misuse of the return policy

[Priya]

hi,
i would like to focus some light on the behaviour of some indians who take advantage of walmarts return policy.i know of a couple who took a walkie-talkie while they were going out of station and returned it after using it!!then there are others who purchased camcorders and returned it after making a few cassettes. i have overheard an employee grumbling over indians for their use and return policy.we are the best of indians the cream!!and this is what we are making of our country,we should set some good examples.saving dollars is one thing and doing anything for saving is another.
if there is some genuine reason there is no problem but please people should not act in a lecherous manner.

[Ajay]

I agree with the views of Priya. So please do not do such things by which yours and the countrys image goes down.Lets set an example for others about WE, INDIANS . ok.

[amit]

Dear Priya and ajay,

Do you really think that these big stores who are in the fortune 500 list of US every year wouldn't have thought of this as a potential threat?

And more over i don;t think its only indians as i am pretty sure that even native americans, mexicans, spaniards, chinese and you name it...... also do that.

Anyway i appreciate your concern and goodwill but cheerup ppl and lighten up.

Make your hard earned money go extra mile..want to rationalise then .....think about the tens of taxes you pay in phone bills , cable tv and practically everything you buy.

Cmon lighten up and explore all the products!!!!

[hithere]

It seems that you are suffering from some kind of inferiority complex. Trying to be like americans. Well they are the first ones to do it.

[jackhardy]

The idea is that returning stuff after using it is not illegal. Its just unethical. As long you are following the laws of this country, i think its alright to return stuff after using it.

[sarab]

its true that every one does a misuse now or any other time - but it is specially prevelant among Indians. We Indians, like to make the best use of our money that is possible through legal ways in US and illegal ways in India (in India if u go legally...need I say anything...).

most Indians do not like to spend beyond their means - but still like to explore products available and so why not "use" (i wouldnt say "misuse") the return policy....

what is the use of living beyond your means (living on credit for ever), not exploring different products ....

Let me be frank - every Indian comes to US with an attitude of saving money for a better future to himself and his family in India (something which Americans do not have to do because everyone lives an Independent life after 13-14 years of age). Every Indian has someone at the back of his mind, someone to support back home...plus he also makes use of return policy to explore products, gain knowledge and have fun!!

[Anjana]

Let us look at the fact here, that WALMART has instituted a no questions asked return policy, just for that reason...that you can return a product if you are not satisfied with it. If they were making losses due to this policy they would have stopped it long ago. I think it is the freedom to return a product which brings them many more customers.
In my experience, when I stepped into USA, and set up house I had no idea what to buy and bought some totally useless things which I could return later, as well meaning friends informed me of this policy! I have become a loyal WALMART customer due to this convenience they offered. I also believe that Indians as a group would be the more affluent shoppers at such stores bringing them more revenue. And when we land here in this strongly consumer oriented market scenario we enjoy the freedom it offers us, but I do not believe that people from India keep returning on a constant basis, and once the newness of it all wears off we do so on a genuine basis.
And as far as misusing this facility goes, it is a personal thing rather than a community issue!

[OneDesi]

WOW! Why not loyal to Lord & Taylor, Nordstorm? They also have return policies, but then you don't look at the value of the product, but cost of the product .. hmmmm ... uhhhhh ... its you and upto you ...

[manohar145]

Guyz and Gals,
You are worng in this return policy comments. You know what?. The stores are charging 5/6 times more than the actual cost of any goods you purchase.
Return policy RISK has also included in that PRICE you pay to any store where they accept RETURN POLICY. SO, "Dont Worry and BE HAPPY".

Priya,
You may need to know ECONOMICS and BUSINESS MGT. to discuss such topics.

You got the liberty to return when you pay 5/6 times more of its actual price. OK...U got it?.

[sertra2002]

Brothers and Sisters, don't forget we are cheated everyday, be it by the cable company or the auto insurance company or even banks, but they do it the 'legal' way by fleecing our money and charging us all kinds of 'service' fees etc. etc. Will you call their means as ethical ? As long as its legal, its fine with them and so it should be with us.

[ngadde]

Even though I understand that Walmart and other stores offer a return policy, it is a source of easy advertising for them I guess. This way they attract more and more shoppers who buy more items than what they came to buy initially to the store. And considering Walmart to be the biggest business in the World, I really don't think it hurts Walmart by few Indians returning small items.

[rpg204]

Well there is nothing wrong in returning stuff. But its wrong to misuse the return policy. What priya said here was her friend bought a walkie talkie used it for her vacation and returned it. Thats bad. U should return stuff if its defective or u dont like it. Exploring a new thing is ok. but using it for your purpose and when the purpose is over return it is wrong....

[sanjay_kaps@hotmail.com]

hey guys,

what priya has said is ethical side of moral behaviour we should follow. But believe me, Walmart and other stores have this policy after a well thought out strategy...they are no fools...More than indians, its the other groups like hispanics and african americans who use the return policy...next time u return an item, look at whos standing in the queue with you...

I have noticed many times I have bought stuff from walmart that I otherwise woudl not have bought, thinking ok, I will see and worst case, i will return it...e.g I have a nice VCR at home and back in my mind had a thought of buying a dvd player thoguh i had not really started looking for it, and recently i got a very good deal from walmart from a dvd player/vcr combo when they were running a till noon sale and i happened to be in store...and since i did not want to loose this good deal, i bought the combo thinking let me buy it and then i will think if i want to keep it or not...anyway i can always return as a worst case scenerio...guess what heppened, i am still keeping that combo and my old vcr is lying somewhere...i am thinking of giving it away now...

same thing happened some time back with my wife who wanted to buy a jewelry box for a friend as a gift and bought two thinking whichever her friend like since she was not sure of her friend's taste, whe would give it out and return the second....but guess what, she never returned the second and kept her...i have many such examples that happened to us or our friends (like indoor grill for another)...

In all the cases, we bought the stuff since we did not want to loose the deals or for other reasons and were always satisfied that worst case scenerio, we would return it to walmart, but mostly never did...if we knew there was no return policy, we would probably have never bought that stuff on just a hunch and would have given a thorough research on each one of these items including surfing thru many other stores...which might have meant either we might not have baought them at all or chances are bought them anywhere else...

so as u see, we spent more and also more often on instinct than what would have normally...and all this prompted 'cause of security that worst case we would return it...Thats has also made us loyal customers of walmart...

The examples here I have from walmart but I can give you similar examples from macy's and foleys and similar stores...

I am sure if you think a little, you would find many scenerios where you yourself or your friends bought something thinking u would return as a worst case scenerio but never did...

Recently, as an example of return, we bought a rug from foleys and it was so pretty but when we brought it home, it did not go very well with our furniture and home decore, so we returned it in next few days...'cause we had that option...now we are again looking for a new rug...

so, I believe eventually it makes the consumers spend more and eventually increase the company's profits in long term..In US, where every consumer have many choices, beeing able to have the consumer commit their loyality to walmart or other such stores primarily based on return policy is a big win for these corporations...and consumerism...