LAST SUMMER, Karen, a product manager in San Francisco, returned $180 worth of her $295.39 order from Urban Outfitters. The next time she clicked checkout on an order from the retailer, a few weeks later, it wouldn’t go through. Confused, she kept trying—until she got an email informing her that she was no longer allowed to order from the website, or any of its associated establishments, because of an “excessive return rate.” She was surprised. She had been steadily
returning items to Urban Outfitters about once a month since high school without a problem. “I would essentially use the return policy the same way other people use stores and malls because I don’t have a car,” she says. “When a company says ‘free returns,’ there are probably some people they expect won’t return anything. But then there are people like me.”
This story is from the February 12-25, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
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This story is from the February 12-25, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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