Sneaky way of getting free shipping at AE.

[luvdzny]

That seems like an awful amount of hassle to save just a few bucks. Not to mention, when people get cute like that and try to go around rules is when businesses stop offering specials. Geeze. Just go to the mall and buy what you need, or suck it up and pay for shipping.

Exactly! - I totally agree!

 

[DianeV]

I agree with the poster about online stores/brick and mortar making it easier and actually advertising that you can return in store. If they really dont want it they shouldnt be encouraging it

Another thing..I dont know how many shop at AE but spending $100 many times doesnt get you much! Its not like the OP can be returning a ton of items

 

[SassyCat]

I agree with the poster about online stores/brick and mortar making it easier and actually advertising that you can return in store. If they really dont want it they shouldnt be encouraging it

Another thing..I dont know how many shop at AE but spending $100 many times doesnt get you much! Its not like the OP can be returning a ton of items

Actually, $100 can get you A LOT at ae (when I say a lot I mean a lot for a clothing store - this is not to be compared to getting a lot from say a place like wal mart). Check out their sale section or just getting stuff from the aerie section. I order from them a lot, and I get a lot of bargains. I just had an order there last week where I got 12 items for $100.

I agree that the OP is being dishonest to get the free shipping. It is one thing to return stuff that there is something wrong with, doesn't fit well, or doesn't look like you thought it would. It is completely another to buy stuff to get something for free with the intention of returning it.

My husband was a manager at an Express for a few years. That company is OBSESSED with numbers. What other posters are saying about returns hurting stores is def true. If they did not make their goal everyday, corporate gave them hell.

I see nothing wrong with returning something for the right reasons, but it is harmful to others to return stuff for the wrong.

Maybe if the shipping means that much to you, you shouldn't be buying from them?

 

[DebMcDonald]

I do it all the time at Kohl's and it's NEVER a problem.

 

[Ava]

Stores build these types of losses into their pricing. Same reason stores like Macy's & Kohl's can offer so many coupons all the time. They inflate the "regular" price so they will still make a profit when a customer uses a discount coupon/code. Stores figure their gross margin on the average "out the door" price, which is usually significantly lower than the regular price printed on the ticket. We think we're getting a great deal, but it's really not as good as it seems when you know how little it costs the stores to make/procure their goods.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

I work in retail and they can issue store credit on a credit card purchase, we do it all the time.

Well they would not do it to me, because I would not shop there!

 

[Lewisc]

They can't do that when you pay for it with a credit card!! DUHHHHHH!

I work in retail and they can issue store credit on a credit card purchase, we do it all the time.

Well they would not do it to me, because I would not shop there!

Glad to see you acknowledge your previous point was incorrect.

It works both ways. Some companies are starting to understand they're better off without a some customers. Particularly customers who abuse generous return policies. Giving a customer the choice of a store credit for the full amount of the return or a credit card refund for the value of the items returned less the cost of shipping is a compromise reasonable shoppers should be willing to accept.

Despite the points made in this thread I have no problem returning items purchased online to a B&M store when permitted. It's not my problem if the company is doing something stupid, such as charging the return to the B&M store bottom line instead of the online division.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

JMHO, but corporate or online sales management is missing a valuable piece of information if they are not tying online returns at a B&M back to the online sale. Think about it: wouldn't you want to know what that % is and work on managing it? Wouldn't you want those numbers to be trackable? They'd be lost if they were absorbed into the B&M's numbers.

I feel badly for store managers, but I also think it's a "V-8" moment for corporate if they aren't separating online returns @ a B&M, from a store's own returns.

Also, I'd be interested to see what % of customers who buy over $100 actually ever bother to return their items in store, and MORE IMPORTANTLY - - then see what else they are buying in the store during that visit to return! Case in point, I have learned the hard way that if I go to Gymboree to return a couple of things, I will ALWAYS walk out with about as much or more than I returned. And God help me at the outlet store!! So, that impacts the company's and that store's bottom line too, and any savvy marketing group is exploiting this for all it's worth with free shipping.

 

[dsny1mom]

Well, I can see where they are related, but I would think that the relationship is positive, not negative. More and more stores are moving to making returns to their stores easier, not more difficult. And , ingneral, there are more shipping specials. (These are generalities, and certainly some companies are hurting enough that they are not offering better shipping - Disney for one....) Lands End for example, who a year ago were famous for never offering free shipping, now do on a daily basis and for an item that costs as little as $3.00 (or less!) And they have goe out of their way to point out you can "Return it to Sears, NO COST!!!" Cold Water Creek allows free shipping if you order it from their store, and you can return it on-site immediately. And there are plenty more....I do alot of on-line shopping.

I would not order $100.00 just to ge the free shipping (it's just not right and a lot of work for a few dollars), but I would never feel bad about returning an item I got on-line to the bricks and mortor store, if they advertise it as an option. They want to make money and it must be helping them at some level or they wouldnt od it - it IS a shame if it hurts individuals working at the store, but that is always a shame and related to the economy as a whole (if on-line sales are up then in-store sales are down...trends change and someone somewhere is affected.) If an instore job is lost maybe an on-line service job is created, or vice versa. But, ofcourse, this is a bad time for jobs period...

What the real shame will be is when retailers start closing more and more stores because they aren't profitable. It may not sound like a bad idea now, but once people no longer have the convience of running to a store to buy something they need last minute or want to actually try something on or see it before they buy it, returning online purchases to the stores may turn out to be a really bad idea. Not to mention if stores go the way of the dinasours then the shipping fees to send and return will probably skyrocket.

Yes retailers want to make money. They offer the customers every convience to get the dollars in the til. But it isn't the retailer that will suffer when the customers make end runs around all costs involved, but rather the customer. Here's an example: Someone comes to the store to place their order and they then get their shipping fees waived (the retailer has to absorb the shipping). The items arrive at the customers home and they decide to return the items to the store and since the items are not carried at the store the store sends them back to the DC (the retailer again absorbs the shipping fees). So whop de doo, the customer saved themselves $20, but they just also ate right into the retailers bottom line and the retailer will now up their prices to cover their losses. So the next person that comes in to buy an item will be paying more because of that online customer dodging the shipping fees. A real loose/loose situation for all.

dsny1mom

 

[richmond282]

I manage a retail store. We are given sales goals. We work hard to attain those goals. The company I work for has on line sales. When a customer returns to my store items bought on the net those returns are deducted from the stores sales.

It may not be the customers problem but in the long run returning internet items to a brick and mortar store may very well impact customers sooner or later.

When stores don't meet their sales goals, due in part to on line returns, payroll is cut and then there are fewer employees leading to longer waits for any transaction. This is happening right now in retail stores accross the country.

The other more serious ramification is if the pattern of buying on line and returning to the stores continues we may see more and more companies closing their brick and mortar stores. Think about it. Why would a company carry the huge overhead of a brick and mortar when it serves as a dumping ground for on line returns? I have to wonder if some of the retailers aren't watching this closely to see if it would be better for their bottom line to just eliminate brick and mortars alltogether. If that happens look for bigger shipping fees and non negotiable return fees to be leveled.

Knowing how returns effect a store I "never" return anything I purchase on the net to a brick and mortar store. I don't feel a store should have to absorb returns against their sales on items they didn't sell to begin with.

IMHO, while inflating one's order to avoid shipping fees isn't illegal it certainly isn't the honorable thing to do. Any time someone massages the rules to avoid a fee that they would have if they didn't isn't doing the right thing. But that's just me, YMMV.

dsny1mom

I'm curious. What happens to those items that are returned? Are they put on the sales floor for resale or are they returned to the "internet" store? If the items are returned to the sales floor, then, theoretically, the B & M store will recoup that loss when the items sell again. If the items are somehow returned to the internet store then, no, it should not count against the B & M store sales totals.

 

[dsny1mom]

Stores build these types of losses into their pricing. Same reason stores like Macy's & Kohl's can offer so many coupons all the time. They inflate the "regular" price so they will still make a profit when a customer uses a discount coupon/code. Stores figure their gross margin on the average "out the door" price, which is usually significantly lower than the regular price printed on the ticket. We think we're getting a great deal, but it's really not as good as it seems when you know how little it costs the stores to make/procure their goods.

Bottom feeders like Kohls are known for inflating their prices. In the industry it is well known that they do keystone plus 30%. They did this way before online shopping existed. They count on the ignorance of some consumers to buy at full price so they can pad their pockets.

Most retailers don't operate like Kohls, thank goodness.

The whole circumventing shipping fees has become a problem in the industry. Most retailers don't want to upset online customers by raising the fees or enforcing them. They just raise the prices on the goods more and more. So in the end the gandmother on a fixed income that doesn't own a computer and would never buy online is paying the price for the savy online shipping fee avoiding guru.

dsny1mom
(who apologizes for thinking of someone other than myself)

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm curious. What happens to those items that are returned? Are they put on the sales floor for resale or are they returned to the "internet" store? If the items are returned to the sales floor, then, theoretically, the B & M store will recoup that loss when the items sell again. If the items are somehow returned to the internet store then, no, it should not count against the B & M store sales totals.

At the store I work at, any returns of merchandise from our on-line store that we don't carry in-store are immediately marked down and resold. So we do loose money from that internet return.

And to explain how returns affect a store--A store is set a daily sales goal. That goal is what the store sells that day, minus the returns. So if we sell $20,000 worth of merchandise, but return $5,000 we are considered to have $15,000 in sales that day. Stores that consistently miss sales goals are punished by getting fewer hours for their employees. Not to mention we are supposed to start immediately cutting hours to compensate for that loss in revenue. So yeah, people who frequently purchase merchandise on-line with the intent of returning most of it do hurt the stores at which they are making the returns.

 

[dsny1mom]

JMHO, but corporate or online sales management is missing a valuable piece of information if they are not tying online returns at a B&M back to the online sale. Think about it: wouldn't you want to know what that % is and work on managing it? Wouldn't you want those numbers to be trackable? They'd be lost if they were absorbed into the B&M's numbers.

I feel badly for store managers, but I also think it's a "V-8" moment for corporate if they aren't separating online returns @ a B&M, from a store's own returns.

Also, I'd be interested to see what % of customers who buy over $100 actually ever bother to return their items in store, and MORE IMPORTANTLY - - then see what else they are buying in the store during that visit to return! Case in point, I have learned the hard way that if I go to Gymboree to return a couple of things, I will ALWAYS walk out with about as much or more than I returned. And God help me at the outlet store!! So, that impacts the company's and that store's bottom line too, and any savvy marketing group is exploiting this for all it's worth with free shipping.

The retailer I work for does track the online returns but they do not extract them for the stores returns. The way they look at it is why bother it all goes into the same pockets at the top of the chain. They will likely close stores with that same train of thought.

I think initially the thought was that if online returns and free shipping of orders are placed in the stores, customers will spend more in the stores while there placing orders and returning. My best guess would be about 20% of the people doing these things actually buy more while in the stores. Not nearly a large enough number to offset the loss in shipping fees. Prices will go up and stores will close down if the trend continues.

There is a way around taking the returns back at the store level, at the company I work for. It protects my sales and doesn't harm the customers. It still eats into my bottom line and it does bother me that other customers will have to pay for it in the end.

dsny1mom

 

[dsny1mom]

At the store I work at, any returns of merchandise from our on-line store that we don't carry in-store are immediately marked down and resold. So we do loose money from that internet return.

And to explain how returns affect a store--A store is set a daily sales goal. That goal is what the store sells that day, minus the returns. So if we sell $20,000 worth of merchandise, but return $5,000 we are considered to have $15,000 in sales that day. Stores that consistently miss sales goals are punished by getting fewer hours for their employees. Not to mention we are supposed to start immediately cutting hours to compensate for that loss in revenue. So yeah, people who frequently purchase merchandise on-line with the intent of returning most of it do hurt the stores at which they are making the returns.

And at the store I manage all internet returns of merchandise that we don't carry (and that is 90% of online returns made) are returned to the DC and we have to pay the shipping and it cuts into the stores profitability.

I was at a specialty store last week. There were two LONG lines and the poor girls at the registers were going as fast as they could and smiling all the while. A customer in the other line had a HUGE box full of online merchandise she was returning. When she got to the cashier she had not filled out any of the paperwork required for the return and went off on the cashier about how long her wait was and it was not her job to fill out the paper work for the return but the cashiers. Little did she know that it is returns like hers that cause less and less employees in the store to do the work she should have done to begin with.

dsny1mom

 

[stitchlovestink]

Sorry I didn't work my post better.....A STORE DOESN'T HAVE TO GIVE A REFUND. A STORE IS ENTITLED TO GIVE A STORE CREDIT. Major chains generally have generous refund policy, and will frequently provide a refund in the form of original payment but there are numerous examples of stores that only issue store credits. AE may presently offer a credit card refund but, as long as they properly discloseant a new policy, they could just offer a store credit. That might be an acceptable compromise. A customer could get a store credit in full or a credit card refund equal to the merchandise returned but net the shipping cost.

One internet vendor deducts the value of "free shipping" from any refund. Few vendors do this but it makes some sense. Whey should a vendor absorb the expense of shipping you an item you're returning? A customer returning an item with free shipping has to pay the cost of shipping back to the vendor and gets a refund equal to the purchase price less a deduction for the original shipping costs.

Blame people like the OP for companies that implement policies like this.

italicized bolding is mine...
because that is a part of the cost of doing business, that's why! those companies are taking tax write offs for all of those costs. and they have large corporate accts (w/ companies like FedEx and UPS) and are getting cheaper shipping costs than us 'lowlies'. And if they aren't, it's no wonder they're going under because they're not very smart in the mgt areas.

Okay, it is wrong karmically to buy $100 worth of stuff for free shipping only to KNOWINGLY return stuff automatically to the store. That's cheating.

But, for the Old Navy stuff when they stopped carrying plus-sized in the stores? I am so there. It isn't fair to have to pay shipping just because the store doesn't carry the size (I assume they don't want plus-sized people actually IN their stores?)

And I also am with the petite people. Why do plus-sized clothes cost more when petite-sized clothes don't cost less than average sizes? What is up with that, too?

Why is it cheating? DD wears a size that is only available at AE.com. When I'm not sure which size bottom she'll need, I may (and Have) ordered two different bottoms knowing full well one will be going back. And maybe both will be returned if they don't fit well. I know based on the emails I get from AE, they still want my business even though I return some of my online purchases... and at a B&M store... OH the Horror

It's not hogwash what the PP said about hitting a sales quota for the day. I know when I worked retail, we had targets too. I also know that my store manager was accountable at the end of the day for hitting her year over year sales increase of x% for the day, and too many returns would kill the stats.

It's not really the problem of the consumer, and it should not affect the brick & mortar store's sales; it could easily be solved at a corporate level by assigning a return number of 9999 to indicate internet purchases so it's not taken off the employee's sales number or the store's P&L for the day. Come to think of it, when I was dealing with the same issue, we did use sales person 9999 when doing returns without a receipt. The only time it hurt me personally was when someone returned something *I* sold them, actually, but I could believe other stores have policies that would penalize the poor chump running the cash register at the time.

Okay, maybe this sounds mean and I don't mean for it to, but as the consumer, why do I need to worry about the sales person's numbers? If I have a return, I have a return. Complain to your employer about their policy of holding it against you (meaning the sales person).

It most certainly is ture. I live it daily, I know. It isn't stupid in corporates eyes. They want to get the sales anyway they can and with the highest profit margin. If that ends up being the elimination of brick and mortar then that's what will happen.

I agree on line returns should not be deducted from brick and mortar sales but they do and will continue to as long as online shoppers continue to return their purchases to the stores.

If people buy online for convience and return to the store for convience in the end they will have a hand in the elimination of the actual store. There will be zero convience if or when all the shopping people do is forced to be online shopping because the brick and mortars are gone.

There are states that are already fighting the no tax on online purchases, one of the reasons some shop online. Look for all the convience and savings to go away if online is the single method for shoppping. Once they have the consumer as a captive audience they will do whatever they want to do to them, with no consequenses as there won't be any alternatives.

dsny1mom
(who is off to work hoping there won't be too many online returns today)

Sorry I'm not 'buying' that returning online purchases to a B&M store is going to cause the retailer to close their B&M stores. There are still way too many customers who do not shop online. Look at the holiday #'s, while online shopping has gone up, more people still shop in B&M stores.

I agree with the poster about online stores/brick and mortar making it easier and actually advertising that you can return in store. If they really dont want it they shouldnt be encouraging it
Another thing..I dont know how many shop at AE but spending $100 many times doesnt get you much! Its not like the OP can be returning a ton of items

bolding is mine..
EXACTLY

What the real shame will be is when retailers start closing more and more stores because they aren't profitable. It may not sound like a bad idea now, but once people no longer have the convience of running to a store to buy something they need last minute or want to actually try something on or see it before they buy it, returning online purchases to the stores may turn out to be a really bad idea. Not to mention if stores go the way of the dinasours then the shipping fees to send and return will probably skyrocket.

Yes retailers want to make money. They offer the customers every convience to get the dollars in the til. But it isn't the retailer that will suffer when the customers make end runs around all costs involved, but rather the customer. Here's an example: Someone comes to the store to place their order and they then get their shipping fees waived (the retailer has to absorb the shipping). The items arrive at the customers home and they decide to return the items to the store and since the items are not carried at the store the store sends them back to the DC (the retailer again absorbs the shipping fees). So whop de doo, the customer saved themselves $20, but they just also ate right into the retailers bottom line and the retailer will now up their prices to cover their losses. So the next person that comes in to buy an item will be paying more because of that online customer dodging the shipping fees. A real loose/loose situation for all.

dsny1mom

bolding is mine...
Come on now...they've already built that 'anticipated' expense into the prices of the items. Who do you think you're fooling.

I'm curious. What happens to those items that are returned? Are they put on the sales floor for resale or are they returned to the "internet" store? If the items are returned to the sales floor, then, theoretically, the B & M store will recoup that loss when the items sell again. If the items are somehow returned to the internet store then, no, it should not count against the B & M store sales totals.

internet returns to an AE B&M store, go out on that store's sales floor. sometimes even at a higher price.

bottom line is I'm not going to take the time and effort to box up an internet return and go stand in that horribly longer line at the post office to return it and wait even longer for them to credit my acct or deal w/ a lost pkg when THEIR POLICY IS that I can return any online items to the store. If they clerks don't like it, then they need to complain to corporate. It's not my job to fix their dislike w/ their employer's policies. Sorry....

 

[Nie0214]

bottom line is I'm not going to take the time and effort to box up an internet return and go stand in that horribly longer line at the post office to return it and wait even longer for them to credit my acct or deal w/ a lost pkg when THEIR POLICY IS that I can return any online items to the store. If they clerks don't like it, then they need to complain to corporate. It's not my job to fix their dislike w/ their employer's policies. Sorry....

You must have never worked in retail in your life. Complain to corporate, indeed.

 

[Va-bear]

You must have never worked in retail in your life. Complain to corporate, indeed.

I've worked retail and I know exacly what stitchlovestink is saying. I'm sure she's aware that one person complaining wont get far...but maybe if thousands did? But, more importantly, I think she is trying to say that the anger at on-line store returns taking a toll on B&M stores is being misdirected. If a store allows, even encourages you to do in-store returns then the purchaser should not have to worry if a sales person is affected, the store should worry about that. (Which is not to say that we don't care about the sales person, but it just simply should not be part of the equation when making a return.)

 

[Lewisc]

Internet companies get a discount on shipping but their cost isn't zero.

I have no problem with anyone returning an online purchased online to a B&M store. I agree it's up to the store to decide if they want to allow it and if they want to allocate returns to the store or the online division.

The question is if it's OK to deliberately order extra merchandise, you know in advance you'll return to a B&M store, for the sole purpose of qualifying for a discount (free shipping) that your order doesn't otherwise qualify for. This kind of behavior result in companies having to change the way they process returns. Back out discounts from returns. Consider stopping returns to B&M stores. Actions that impact honest shoppers.

Keystone pricing plus 30% isn't dishonest. Major department stores have priced that way for years. That's why it takes a great sale to get a good price in any B&M department store. One reason retailers aren't doing great is many people aren't willing to pay the kind of markups that are required to profitably run a B&M store.

italicized bolding is mine...
because that is a part of the cost of doing business, that's why! those companies are taking tax write offs for all of those costs. and they have large corporate accts (w/ companies like FedEx and UPS) and are getting cheaper shipping costs than us 'lowlies'. And if they aren't, it's no wonder they're going under because they're not very smart in the mgt areas.


Why is it cheating? DD wears a size that is only available at AE.com. When I'm not sure which size bottom she'll need, I may (and Have) ordered two different bottoms knowing full well one will be going back. And maybe both will be returned if they don't fit well. I know based on the emails I get from AE, they still want my business even though I return some of my online purchases... and at a B&M store... OH the Horror


Okay, maybe this sounds mean and I don't mean for it to, but as the consumer, why do I need to worry about the sales person's numbers? If I have a return, I have a return. Complain to your employer about their policy of holding it against you (meaning the sales person).


Sorry I'm not 'buying' that returning online purchases to a B&M store is going to cause the retailer to close their B&M stores. There are still way too many customers who do not shop online. Look at the holiday #'s, while online shopping has gone up, more people still shop in B&M stores.


bolding is mine..
EXACTLY


bolding is mine...
Come on now...they've already built that 'anticipated' expense into the prices of the items. Who do you think you're fooling.


internet returns to an AE B&M store, go out on that store's sales floor. sometimes even at a higher price.

bottom line is I'm not going to take the time and effort to box up an internet return and go stand in that horribly longer line at the post office to return it and wait even longer for them to credit my acct or deal w/ a lost pkg when THEIR POLICY IS that I can return any online items to the store. If they clerks don't like it, then they need to complain to corporate. It's not my job to fix their dislike w/ their employer's policies. Sorry....

 

[stitchlovestink]

You must have never worked in retail in your life. Complain to corporate, indeed.

yes I have worked retail in the past. If you don't want to complain to corporate, don't complain. Get another job then. No one is forcing you (or anyone else) to work retail.

 

[Nie0214]

yes I have worked retail in the past. If you don't want to complain to corporate, don't complain. Get another job then. No one is forcing you (or anyone else) to work retail.

I don't work in retail, but I feel for those who do in this economy. Complaining to corporate doesn't do anything when there's 10 people waiting in line for your position.