this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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If you’re thinking of sending back a disappointing gift you just received over the holidays, the return may bring even more disappointment.

Americans have grown accustomed to free returns, but a growing number of retailers are charging fees as returns squeeze retailers’ bottom lines.

Macy’s, Abercrombie, J. Crew, H&M and other companies have all added shipping fees for mail-in returns.

And it’s not just the big mall brands, either. Eighty-one precent of merchants are now charging a fee for at least some methods of returns, according to Happy Returns, a logistics company that specializes in returns.

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[–] phoneymouse@lemmy.world 61 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Ok, but Amazon is 100% fake Chinese crap now, so don’t expect people to jump into buying that anymore without some idea that it can be sent back. Real brands don’t even sell on Amazon anymore.

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

What Amazon is that? That seems crazy.

I can find all my real brand of what I need in there, but I am not from America tbh.

[–] Akinzekeel@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have the same experience unfortunately in Europe. Was looking for a new hairdryer the other day, and it's just endless pages of the same Chinese crap with made up brand names and fake customer reviews.

Gave up and drove to the store instead.

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 months ago

That there are cheap x Chinese stuff in there yeah. But if you know the brands that doesn't matter. Plus you an also always check the seller data is usually some weird Chinese name and address.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You can order from a good brand, but that doesn't stop the counterfeiters from putting on a fake label.

Amazon does single-bin sorting of products sold by multiple sellers. So all of widget X get put in one bin and shipped regardless of the source. That encourages fake/counterfeit products because it's impossible to trace which of the hundred companies selling the product is actually supplying the fakes.

I watched a video somewhere on 18650 batteries, and the takeaway was that most of the batteries provided from Amazon (regardless of branding) are fake.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

I worked at an Amazon warehouse for a bit and I can tell you literally everything is tracked, they have to know and just don't care as long as people aren't making enough of a fuss about it.

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[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

It's BS. More often than not if Amazon doesn't directly sell 'x' brand, there is some reseller selling the real brand item on Amazon, but it's also surrounded by knockoff garbage in the listings.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Wrangler still does. Only clothing I buy from Amazon is that.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 48 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Gonna have a slight chilling effect on sales. People won’t buy stuff unless they’re 100% sure.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Or at least people will return to bricks and mortar stores for purchases of the types of items that get returned most often.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I am not doing that. Going to get into my car and drive all the way to the outskirts of my city to some box store just to find the item I want isn't even there? No way not happening.

[–] yamanii@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

As they should.

[–] Angry_Maple@sh.itjust.works 27 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Part of me wants to be upset, but especially since these are clothing manufacturers, I have to wonder if the people handling the returns have the same problems that I did when I used to process them.

It was my first job out of highschool (through a temp agency), it was my first day, and I did some returns. You know, writing down what the products were, why they were returned, the order numbers yadda yadda.

Everything was cool until I got this package with a LOT of sharp pins in it saying "you obviously need needles to sew the clothes properly". There was only ONE thread loose, and this lady felt that making a complete stranger find sharp needles hidden in fabric was ok. Part of me hopes that that person finds the same kindness in life that they seem ok to give to strangers. Part of me wishes that it wasn't such a common thing.

Some returns had legitimate rotting garbage in them, and a lot of them were only worn once and then were returned because they "only needed it for party, need money back now". You can only see so much ridiculousness before you have enough, you know?

As a former employee, the fact that that company essentially paid for those needles and for the rotting garbage to be sent for other people to deal with was enough to make me quit. It's not worth my health, full stop. It never will be. That incident also made me lose a lot of faith in most of the general public. Part of me wishes that that particular person experiences the same level of "goodwill" that they give to others. I don't like wishing ill on peopld, but I also don't want to wish on good things for bad people. Most of us manage to submit returns without including a hazard, and it takes next to no effort at all. I don't even have to think about whether or not to do that, personally. It's a no-brainer.

As long as the in-person returns are still valid (within reason) and it's stated very clearly that online returns will cost money before purchasing, I don't really see the issue. Just put that information where they will read it (or hear it if it's voiced) and it should be OK.

It will help save the people who still have to deal with these insane returns for minimum wage. Fuck the overhead profit, and fuck the people who take their rage out on random minimum wage employees. (Don't do that literally ofc.)

Take it up with the people who might be able to actually do something to fix your problem, if you're that angry about the product. I will absolutely think much less of you if you personally take out your business complaints on the minimum wage employees.

[–] osarusan@kbin.social 15 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Part of me wishes that that particular person experiences the same level of “goodwill” that they give to others. I don’t like wishing ill on people

Don't guilt yourself for wishing ill on people. Those people deserve it, and you are not being a bad person by wishing ill on those who deserve it. Society tells us it's bad to do that, but all that does is make us feel guilt and let bad people get away with it. Wish ill, and do it freely!

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[–] BaldProphet@kbin.social 27 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Shipping fees for returns isn't too bad, but if it looks like a retailer isn't standing behind the products they sell them they shouldn't be surprised when shoppers shop elsewhere.

[–] Copernican@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How often are returns defective vs just didn't want/didn't fit? If the item is defective you can't restock it. If the item isn't defective that's where more cost might come in to get the item back in circulation to be sold.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

We're talking about clothes here. I have never been able to find any clothing items that were consistently and accurately sized. Often even across the same brands, sizing is consistently inconsistent. If I can't return for the proper size once I get an example of a product's fit and sizing without paying for it, then the convenience of online shopping has evaporated and I might as well just go into a store and try things on. As if they don't already charge enough of a markup to cover restocking.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Click bait article that gets recycled every few years. Ain't happening...

[–] mrgigglez@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

So I work for home depot and we have started doing a restock fee for special orders. It has slowed down orders and returns that I think will continue as a trend.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

So is the article a lie? "Eighty-one precent of merchants [AREN'T] now charging a fee for at least some methods of returns"(?)

[–] chitak166@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

All shitty clothing stores, lol.

I just get my clothes at Walmart and pants at Old Navy cause I'm a thin and tall dude.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Honestly I don't blame them. If they try to resell the item it's probably going to be a 25-50% discount for being an open package.

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They just mark it as new and sell it at full price. Had this happen with Amazon several times.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago

Eh, maybe with online services. I worked at a brick-and-mortar big-box store for awhile and almost everything that was returned that wasn't for extreme damage or being non-functional was put on a shelf with a large discount because we didn't have the space to store it and wanted it gone quickly since it what a shame to throw it away when someone could probably use it.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] Joelk111@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

Yeah, due to that video I'm stopping buying clothes online. I knew it was bad, but not how bad. I also had a recent experience with 3/3 items not fitting right, as well as a good experience in store. No reason to shop online.

[–] yamanii@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Decided to scroll before posting it, thanks.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (4 children)

People were ordering five colors of an outfit, trying each one on once, then returning all but one of them. And then the rest just get thrown out because the company can't sell the clothing that has already been tried on.

[–] frickineh@lemmy.world 40 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Since when can't they sell stuff that's been tried on? Brick and mortar stores do it literally every day. Unless it's underwear, who cares?

[–] admiralteal@kbin.social 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

With fast fashion, it's often just cheaper to throw it out then go through even the most basic of QC steps to ensure the product is still in sellable condition.

The fact that it is fast fashion is the issue. No labor cost since it's made by slaves. No material cost since it's basically sewn together with hopes and wishes. All you really pay for is the shipping.

If that garment you want to buy is cheap, odds are it's made with blood and paid for with climate change.

[–] frickineh@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I realized after I said it that it was almost certainly fast fashion because those stores are all speedrunning worst practices of all time. I'm both too old and too much of a hippie to shop at any of those places, so I (try to) forget they exist.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You should avoid fast fashion not only because it doesn’t last, but also because a lot of it is made with slave labor.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/09/13/exploitation-forced-labor-drive-fast-fashion-supply-chain/70800035007/

[–] dreamer@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

I don't understand though, because I tried doing research, what other alternatives are there? Seems every damn clothing brand and product has had slave labor involved somewhere.

[–] athos77@kbin.social 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That was what all of their ads were, though: order what you like, try them on in the comfort of your home, anything you don't like for any reason - wrong fit, bad color, whatever - just return it! You can't get annoyed with the customers when this is literally what the merchants said they should do.

[–] EatATaco@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

That was what all of their ads were

lol. Why is made up shit so popular? Don't get me wrong, some companies have advertised this, but most aren't pricing this into their costs. Which is why they now want to charge for it.

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 11 months ago

That happens less often than the scamazon Chinese knock off crap being sold under fake 5 star reviews getting returned. Amazon needs to go back to companies being required to own office space in the country they're selling to in order to sell their goods there.

[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What do you expect with companies like Amazon, Zappos and such where their business model was buy try on and return. Then there is Walmart that would take anything back including empty paint cans if the buyer was unhappy with the color.

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Knew someone that worked returns at Walmart. Customer wanted to return something. She said they can't do that. Customer asked to speak to manager. Manager said, "just do the return". She responded, "we don't even sell this here. I literally can't return it." Manager took over. Did something at the register. Put the item in the return pile to be restocked. Customer seemed happy with the outcome.

They literally will take items they don't even sell in the store.

[–] highenergyphysics@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, that’s a based manager lol. Sounds like they didn’t GAF about corporate

[–] chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 2 points 11 months ago

Eh, IMO that's a crappy manager. Rather than deal with the potential outburst from an asshole customer, they'd rather just do whatever the customer wants, further reinforcing their shitty behavior. All of this puts the other employees at more of a disadvantage in future encounters.

IDGAF if you steal from a corporation like Walmart. But don't be an asshole to the employees.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I agree. It was the companies' fault for offering it in the first place.

[–] BlackSkinnedJew@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

People ranting about Chinese crap, I suppose they think the shit they bought it's made in Finland..

Everything it's made in China you dumb bastards!!

[–] Aux@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Everything it’s made in China you dumb bastards!!

Not really, I have plenty of stuff made in UK.

[–] MaxHardwood@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I'd love some examples of stuff that you own manufactured and assembled completely in the UK. Purely for curiosity sake and not a gotcha

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