All good things must come to an end, and, apparently, that includes the L.L. Bean lifetime guarantee. On Friday, the outdoor goods store announced updates to once-legendary return policy, and let me be the first to say, I'm not thrilled.
Customers used to be able to return items years or even decades after purchase. Now, you only have one year to return your gear, and you'll need to make sure you still have your receipt. And yes, this even applies to their famous Bean Boots.
So why is this all going down? In a Facebook post, the company says too many people took advantage of their old guarantee.
"Increasingly, a small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent. Some view it as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales," the statement reads.
You can read the full updated return policy on the L.L. Bean website.
I don't know about you, but their old return policy was one of the reasons that shopping at L.L. Bean was always worth it, even though everything is priced in USD – but at least their Canadian shipping policy is still pretty reasonable.
So what do you think? Will this stop you from shopping at L.L. Bean?
Oh yeah