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Bonobos Changes Their Return Policy (again)

December 17, 2013 By Joe | Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Also, we take your privacy rights seriously. Head here to learn more.

From the Mailbag: Bonobos goes from 365 to 90

Long time reader here. I remember that about a year ago you had a post on how Bonobos changed their return policy to 365 days. 

Just wanted to point out that they have changed their return policy once again to 90 days for a full refund. After that it’s store credit. I actually purchased several pants during their summer sale and just got around to returning them now and it looks like their giving me a hard time for a full refund. Just wanted to give a heads up since you posted about this in the past. 

All the best!

Dave

 

Permission to be totally honest? 90 days is still a ridiculously long grace period to send something back. And with all due respect to Dave and those who side with him, a measly, say… 30 days for a full refund sounds like plenty of time (unless you’ve been deployed or something). But with change there’s going to be collateral damage (like Dave, who was under the impression that he had more time), and Bonobos set the bar awfully high with lifetime returns. But for accounting purposes, it seems like bad form to leave that kind of financial grey area floating around out there. Did we learn nothing when Jerry cashed all those checks from Nana?

There’s a sweet spot for customer service. Lack it totally, and it’s not worth doing business with a company. But if a brand is bending over so far backwards that the butts they’re kissing start to fart in their face, then those of us who don’t abuse those policies probably end up paying in the end.

Who’s gonna pay for all those dusty returns? Certainly not someone who has the gall to return a sweater ten years after they bought it.

So Bonobos has gone from lifetime returns, to 365 day returns, to 90 days for a refund and 365 for credit.

About time.

So how long is too long for a reasonable return policy? And would you use a return policy to its fullest extent if it exists? Leave it all in the comments. Meanwhile, Bonobos has a tiered code sale going on today:  Bonobocil = $10 off 75+ , Bonorphine = $25 off $150+, Hydronobos = $35 off $200+.

Filed Under: Clothing Tagged With: Bonobos, return policy, the customer is not always right

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Comments

  1. Elocho says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:09 AM

    Everything will be just fine. Besides there are having their last sale before Christmas today. The Procrastination Sale!

  2. Tom says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:11 AM

    Before I even read your response, I stared at all your red arrows and was trying to figure out how this policy was so bad. I’m afraid I have to side with you, it’s still a pretty damn good policy.

    I will say if Dave bought his pants when the 365 return policy was in effect, he should get credit for that. I have faith Bonobos would agree with that, in my experience they have been a pretty solid company.

  3. Keith says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:12 AM

    I too noticed the return policy change during my cyber Monday frenzy turning over my 401K to Bonobos. Even as an unabashed Bonobos sycophant I admit I was taken aback by the change, but as you have pointed out, Joe, I quickly righted my travel jean sea legs and realized 365 day refunds was a boat that couldn’t possibly sail forever. I love the now defunct policy, but they certainly won’t lose what money I can still throw their way for their superb products, ninja service, and 90 day refunds.

  4. laydownlarry says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:20 AM

    I placed my first Bonobos order in July and this was the policy at this time too. I didn’t know the Bonobos policy of the past, but I have never had any reason to complain about the generous one that I’ve only known. 90 days?! That’s amazing!

  5. DXLi says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:22 AM

    I’d buy Bonobos even if they had a mediocre return policy. I love their products and accept their (on-sale) prices. The great customer service is just extra icing on the cake, and it wouldn’t be enough to convince me to buy products I didn’t like. For instance, I wouldn’t buy Ed Hardy even if they offered 10,000-year returns and milk chocolates handmade in my image.

  6. Dappa says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:42 AM

    Until they change their return policy to 14 days, which a few companies known to do, or return for store credit only, it’s not a news worth raging over, folks.

  7. Joe says

    December 17, 2013 at 9:50 AM

    That’s a good point. If Dave bought his pants when the previous policy was in effect, you’d think they’d honor that…. despite the previous return policy being wacky long. Yet, I’m sure in their terms & conditions they reserve the right to change that kinda thing without notice.

  8. Mike says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:00 AM

    90 days is alright but the problem is that they’re changing everything. Originally manufactured in Manhattan, now made in China. Originally superb quality, now it’s BR quality. Even their denim which was made in LA is made in Mexico now..

  9. Andrew Mitchell says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:06 AM

    I’ve always been intrigued by companies that offer extremely long return periods. I imagine the trade off is reputation over profit. I have a friend who emailed L. L. Bean about a button breaking on a coat she got a few years ago. She wanted to get a new button, they offered to send her a new coat free of charge. I think it shows immense confidence in the durability and quality of your products. That’s a stamp of approval that means a lot to me as a consumer. However, Joe raises a great point. At what point does the return policy become insane?

  10. Nicholas Fasolt says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:19 AM

    I bought a pair of jeans in January (365 day policy) and returned them in November (90 day policy)*, and Bonobos sent me a check for the full refund. They couldn’t do credit card because it had been too long ago. However, it was easy as always: just returned the item and two weeks later I had the check, no hassle or questions asked.

    *As an FYI, they were unworn when I returned them.

  11. Quancho says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:33 AM

    It’s not a bad deal at all as it stands now. If I’m going to return something after 6 months or a year, it will only be because it has fallen apart or worn through prematurely – basically “workmanship & materials.” In which case it would seem perfectly fair to restrict me to an exchange for the same garment. Getting store credit, perhaps to use on something else? I view that as a plus.

  12. Adam says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:51 AM

    From a legal standpoint, you’re correct. One could argue that because the purchase happened within their original return policy time frame, Bonobos should be held to the original purchase contract. Dave purchased those pants under the assumption that he had a full 365 days (or more) to return them.
    With that being said, I’m sure there’s some other terms and conditions listed that no one reads where they can change it without notice.

  13. Tripp Westman says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:52 AM

    Agreed. Makes an awful lot of sense to restrict your return policy when quality goes down.

    And they stopped offering the best promotions, too.

    So the items are now:
    – more expensive
    – lower quality
    – more difficult to return

    This return policy change might not be so bad by itself. (Seriously, no one should be returning shoes 3 years later because the soles wore out.) But compared to where Bonobos was 2 years ago, they are clearly becoming more customer unfriendly. And they’re doing it fast.

    If Bonobos is not allowing customers to return items based on the return policy at the time of purchase, that is inexcuseable.

  14. Farhan says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:52 AM

    I think 90 days is extremely generous. The problem however is for people who bought clothes thinking it had a lifetime or 365 day return policy. They are getting screwed. That might have been a deciding factor for them. I don’t agree with changing the policy after the fact but agree that 90 days going forward on new purchases is perfectly acceptable.

  15. Adam says

    December 17, 2013 at 10:56 AM

    Unless their products start having quality issues, I wouldn’t worry about where they are made. Yet.

    There are plenty of things made overseas or in low labor-cost areas that have great construction.

  16. jdw says

    December 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Or pull an Indochino, and make the return policy 15 days from shipment… from China.

  17. Evan Maridou says

    December 17, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    Hey Everyone,

    Evan from Bonobos here. I head up our customer experience function here at Bonobos.

    First off, thank you Dave as we always appreciate open feedback on our policies and customer experience. In fact, we thrive on it.

    Feel free to drop me an e-mail as I’d love to talk more about your experience. evan (at) bonobos (dot) com. I tried looking up your order but as you can imagine, there are more than a few Dave’s who have written into us.

    As Nicholas pointed out, any purchase made before our policy change at the beginning of the summer is grandfathered into the old policy (365 days for a full refund). No fine print in our terms and conditions that state otherwise. If you’re ever unsure of when your order took place and what the policy was at the time, our Ninjas are happy to look up your order information and let you know!

    Again, thanks to everyone for the dialogue. We love stumbling across comment threads like this one, positive or constructive. We use this information to help inform future decisions on how we shape our customer experience.

    Evan

    P.S. Joe, that’s one of my top 10 favorite Seinfeld episodes.

  18. BYC says

    December 17, 2013 at 1:37 PM

    I agree people should be grandfathered in to whatever policies they bought their items under (and it appears Bonobos’ agrees with this too).

    However, from a business standpoint, would you really care if the guy that buys some pants while planning to return them 3 years later is no longer one of your customers? There’s having amazing customer service and then there’s catering to irrational whims of the 5% of your customers who account for 1% of your sales yet generate 50% of your complaints.

  19. theYeti says

    December 17, 2013 at 2:46 PM

    If you had access to the return data in aggregate it might be pretty interesting to plot the nature of the return (cosmetic, fit, product failure and so on) compared to time from purchase. I’ve certainly read apocryphal accounts of people doing a spring cleaning and sending a pile of last year’s things back to Land’s end canvas, but that’s unverifiable of course (and if it was, who knows how widespread that might be without data.)

    To my mind a year to “figure out” an item is very generous . Think of it this way: If you buy a winter item now, and somehow manage to get it in storage in the spring without wearing it, you’d have time still next winter to get it out and decide.

  20. Joe says

    December 17, 2013 at 3:25 PM

    That’s a really good point. I think the numbers have to work like that, with such a small percentage actually abusing the system, otherwise companies wouldn’t do it. But still, there’s just something that seems too suck-up-ish about the LL Bean policy. Especially when they talk about how great it is that they replace old and worn goods that most reasonable people would never consider trying to get a freebie for. Fantastic point about the %s.

  21. Adam says

    December 17, 2013 at 8:54 PM

    Talk about irony. Noticed that my Bonobos Weekday Warrior chinos have a ripped outer seam below the right front pocket. Luckily Nordstrom also has a wicked good return policy.

  22. sohughj says

    December 18, 2013 at 8:16 AM

    No doubt there are people out there who have no qualms abusing a generous return policy, hence the change. Costco did the same thing.

  23. Matt says

    December 18, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    They won my loyalty when they took back a pair of jeans I’d had for 6 months, AND gave me full credit for the purchase price not even counting the 30% discount I’d used. That was INSANELY good customer service, WAY above and beyond and in stark contrast to the crummy customer service I’d just received from GAP over a pair of jeans that disintegrated in 6 weeks time. Full disclosure I did feel a little guilty taking advantage of their generosity, but I also felt really great about doing business with Bonobos in the future. My only concern with the shrinking return policy is that they honor the policy that was in effect at the time of purchase. What really is the point of a lifetime return policy if a policy change could make it go away at any time, and how can a customer trust a store that told them they had a year, then said, no sorry we changed our minds. Now you only have 90 days, and they’re past.

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