LL Bean used to be in regards to quality.

 

[wgeo]

I've returned 2 things to LLBean, one was a mens dress shirt where all the stitches around the collar just unraveled after a year. The other one was a backpack where the zipper seperated from the rest of the backpack within a month of getting it. Never crossed my mind to return a backpack that was beat up and dirty after 4 or 5 years of use. Felt like I had certainly gotten my money out of it.

It drives me crazy when people take advantage of things.

 

[powellrj]

Until the internet, I never realized how people would abuse return policies. Back when Target had a great return policies, at Christmas time the lengths people would go to returning things was amazing. No wonder they are changing.

 

[htmom]

LL beans quality is going down hill though as well. We have a backpack that was originally used as my oldest son's diaper bag. He is now 16. And using it for school because the llbean bag I bought him at the beginning of this school year (Aug 2017) has been returned to them twice because the zippers keep breaking... I wonder if they will go back to their old quality when they change this rule.

 

[monorailsilver]

There was a sign at llbean in Manchester CT that said they will not accept slippers if they look like they have been worn outside. I think that is OK. My dd has 2 pairs and she wears them as shoes. I would never return them in exchange for something new. Now if she just got them and he seam popped, then yes. I dd just exchange my sons backpack. It was just over a year old and he zipper failed. The back pack was still in exellent shape.

 

[Mermaid02]

The statement should have read, "LLBean is no longer going to let unscrupulous customers put the screws to them."

 

[Mokat76]

The statement should have read, "LLBean is no longer going to let unscrupulous customers put the screws to them."

Yeah, but those to whom it applies would never think it did. Advantage-takers are like that.