Read this Wall Street Journal's report on REI today on lunch. I'm pretty appalled that someone returned a backpack after 30 years.... The flagrant abuse of return policy is ridiculous. At the risk of sounding cliche here, I really hate people. ha.

I had a different reaction. Those reasons are so funny---I wish I could see the expression on the customers' faces when they made these complaints---about the sandals that were not good for mud wrestling.

How does REI con collapse in laughter when dealing with these folks?

I laughed at few of them myself, but the one where the guy rationale it as that REI made enough profits over the years from him so he found it acceptable keep taking things back.. The accountant inside of me cried and weep for humanity.

well all the seam tape came out of my REI goretex bibs - should I take them back? I bought them in 1988. OOps I guess its too late or would this be covered by the new rule?
Jim

Supposedly, if you bought the item before the policy change, it's still covered. I haven't tested this, though, and don't plan to. Also, if the item is defective, they claim they will cover it. If you'd bought them in 2008, that might be a valid claim.

All jokes aside, I just opened a jet boil last night for the first time. On the very 2nd light-up, I noticed a smell of something burning. I later noticed the bottom of the cozy strap had melted from the handle being pushed down close to the cup. Obviously this is a user error and is only cosmetic, but dangit, it was not out of the package 5 minutes before becoming damaged. Grasping at straws, I called REI and they apologized as if it were their fault. All I wanted was to see how much a new cozy was going to cost me. They offered a full return. If there was any doubt as to shopping elsewhere for my other needs. REI just earned my respect and much, much more business. I know people abuse things. I would hope that my exchange is not considered one.

You do pay for all those "freebies". We all pay higher prices because of too many returns. I for one am glad they changed the policy. Now let's see if prices come down at all or if they just reap more profit.

Some of the returns do speak volumes of where our society is going and it is not good.

To be fair, REI is a co-op, and all profits are shared at the end of the year with those of us who are members...based on how much we buy there.

In all honesty, I think REI is charging what the manufacture wanted them to charge. If I'm not mistaken, the price of this Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag is the same on REI's website and Mountain Hardwear's website... This is just one example I noticed and I could be wrong.

We really do not pay higher prices because of the returns, because REI's business volume is higher because of the ability to return gear. Therefore, they are able to command a higher quantity discount from the manufacturers.

The idea that Chinese knockoffs are returned to REI is ludicrous, as they keep a record of what a person bought. The same for the idea of going to garage sales, and returning gear bought there.

In my opinion, REI is simply making the same type of changes many businesses are making. Less customer service for the same price. If the new policy is REALLY costing them money, they should reduce the current prices to reflect the change in policy. We know this isn't going to happen.

In my opinion, (although I like the store) REI is bloated with too many choices of things the consumer will never (or should never) buy. These things sit on the shelf indefinitely, taking up expensive floor space.

The next step will be to reduce the number of employees, and to hire employees with no backpacking experience. In the end,we may as well buy from Amazon.

I think the economy has hit everyone and REI has identified a big area to cut overhead. A big decision on their part, taking a big chance. If the bottom falls out more on sales, they can revert back. They do have more competetion these days. Plus, ethics in society has changed, look at the work ethic of people. (not wanting to start a flame war).
Where I work, luxury items are selling the best they have in five years, we are busy. I hope the rest of the economy is along for the ride.
Duane

REI is a co-op, and all profits are shared at the end of the year with those of us who are members

Until the start of the 1980s the REI co-op was run like a co-op. One's dividend could not be predicted, because profits are inherently not predictable. The board of directors aimed for roughly a 10% return to members, but sometimes they fell short. This happened because margins were kept fairly low. These days, margins are put up to where 10% is a foregone conclusion, and large amounts of REI profits go to finance company growth.

These days REI is a co-op only to the degree that its charter requires it to be so. Elections for seats on the board of directors are now rigged so those not pre-approved by the current board cannot get on the ballot. Among other things, this ensures that policy decisions (such as the returns policy) are taken entirely out of the hands of members.

I understand how and why this happened. A multi-million member co-op cannot be run like one with a thousand members. But these days any resemblance of REI to a real co-op is purely a vestige of its original charter, like our tail bones or our vermiform appendix. A co-op where only 0.0000001% of the members have any power over policy is not a co-op in any real sense.

REI is vary different than what it originally was. I was a member in 1966. It offered no-frills well made gear specifically for climbers and serious backpackers. It had a large selection of material, because a lot of us made our own gear. You could buy #10 tin cans of freeze dried food. The REI brand gear was the main stuff - not that much other brand names.

It is now a be-all do-all store and particularly the womens stuff is too fashion oriented. It now is all about sales and profits. If it had stayed a specialized store selling mostly its own brand it would not now have to compete with all the big internet sales. I go to our REI stores occasionally, but most of the time come home empty handed because I just do not find a lot of their stuff needed or priced reasonably. Part of their demise is our fault - we use their brick-and-mortar stores to look at equipment we then buy on the internet from someone else. We abuse the return policy. A lot of us serious backpackers have abandoned them to other specialty stores. They have become the K-mart of outdoor stores. It is quite sad.

I think Gershon is wrong-we do pay for returns, just like at any other store, regardless of volume or discounts; they are factored into the price of each item.

Told before, but my favorite REI story (as I recall)--

Me - placing a Voile snow shovel on the counter of the then-new Folsom store;
Clerk - Can I have your membership number?
Me - I'm usually asked 'Are you a member?' Why did you assume I am a member?
Clerk - You're buying a member item, non-members just buy clothes;
Me - Very observant.

REI stocks what it does because those things sell; maybe not to "serious" hikers, but to someone; I doubt anything sits on the shelf for years, as Gershon seems to think. Clothes and all the other stuff most of you will never buy helps subsidize the things you do buy, so don't be so quick to dismiss how REI works. It has been around for a long time, when other stores are long gone. There is a reason for that even if you don't understand it.

I too have been an REI member for decades, liked it when there was one store with esoteric climbing gear, hand forged Italian pitons and so on. But I am with TomD here.

I live in the sticks and rarely buy anything from the catalogs and only sometimes from an REI store when I am in a city; mostly not my kind of equipment anymore, but REI does a lot to promote the outdoors, self propelled recreation and environmental protection. Back when I did environmental protection for a living, REI helped pay my way. I can't say enough about the positive things the organization has done.