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Buying something knowing that it will be returned


Skippy
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Buying something knowing that it will be returned  

140 members have voted

  1. 1. Is it ethical to buy something knowing that it will be returned? (Please read specific example below.)

    • Ethical
      127
    • Unethical
      13


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10 hours ago, Margaret in CO said:

Dd has done this several times with bows. You don't know how a bow will sound with a particular instrument. The big places have bow trials for that reason. You usually get 3 at one time. 

 

So, this makes me think:

It does seem to be that businesses have policies on this stuff related to the kind of product.  Something like a bow, you need to try it out. Something like online clothes, you need to be able to exchange it easily.  And so on.

Some people seem to think of a rug as like a can of soup - you see it and buy it, if you decided to change your mind and you don't like it, too bad.  Others think of it as more like the violin where it needs to be seen in the space to be sure, so they expect the policies of the shop to account for that.

I tend to think of it the latter way, not least because I think that is how decorators think of it.  While many people may not care as much as decorators about that level of detail, I kind of expect that to be the standard that type of business will generally have.  Just like I expect the music store to let people take an instrument home, even if your average kid buying a violin for lessons doesn't bother with that.

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I work for a major bricks-and-mortar department store with an online presence, and this is completely within their policies. At times I pick internet orders for them, and probably 15% of the orders involve ordering multiple items with the intent of returning things. Yesterday I had an order of three evening dresses of the same size. Likely the customer is planning to return two of them. When I pick something, I am supposed to do a thorough inspection to make sure that it is clean and complete. Then the packing people do the same process. There has to be some integrity on the side of the store.

The store is picky about returns. Everything must have tags on and be unused and clean. You have to use their credit card or have a receipt. I've seen them refuse things that were clearly worn or were missing the tags and turn away people who used a different credit card and didn't have a receipt. They have to draw a line that works for them. When I've returned things in person, they take their time examining them. Even though I work there, they follow the policies, and I understand that. 

 

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