L.L.Bean Ends Unlimited Return Policy, Blames Customer Abuse

Company executives said too many customers returned worn-out items years after they were purchased.

The days of turning in your old, worn-out Bean boots for a brand new pair are officially over.

In a reversal of its longstanding policy, L.L. Bean will no longer accept returns on any product it has ever sold regardless of the item’s age or condition.

L.L. Bean executives said the decision was prompted by a growing number of customers abusing its generous satisfaction guarantee policy. In the past, the outdoor retailer would accept almost any return in exchange for a new unit of the same product, the most comparable product currently available, or a store gift card valued at the last known sale price of the returned item.

But from now on, products only can be returned if they were purchased within the previous 12 months or have a manufacturing defect, they said.

“What we have seen, and it has come to the point where we had to act upon it, is a small but growing group of customers who are interpreting the guarantee as a lifetime product replacement program, and that was never its intent,” L.L. Bean President and CEO Stephen Smith said Wednesday in an interview.

The retailer also has implemented a new proof-of-purchase requirement. L.L. Bean’s computer systems contain transaction records going back four years, so a receipt isn’t necessary unless the item to be returned is more than four years old, the executives said. It also now requires a $50 minimum purchase for free shipping.

Smith said the company is specifically cracking down on two forms of product return abuse: returns of older items that are not defective but merely worn down from regular use or totally undamaged (because the customer outgrew the item or wanted an upgrade), and returns of items purchased from a third party such as Goodwill or a yard sale.

About 15 percent of recent product returns abused the lenient guarantee policy – double what it was just a few years ago, Smith said.

The company blames social media – and its own marketing promotion of the guarantee policy – for the increased abuse.

“The satisfaction guarantee and the intent of the guarantee is very much still intact. We make great stuff and we stand behind great stuff,” Smith said. “But we have had a huge growth in abuse, and fraud, and a misinterpretation of that guarantee.”

In a press meeting Wednesday, the executives showed off photos of items that customers brought in recently to return. One was a pair of old slippers that were falling apart from years of regular use. The customer’s stated reason for returning the well-worn footwear was “displeased with quality,” they said.

Another photo showed a blue ski jacket with no visible damage other than a large stain on it. Still attached to the jacket were several youth-price ski lift tickets with purchase dates spanning three years, indicating that the jacket had been worn by a child. The customer stated that the jacket’s quality was “unsatisfactory,” but the L.L. Bean executives said it’s likely that the child simply outgrew it.

The other type of abuse the executives said they sought to end was a growing secondary market for used L.L. Bean products that was driven by the buyers’ ability to return those items at L.L. Bean without any proof of purchase. From now on, such returns won’t be allowed, they said.

“We have huge numbers of customers who come in with no buying history at all, but are returning copious amounts of product,” Smith said. “And that’s things customers are buying … at yard sales and Goodwill and Salvation Army, and coming in for refunds.”

L.L. Bean Executive Chairman Shawn Gorman said the cost to the retailer of abusive and fraudulent returns had become so great that it eclipsed total annual revenue from sales of the company’s flagship Bean boots.

Many defended the company’s decision and blamed dishonorable customers for abusing the former policy. Others criticized L.L. Bean for abandoning one of the key differentiators that made the company stand out among its peers.

L.L. Bean joins many other retailers that have tightened their return policies.​

Smith said the company conducted an extensive customer survey prior to making its decision to alter the return policy. About 7,000 customers were asked what they thought about the change, he said, and 87 percent of responses were either neutral or favorable.

“It’s interesting – we have quite a strong base of (customer) advocates who have wanted us to change this policy, because they can see that it affects the business, it affects their customer experience,” he said.

In an unrelated decision, L.L. Bean also is changing its free shipping policy for online purchases, the executives said.

Since 2011, the company has offered free shipping on all orders. From now on, orders valued at $50 or more will be free, and orders under $50 will be charged an extra $6 for shipping. L.L. Bean credit card holders still will get free shipping on all orders, they said.

The shipping policy change is intended to encourage customers to place larger orders so the company doesn’t have to ship so many small items individually, which is expensive and bad for the environment, Smith said.

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