L.L. Bean Ended Its Lifetime Refund Policy and People are MAD

On Friday, L.L. Bean announced it would no longer be honoring its lifetime returns policy.

Here's the cliff notes version: L.L. Bean has been offering this refund policy since 1912. They are, as always, committed to providing their customers with exceptional products and customer service if something goes wrong with your L.L. Bean boots, or parkas, or quilts. HOWEVER. L.L. Bean has also found that people are abusing the lifetime return policy and expecting replacements for goods that are clearly just decades old or bought from third parties (i.e. yard sales) with the intent to profit off the return.

Now, customers will have one year to return their items if there is some defect or legitimate reason for return.

Read the full statement from L.L. Bean here.

And I have to say - I kind of get it. Don't get me wrong, my grandparents were wonderful, hard-working, honest folks. But I seem to remember my Grandmother returning L.L. Bean slippers five years after she bought them...And getting a brand new pair in return. They bought lots of stuff from L.L. Bean because they loved the brand. BUT totally maybe abused the policy just a tiny bit.

Responses to the news were...mixed. But I say good for L.L. Bean for putting their duck boots down when they know people are totally rigging the system. At the same time, I know other people think this is what makes L.L. Bean stand apart from other brands, and change is hard.