REI Changes Its Warranty Policy

[Mike P.]

"Chad Thomas, a longtime REI customer who has returned used items, put it another way: "Some people think I'm a scumbag," he says.

Earlier this year, Mr. Thomas, says he returned a backpack he bought in 2004, which he had hauled up the tallest mountain in Yosemite National Park and hundreds of miles across a number of states. But it "was getting old and dirty, and I didn't like it anymore," he says.

Mr. Thomas returned the nine-year-old backpack to the REI store near his home in San Ramon, Calif. REI gave him a brand-new backpack plus $17 in cash—the difference between his purchase price and the item's new low cost. He later returned that one, too, when he realized there was a newer model.

His justification: Since he bought hundreds of REI products over the years, he says, the retailer still has made a healthy overall profit on his purchases."

Another vote for scumbag...

Make that two votes.

Had worked at EMS in the 1990's and you would get a couple every year bringing back well used & abused gear. The idea that $100 boots should last as long as Limmer's is silly.