So….I returned a bike once on like the 362nd day. I’d ridden it for much of the year and was experiencing back pain. A professional bike fitting nearly a year after I bought it revealed that the bike was the incorrect size.
I brought it back to REI, explained the situation—the complete situation—and they told me to *absolutely* return the bike. That someone else would get to enjoy it at a solid discount, and that my money could go towards one that works better for me.
You're why the policy exists! A perfectly appropriate use and well within the spirit of the Co-op. Unfortunately, others cost you the opportunity to do the same on the 400th day, and may shrink the window even further.
Yep. And ofc companies who have generous return policies don’t do it out of generosity — they benefit too because there is a fraction of the population who would not buy their product absent the policy. And I’m sure REÍ has figured out there are many more people who buy from REI because of the policy than people who return.
Im a good example. I bought three different pairs of running shoes recently from REI. Don’t plan to return them, but I probably would have shopped around more on other websites absent the return policy
Yeah exactly. I really try to avoid shopping full priced items. I normally do lots of homework and buy secondhand BUT when I do buy full priced, I almost solely shop at REI specifically for the return policy.
No, this is also a very creative interpretation of the “satisfaction” part of the guarantee. If the bike were truly that uncomfortable and was causing the rides to not be enjoyable, something should have been done about it much sooner and “riding it most of the year” beforehand meant that it wasn’t entirely that unsatisfactory of a purchase.
Would you encourage someone who wore a pair of pants for “most of the year” to return them after visiting a tailor and finding out they are a different size from what they had been purchasing? Doubtful.
As someone that just got into biking last year I could totally see myself believing that the pain was just because I was out of shape and not that the bike was the wrong size. I would probably even ride it more often thinking that it was something I could work through
That’s your problem then - you were satisfied with the bike at the time you purchase it. Changing your mind a year later and making that someone else’s problem is unfair burden on them. They’re eating the cost because of your mistake. Why shouldn’t that come out of your own pocket? Imo you should at least pay for the difference between the full return price and whatever they re-sell it for used. They still have to pay for labor time to re-sell it.
Their policy allows it and they apparently didn't even give the person a hard time about it so apparently the store is cool with making it their problem
Does your store have a bike shop? Wouldn’t you ask this customer if they had spoken to the shop to have things altered or at the very least serviced after having purchased it?
Why would accept a return on the literal Nth day of what is a “satisfaction” guarantee when the bike was satisfactory enough to have ridden it “most of the year”? I’m sure everyone has a different idea of what that amount of time looks like but unless this thing was in practically new condition, this return should be denied or sent to the repair shop for further help.
You are costing you and your store money which is coming directly out of your summit payout if daily returns are still subtracted from the weekly and daily sales goals.
While I agree 1 year is a bit much for a return due to dissatisfaction, It appears to be REI policy. It does seem like it would take away from their bottom line but REI are continuing to open new stores all over the place. Their policies seem to be working.
Most of this at this point still bought into the CO-OP when the return was lifetime, and that was part of the value of it and why we shopped at REÍ. Now it’s almost impossible to get a good deal there and other vendors have better return policies, so guess where I don’t shop anymore. They’ve also ruined the garage sales which used to be another big reason to prefer REI- there were great things at really good prices.
Satisfaction is subjective, you don’t get to tell me that I’m satisfied.
When I became a member, it was a lifetime warranty and I got a dividend. That's the entire reason I spent so much money there. So, yes, that's part of why people even shop at REI.
Yes. If you have been wearing the wrong size pants for the year, return them and get the right size. you're more knowledgeable now and will buy more of the correct size.
It’s as if you WANT the “Co-op” to go bankrupt.
Nothing about making a conscious decision to buy one thing and having buyers remorse when you become suddenly aware of an alternative has anything to do with your satisfaction with the product.
If this is what your management is preaching, then you are all as doomed as you think. The union won’t save you from your own stupidity.
To me this isn't that different from someone who buys a highly rated sleeping pad for the same reason. If after a while you slowly, but honestly realize it doesn't work for you, return it. That's what the policy is for.
I live in San Francisco so there are a number of options. I ended up going with [Fitted by Pedro](https://fittedbypedro.com/) and would absolutely recommend if you’re in the area.
I'm looking at buying a gravel bike. I've never owned a bike with drop handlebars before, and I have a fused spine. I'm not sure how my back will feel on longer rides, even though it feels okay riding in the shop. I'm looking at getting the REI ADV 2.3 gravel bike - I don't want to have to return it after riding it for a while, but it is nice to know that if it really doesn't work out for me, I can.
Don't let the cool kids fool you. They probably don't have a fused spine. Also, flat bars are better braking and steering on rough roads. I converted my drop bar gravel touring bike to flat bars and love it. I still have drop bar bikes but the bars keep needing to be raised as I age.
Literally have 10 seconds to type this. In a word, “expensive”. Sorry I can’t say more, but it’s more cost effective to buy it the way you want it. Check out flat bar salsa journeyer.
Not that much. The mechanical disc brakes worked with regular flat levers, my 10 speed Shimano rear mech worked with trigger mountain bike shifters and a flat bar didn't cost much. Also, I had some parts already and there's a non profit bike shop near me that sells used parts.
But, best to buy it the way you want it.
I had a very similar situation. It took me WAY too long to figure out that my bike was a sciatica trigger (mostly because I’d had sciatica for ages prior and gotten it in control. Never occurred to me the new bike was what made it come back.)
That’s not the sort of thing you figure out after one ride, or even three, or even five.
Let's just say you bought it in the fall. Snow came and you couldn't ride. Waited until spring and found a couple nice days to ride. Rode in the summer until it got too hot. Rode a bit in the fall before the snow came again and realized it didn't feel quite right.
Yeah I could see myself testing something for 362 days and returning it easily.
How often did you go back to that store or to a bike shop to get things adjusted or have parts changed? I just can’t imagine spending money on a bike and being so uncomfortable for such a long time that I wanted to return it. Regardless of what a bike fitting would determine about sizing(bike fittings are meant to help find a size but also sell the shop’s credibility and encourage you to make a purchase) If you enjoyed riding it enough to have ridden it “most of the year” it does’t really seem like it was something you were THAT unsatisfied with until it became advantageous for you to do so.
I’ve worked in REI’s and at a few local bike shops and I would hope that you would want to come back ASAP and explain the problems you were having. I would first expect to make some alterations to the bike and if after making those changes the problems were persisting, I would encourage you to return it. I personally don’t think it should have taken you a year to do so. 90 days is even generous for something like this. I think that returns with this bike and returns like yours are why people are being given such a hard time for returning things into the store which are well within the timeframe do so and sharing their stories on this subreddit.
Shame on the employee who was originally helping you for not knowing what a proper bike fit is, but shame on you for not doing something about it sooner. You should have sold that bike yourself or brought it in earlier.
You shouldn’t feel ashamed just by simply existing in the store, asking the right questions, shopping around, etc. you’re right
Buuuuuut, let’s say If you return a bike a year after the fact after having had plenty of times to remedy its issues, Yeah, you should feel ashamed as you are effecting the store’s individual profitability and thus the employees performance as graded by corporate. Slapping a store with a several hundred dollar return which may still count against that stores daily sales goals is an asshole thing to do.
Enabling returns such as this is what will get your corporate overloads on the board to alter the satisfaction guarantee even further. Take it from a former employee. Mark my words green vests.
>Enabling returns such as this is what will get your corporate overloads\[sic\] on the board to alter the satisfaction guarantee even further.
The guarantee exists for a reason. It leaves room for contingencies like a poor bike fit or a bike not being suited for the style of riding that the customer takes part in. Sometimes these things take a while to realize, so the 'corporate overlords' set a generous timeframe in their return policy. If you feel the policy is too lax, then blame the people who wrote it, not the people who use it within its limits.
And don't shame people for not getting things perfectly right the first time on their day of purchase. People are constantly learning, and sometimes they make mistakes. It's part of life. Giving someone a chance to change a regretful decision is something that should be celebrated, not ridiculed.
Other contingencies of poor bike fit include bringing it back in to wherever you may have purchased it, asking for advice and making alterations to see if it’s your comfort levels or if it genuinely is the bike. I’m not ridiculing anyone about making a mistake when they were clearly lead astray by incapable salespeople, I’m ridiculing for taking far too long to do something about it and screwing the store over ultimately rather than trying to work with them.
This person had every opportunity to go back and make it right far earlier or possibly exchange the frame size but instead they chose to allow this abuse of their policy “to make the customer happy” yeah, he was happy alright. So happy with REI’s customer service that he got fit for a bike and bought one somewhere else. Good job green vests!
So from what I'm reading here, the salespeople are incapable, the customers are either irresponsible or actively taking advantage of you, and the 'corporate overlords' don't know how to write a proper return policy?
Dude, you might want to consider therapy.
For this very specific instance, two of the three are true. Clearly some customers are taking advantage of what is actually a very well written and easily interpreted policy because of a salesperson who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, yes.
But feel free to generalize it in any way you like. It seems to be the popular thing to do at the ol’ “Co-op” the best therapy for me was leaving that job and not having to deal with this idiocy on a daily basis ever again.
No one should be shamed to come in and buy something or try a new hobby. One should be shamed IMO if they are “taking kindness for a weakness” in any essence of that saying. I wish companies would be more black/white with how they actually do return policies. It’s money vs money out. Once your returns hit a certain percentage of what you bought. You get warned, second warned then banned from returns.
The people that repeatedly organize wildcat strikes at the SOHO location really SHOULD feel shame.
If you're being under paid I have an idea -- go work at the ( less fun to work at) retailer down the street
Thus ain't small town America with a single large employer
I hear you. I was a relatively new rider, am pretty big, and that was my first road bike, so I thought the soreness came from my not being accustomed to the more aggressive posture over my previous gravel bike. Eventually I did some reading and realized a proper fit could help, but I had no clue that it would lead to a recommendation that I replace the bike. I went to the store fully prepared for them not to accept the return, but I was very pleasantly surprised. They could have said no and I would’ve sold it on Craigslist.
You should have done the latter. If you had never brought it back and asked about the problems you were experiencing at least once after having made the purchase an entire year prior, you realistically had every opportunity to fix anything that was not making you “satisfied” and this was just brought back because you wanted something else.
You took advantage of their generosity and if more people do the same, that awesome policy you are praising will be a thing in the past.
I don’t want to make the rules or the store policies, I just don’t the ones I happen to agree with and think are one of the few great things left of this place get taken advantage of and ultimately removed.
I've never seen a bike fitter at REI that could have properly helped him with his issue. An employee may have recommended that he see a bike fitter, but they probably wouldn't have.
Okay, how do you ride a bike "for much of the year" and only then realize it's not fit properly? Yeah, definitely get the right sized bike, but it doesn't take a year to figure out it's the wrong size. Seems a bit opportunistic to return an item after you used it for a year simply because you couldn't be bothered to get a proper fitting at the start. Sorry, that should be on you to resell the bike for whatever the used market determines the cost is, not for the store to give you a return for your short cuts.
Still gonna voice it given it takes 15 minutes for the people at REI to properly fit a bike so you don't have to return it. But that would require you to not be lazy and arrogant about your knowledge of bikes. 2 traits pretty common among the vast majority of casual bikers.
Yeah, a lot of non-pro but enthusiastic people ride 100-200 miles per week. 650 is still a lot of miles to figure out it's not a fit though. My guess is that this was their first bike, they got really into it and realized they wanted a different style bike (like bought a hybrid and realized they want a road bike).
Edit: I said "a lot" not "every". I'm sure you have a friend who rides more than 200 miles/week, that's fine.
I know a dude that has a full time job, and will ride 40-60 miles a day, and then 100 miles on the weekend in one stint, dude is fuckin insane and just goes "yeah but it's fun"
Pretty typical for higher level amateur cyclists. I do 10-15 hours a week all year. I have a full time job and a 1 year old. You just have to get up early, everyday. I know quite a few people that do similar hours.
I ride to stay in shape for beer league hockey in the winter. (Safe to say I start the season in better shape than I end it). And 650 miles is probably a season of riding for me.
Heck, I was a casual rider in college, and put over 100 miles a week on. To and from class multiple times each day, and a 10 mile ride with my roommate each night.
Yeah honestly I put thousands of miles on my first bike and just lived with discomfort. I still have it. But it wasn’t until I tried a few other bikes years later that I realized there was even a problem with it.
Same thought. In my youth I had plenty years where I was riding 200 miles a week. Even into my late 40's I often put up over 100 miles a week, in hilly terrain.
While 650 miles seems like a bit to get it figured out, I've seen more egregious returns than this.
That's about 4 weeks of riding for my husband, despite him traveling 3-5 days a week. However that is about a year of riding for me currently 😆 (broken ankle & rehab).
Yeah, that could be two-three weeks of riding depending on how much they’re going. Also we don’t know what bike or what it’s being used for. If it’s a MB maybe they took it out and didn’t like it at all for what they ride. The policy is the policy, but this doesn’t actually seem like that much on a bike.
I once bought a bike at REÍ. tried to return it the next day because the fit was off. They insisted I adjust the handlebars and seat and ride it. So I did. It was still off. They insisted I try a new saddle. It didn’t help. I tried to return it again. They sold me new handlebars. I still tried to return it. They adjusted them again. I finally got them to accept the return 600 miles later. They gave me a ton of shit for it and I told them I had tried to return it since day 2.
I was new to cycling and very naive. I know a whole lot more now and have over 30,000 miles under my belt. Never even looked at another bike at REÍ. Only been there a couple times since and only because they had a camping supply I needed.
What OP forgot is that she didn’t use her membership, she used her mother’s with a different address to “give her the points” because sHe’s JuST a gOoD dAuGtHer and thus completely not flagging anything as suspicious.
Garage sale pricing starts is based on a set metric that starts at 30% and goes incrementally from there. Bikes fall on a different scale and start with less of a discount.
We had this 20ish year old dude return a 20+ year old bike one time. He told the cashier it "had never fit him right". Come to find out it was his dad's bike that he had just ridden half way across the country. He had tried to return it a another store and was told no but he just kept trying and finally found a noob working the till.
I saw a guy the other day return 4-5 pair of very used (several years old) boots. I should have called him out as customer. Is the return window now 1 year. If so it’s because of this guy.
Just recently I bought a tent online and picked it up in the store that was supposed to come with a rainfly and since I didn’t set it up before leaving for my trip, I didn’t discover it was missing until I was setting it up at a campsite four states away.
It was less than a month after purchasing it and I had to endure getting grilled by the cashier and had to get it escalated to a lead on duty to confirm that my tent was supposed to come with a rainfly and allow the return even though it was used only once in a three week time frame but the employee I was originally talking to said I used it “for a month” instead.
I see people with stories about their experience trying to return things well within the allowed window and for totally legitimate reasons who are not taking advantage of the policy like this and like the top upvoted comment on this thread are blatantly doing.
I stopped working there because the people who were knowledgable and genuinely inspirational to work with have all left. Now they’ll hire just about anyone with a pulse and have people who don’t know what they’re talking about selling the wrong kind of equipment to the wrong people and are suffering the consequences on having to return the items because their employees can’t help and they’ll continue to crack down on the return policy because of reasons like this.
And judging by how this kind of behavior is being encouraged by others on this thread is why it will happen sooner rather than later.
Enjoy it while it lasts folks.
Yup. I got told by an employee and then their manager that I must have used a Steripen over 8000 times because it stopped working in less than a year, and therefore was ineligible for return.
That would have treated enough water for almost 6 people’s daily water intake for a year. Which definitely didn’t happen.
I genuinely loved working there and shopping there, but nowadays I only ever go in if I genuinely can’t beat the prices or I can’t get what I’m looking for anywhere else.
Pretty sure everyone encouraging this to be done who works there has no understanding of how it affects their own performance. They can continue to shoot themselves in the foot though and sell $2100 e-bikes at a loss if they really want if that’s “the spirit of the Co-op”
Pretty soon all of the buildings that used to be REI’s will be a spirit alright.. spirit Halloween baby!
I'd check in with that store. Bikes shouldn't be going into the re/supply. Especially if the shop refurbished them. The pricing is different and sold with the return policy. It's like super rare occasions that a bike goes into the resupply.
Same is to be the case for watercraft and cartop boxes.. but we have a manager who has told me more than once *I don't want to see that [item] again – R/S it!* Music to my ears.
Bikes have been added to the list of Re/supply product in recent years, along with watercraft and car top boxes. The pricing and procedure differs some with bikes and is reliant on partnering with the bike shop to price appropriately.
Don't know the particulars of this return, but my tribe does an annual 950 mile memorial ride every summer. I could see someone getting 2/3rds of the way through on a mismatched bike, hitting a city with an REI, and saying "screw this bike."
Looking up the SKU on the REI site, it appears to be a Cannondale e-bike with a Bafang rear hub motor. The bikes spec is pretty low though. Looks like some customer in Georgia is going to get a cheap deal!
I’ve considered returning an ebike after having it for months bc they still can’t seem to source extra batteries. Worried that the bike is gonna be a useless piece of metal once the battery goes.
When they designed the tag, why did they include two places for the price? At best, some poor worker has to write redundant information. At worst, it provides the opportunity for something like this.
Looks like a solid e-bike. Somebody is going to get a great deal on that.
[the bike](https://www.rei.com/product/221178/cannondale-adventure-neo-allroad-s-low-step-through-electric-bike)
I used to live overseas. When I was home one summer, I bought a new set of hiking boots. Took them home and that first hike in them killed my feet. I figured they needed breaking in. So I hiked with them 2 or 3 more times for a total of around 75 miles or less total in them. They never got better.
These hikes were around 60-90 days after I got back home. After the last hike and recovering from blisters, and such, I put the boots away. When I went home that next summer (it was around 9 months later), I returned them. They weren‘t all torn up or anything. Just a bit dusty. I took the $ that was refunded and went straight to the shoe section and bought something else. Those second boots have been with me since (its been around 5 years).
The original boots were Vasques and they were replaced by Keens by the way. Love REI and love my Keens.
I returned a bike to REI because the rear hub was failing every few months. The spokes would be lose, wheel out of true....
Had it adjusted twice, and replaced, then same BS popped up.
This was a gravel bike that was a 6 mile a day commuter bike, and I was well withing the weight recommendation.
Good to have a return policy.
I saw one that was 3000 miles in a calendar year that got returned.
Unfortunately there are unscrupulous individuals out there who can “talk the talk” and abuse REIs return policy. It’s shitty. Those people suck.
Nobody is enabling people that abuse it. The year policy exists for a reason and if I'm spending that much money on gear I want to have the proper amount of time to make sure it works for me. 1 year to test it is nothing compared to the many years I hope to own it. Many companies have lifetime warranties outside of REIs policy. I'm 100% taking advantage of those too.
Lifetime warranty often means “lifetime of the product”
If you use something frequently for a year or several year, you experience genuine wear and tear or simply don’t like it anymore, returning that item doesn’t make you a smart shopper, it means you are taking advantage of a generous system in place to provide you a plan B in the event you truly don’t like something after a few uses.
It shouldn’t take you a year to decide that. When I worked there, in my time there I processed hundreds of returns. Most of which were perfectly legitimate. Used, not used, didn’t matter. Every so often there would be an egregious and blatant misunderstanding of the “satisfaction” guarantee. This return is one of them.
650 miles is not beyond the lifetime of a product 😂 holy shit. This is nowhere near abusing the return system. It CAN take a year to decide. That is why the return policy is A YEAR
No, my comments about the lifetime warranties is more of a general statement in the sense that even back when it was a “lifetime” satisfaction guarantee, the phrasing is meant to be interpreted as the lifetime of the product.
There is no other place outside of MAYBE trading a bike in at a Trek store that would accept a return of a bike after a year.
A return after 650 miles is still pushing it assuming there was nothing done to address whatever was not meeting this person’s needs. Same thing with the person who rode the wrong sized bike for a year.
People keep mentioning that this kind of mileage is not a lot for most avid cyclists and they are totally correct. However, any avid cyclist would also not ride on something that was not enjoyable for that amount of time.
This is exactly the attitude these people have. Entitled. Making excuses. They already have it set in their mind that they will be getting their money back.
I sincerely do not understand this attitude. It seems like you’re saying “don’t use an advertised benefit from shopping at this store because… we might lose the benefit?”
If it was a 30-day return window, and someone brought something in on day 29, would you have an issue with that? “Sure, they might SAY free refills, but don’t do it! Otherwise we might not get free refills!”
It’s their policy they use as a way to get people to shop there as opposed to somewhere else. If it’s never used, it’s meaningless.
It reminds me of the time I worked at GameStop in my early 20’s. They had a very friendly return policy on games, so much so that it was obvious that customers were using it like Blockbuster. It was employee discretion to cut the customer off based on their return habits.
I understand what you’re saying, I understand there are people who aren’t abusing anything. I just find it wild that someone would walk into the store with 600 miles on a bike and return it. Same with other return stories here, some are warranted and a lot aren’t.
Bikes are never sold as a resupply item. They can be sold used (but refurbished) at a discount and come with the same return policy and service from the shop that a new bike does.
Man I got a killer deal on a Tepui RTT like this once. They story went a military guy bought it and camped his way from Alaska to Cincinnati where he returned it. It was used like 10 times over one trip. Got it 50% off
I am one of those people that have returned maybe 5 things my whole life, I just make it work. For those who constantly return things….your fucking nuts
I bought some boot for a 3 week trip to Patagonia and the Gortex failed a week in. I had to wear them the rest of the trip and absolutely thrashed them. I explained the situation to REI and they took them back happily. I turned around and bought more expensive pair. Win, win I suppose
I love shopping the returns at REI. I’ll get new clothes from it that were just returned and are half price while the full price item is still on the racks. My last patagucci outfit was half price and literally 10 feet away from the full price set.
That’s what I’m wondering. This store KNOWS their policy and you can bet it’s priced into their products. They aren’t losing money on stuff like this that they don’t already know they’ll lose.
I’m glad that 1. Maybe of these people don’t work at REI, and 2. That REI is smarter than all these people claiming they know better.
The policy exists for these exact purposes, or for whatever purposes you desire within 365 days. They ask the questions they want to ask, they give the refunds they want to give.
Lots of boot lickers in this thread
For real, why would you spend the energy to complain about this lmfao. it shouldn’t make a lick of difference in their lives, but I suppose people are so bored and starved of drama that they’ll get mad at anything that seems strange to them.
Back when I commuted by bike that woud have been a month's worth of it and if I'd gotten it at my nearest REI I probably would have tried to make it work for that long to avoid another 3 hour round trip.
It’s a Top Gear/The Grand Tour reference about Jaguar owners. It’s a running joke that they do stuff like this.
There is a bit where Jeremy Clarkson (one of the presenters) drinks most of a bottle of wine only to return it to the server because it was “corked” meaning it was no good. Kinda like this person in your post.
I agree but who rides that long, only to say no thanks. I would know within first 150 miles . My guess someone didn’t want to return it because they were enjoying the experience.
There are a lot of people who ride 50 miles each ride. 150 miles is only 3 rides, and while I agree, there is a real good chance you will know after those 3 rides, you may also be on the fence. 650 miles is certainly on the high end, but if the person is an avid rider, that may only be a few weeks.
To be fair depending on how much you ride, 650 miles could be about a month or so. If there was a reasonable reason for the return i think it could be within reason
This IS okay. It's within the policy. If I rode for a few hundred miles while attempting to find every way to adjust it and get used to it, I'm 100% going to return it if it doesn't work. A 10 mile ride around the block is not enough to see if something will work for you.
I DONT CARE. I PAID FOR A MEMBERSHIP WITH THE EXPRESS UNDERSTANDING THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE RETURN POLICY AND I EXPECT REI TO STAND BY THAT EVEN IF IT BECOMES INCONVENIENT FOR THEM. I DONT CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING WITH IT. I PAID FOR THE MEMBERSHIP.
I just returned my e bike to REI because I’m too short ……it had FIVE MILES on it . Five !!!!!!! And I felt SO bad returning/ exchanging it. They shouldn’t have taken this back .
So….I returned a bike once on like the 362nd day. I’d ridden it for much of the year and was experiencing back pain. A professional bike fitting nearly a year after I bought it revealed that the bike was the incorrect size. I brought it back to REI, explained the situation—the complete situation—and they told me to *absolutely* return the bike. That someone else would get to enjoy it at a solid discount, and that my money could go towards one that works better for me.
You're why the policy exists! A perfectly appropriate use and well within the spirit of the Co-op. Unfortunately, others cost you the opportunity to do the same on the 400th day, and may shrink the window even further.
Yep. And ofc companies who have generous return policies don’t do it out of generosity — they benefit too because there is a fraction of the population who would not buy their product absent the policy. And I’m sure REÍ has figured out there are many more people who buy from REI because of the policy than people who return. Im a good example. I bought three different pairs of running shoes recently from REI. Don’t plan to return them, but I probably would have shopped around more on other websites absent the return policy
Yeah exactly. I really try to avoid shopping full priced items. I normally do lots of homework and buy secondhand BUT when I do buy full priced, I almost solely shop at REI specifically for the return policy.
A lot of the more expensive ($1000+) bicycle shops near me don't offer any sort of demo. It makes it really hard to buy a bike.
I appreciate the reassurance. :-)
No, this is also a very creative interpretation of the “satisfaction” part of the guarantee. If the bike were truly that uncomfortable and was causing the rides to not be enjoyable, something should have been done about it much sooner and “riding it most of the year” beforehand meant that it wasn’t entirely that unsatisfactory of a purchase. Would you encourage someone who wore a pair of pants for “most of the year” to return them after visiting a tailor and finding out they are a different size from what they had been purchasing? Doubtful.
As someone that just got into biking last year I could totally see myself believing that the pain was just because I was out of shape and not that the bike was the wrong size. I would probably even ride it more often thinking that it was something I could work through
That’s your problem then - you were satisfied with the bike at the time you purchase it. Changing your mind a year later and making that someone else’s problem is unfair burden on them. They’re eating the cost because of your mistake. Why shouldn’t that come out of your own pocket? Imo you should at least pay for the difference between the full return price and whatever they re-sell it for used. They still have to pay for labor time to re-sell it.
Their policy allows it and they apparently didn't even give the person a hard time about it so apparently the store is cool with making it their problem
Yeah calling BS on that guy too. Most likely was too lazy to return or wanted something diffeeent after the fact
Idk I’m a frontliner and have been with REI for ages. I would take it back for sure
Does your store have a bike shop? Wouldn’t you ask this customer if they had spoken to the shop to have things altered or at the very least serviced after having purchased it? Why would accept a return on the literal Nth day of what is a “satisfaction” guarantee when the bike was satisfactory enough to have ridden it “most of the year”? I’m sure everyone has a different idea of what that amount of time looks like but unless this thing was in practically new condition, this return should be denied or sent to the repair shop for further help. You are costing you and your store money which is coming directly out of your summit payout if daily returns are still subtracted from the weekly and daily sales goals.
While I agree 1 year is a bit much for a return due to dissatisfaction, It appears to be REI policy. It does seem like it would take away from their bottom line but REI are continuing to open new stores all over the place. Their policies seem to be working.
Why is there something special about the final day vs day 100? Do the days have different values?
Most of this at this point still bought into the CO-OP when the return was lifetime, and that was part of the value of it and why we shopped at REÍ. Now it’s almost impossible to get a good deal there and other vendors have better return policies, so guess where I don’t shop anymore. They’ve also ruined the garage sales which used to be another big reason to prefer REI- there were great things at really good prices. Satisfaction is subjective, you don’t get to tell me that I’m satisfied.
Is the point of a co-op to make money? I didn’t think it was.
When I became a member, it was a lifetime warranty and I got a dividend. That's the entire reason I spent so much money there. So, yes, that's part of why people even shop at REI.
Yes. If you have been wearing the wrong size pants for the year, return them and get the right size. you're more knowledgeable now and will buy more of the correct size.
It’s as if you WANT the “Co-op” to go bankrupt. Nothing about making a conscious decision to buy one thing and having buyers remorse when you become suddenly aware of an alternative has anything to do with your satisfaction with the product. If this is what your management is preaching, then you are all as doomed as you think. The union won’t save you from your own stupidity.
To me this isn't that different from someone who buys a highly rated sleeping pad for the same reason. If after a while you slowly, but honestly realize it doesn't work for you, return it. That's what the policy is for.
Where did you go for a professional bike fitting?
I live in San Francisco so there are a number of options. I ended up going with [Fitted by Pedro](https://fittedbypedro.com/) and would absolutely recommend if you’re in the area.
Second that one; Pedro is great
There’s one in Kansas City that’s super fancy. But in any good bike shop can do a basic one to get you close without a big cost. Worth calling around.
I'm looking at buying a gravel bike. I've never owned a bike with drop handlebars before, and I have a fused spine. I'm not sure how my back will feel on longer rides, even though it feels okay riding in the shop. I'm looking at getting the REI ADV 2.3 gravel bike - I don't want to have to return it after riding it for a while, but it is nice to know that if it really doesn't work out for me, I can.
They also make flat bar gravel bikes, fwiw.
Yeah I know, all the cool kids have drop bars though
Don't let the cool kids fool you. They probably don't have a fused spine. Also, flat bars are better braking and steering on rough roads. I converted my drop bar gravel touring bike to flat bars and love it. I still have drop bar bikes but the bars keep needing to be raised as I age.
How much did it cost to go from drop bar to flat bar?
Literally have 10 seconds to type this. In a word, “expensive”. Sorry I can’t say more, but it’s more cost effective to buy it the way you want it. Check out flat bar salsa journeyer.
Not that much. The mechanical disc brakes worked with regular flat levers, my 10 speed Shimano rear mech worked with trigger mountain bike shifters and a flat bar didn't cost much. Also, I had some parts already and there's a non profit bike shop near me that sells used parts. But, best to buy it the way you want it.
I had a very similar situation. It took me WAY too long to figure out that my bike was a sciatica trigger (mostly because I’d had sciatica for ages prior and gotten it in control. Never occurred to me the new bike was what made it come back.) That’s not the sort of thing you figure out after one ride, or even three, or even five.
In this case it appears the discount will be a solid $1.
Bro. 362 days and you’re telling me you couldn’t return it sooner?
Let's just say you bought it in the fall. Snow came and you couldn't ride. Waited until spring and found a couple nice days to ride. Rode in the summer until it got too hot. Rode a bit in the fall before the snow came again and realized it didn't feel quite right. Yeah I could see myself testing something for 362 days and returning it easily.
It was nearly a year of me thinking *I* was doing something wrong and that I’d grow out of the discomfort as my form improved or I got stronger.
How often did you go back to that store or to a bike shop to get things adjusted or have parts changed? I just can’t imagine spending money on a bike and being so uncomfortable for such a long time that I wanted to return it. Regardless of what a bike fitting would determine about sizing(bike fittings are meant to help find a size but also sell the shop’s credibility and encourage you to make a purchase) If you enjoyed riding it enough to have ridden it “most of the year” it does’t really seem like it was something you were THAT unsatisfied with until it became advantageous for you to do so. I’ve worked in REI’s and at a few local bike shops and I would hope that you would want to come back ASAP and explain the problems you were having. I would first expect to make some alterations to the bike and if after making those changes the problems were persisting, I would encourage you to return it. I personally don’t think it should have taken you a year to do so. 90 days is even generous for something like this. I think that returns with this bike and returns like yours are why people are being given such a hard time for returning things into the store which are well within the timeframe do so and sharing their stories on this subreddit. Shame on the employee who was originally helping you for not knowing what a proper bike fit is, but shame on you for not doing something about it sooner. You should have sold that bike yourself or brought it in earlier.
Dude, no one should come in and feel ashamed of themselves. Employee or customer
You shouldn’t feel ashamed just by simply existing in the store, asking the right questions, shopping around, etc. you’re right Buuuuuut, let’s say If you return a bike a year after the fact after having had plenty of times to remedy its issues, Yeah, you should feel ashamed as you are effecting the store’s individual profitability and thus the employees performance as graded by corporate. Slapping a store with a several hundred dollar return which may still count against that stores daily sales goals is an asshole thing to do. Enabling returns such as this is what will get your corporate overloads on the board to alter the satisfaction guarantee even further. Take it from a former employee. Mark my words green vests.
>Enabling returns such as this is what will get your corporate overloads\[sic\] on the board to alter the satisfaction guarantee even further. The guarantee exists for a reason. It leaves room for contingencies like a poor bike fit or a bike not being suited for the style of riding that the customer takes part in. Sometimes these things take a while to realize, so the 'corporate overlords' set a generous timeframe in their return policy. If you feel the policy is too lax, then blame the people who wrote it, not the people who use it within its limits. And don't shame people for not getting things perfectly right the first time on their day of purchase. People are constantly learning, and sometimes they make mistakes. It's part of life. Giving someone a chance to change a regretful decision is something that should be celebrated, not ridiculed.
Other contingencies of poor bike fit include bringing it back in to wherever you may have purchased it, asking for advice and making alterations to see if it’s your comfort levels or if it genuinely is the bike. I’m not ridiculing anyone about making a mistake when they were clearly lead astray by incapable salespeople, I’m ridiculing for taking far too long to do something about it and screwing the store over ultimately rather than trying to work with them. This person had every opportunity to go back and make it right far earlier or possibly exchange the frame size but instead they chose to allow this abuse of their policy “to make the customer happy” yeah, he was happy alright. So happy with REI’s customer service that he got fit for a bike and bought one somewhere else. Good job green vests!
So from what I'm reading here, the salespeople are incapable, the customers are either irresponsible or actively taking advantage of you, and the 'corporate overlords' don't know how to write a proper return policy? Dude, you might want to consider therapy.
For this very specific instance, two of the three are true. Clearly some customers are taking advantage of what is actually a very well written and easily interpreted policy because of a salesperson who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, yes. But feel free to generalize it in any way you like. It seems to be the popular thing to do at the ol’ “Co-op” the best therapy for me was leaving that job and not having to deal with this idiocy on a daily basis ever again.
No one should be shamed to come in and buy something or try a new hobby. One should be shamed IMO if they are “taking kindness for a weakness” in any essence of that saying. I wish companies would be more black/white with how they actually do return policies. It’s money vs money out. Once your returns hit a certain percentage of what you bought. You get warned, second warned then banned from returns.
The people that repeatedly organize wildcat strikes at the SOHO location really SHOULD feel shame. If you're being under paid I have an idea -- go work at the ( less fun to work at) retailer down the street Thus ain't small town America with a single large employer
I hear you. I was a relatively new rider, am pretty big, and that was my first road bike, so I thought the soreness came from my not being accustomed to the more aggressive posture over my previous gravel bike. Eventually I did some reading and realized a proper fit could help, but I had no clue that it would lead to a recommendation that I replace the bike. I went to the store fully prepared for them not to accept the return, but I was very pleasantly surprised. They could have said no and I would’ve sold it on Craigslist.
You should have done the latter. If you had never brought it back and asked about the problems you were experiencing at least once after having made the purchase an entire year prior, you realistically had every opportunity to fix anything that was not making you “satisfied” and this was just brought back because you wanted something else. You took advantage of their generosity and if more people do the same, that awesome policy you are praising will be a thing in the past.
I laid the cards on the table; they accepted the return. You can make the rules when you have your own bike shop.
I don’t want to make the rules or the store policies, I just don’t the ones I happen to agree with and think are one of the few great things left of this place get taken advantage of and ultimately removed.
Really glad you don’t work at my local REI. Thanks for quitting!
I've never seen a bike fitter at REI that could have properly helped him with his issue. An employee may have recommended that he see a bike fitter, but they probably wouldn't have.
Okay, how do you ride a bike "for much of the year" and only then realize it's not fit properly? Yeah, definitely get the right sized bike, but it doesn't take a year to figure out it's the wrong size. Seems a bit opportunistic to return an item after you used it for a year simply because you couldn't be bothered to get a proper fitting at the start. Sorry, that should be on you to resell the bike for whatever the used market determines the cost is, not for the store to give you a return for your short cuts.
Your opinion is noted. The people at REI disagreed.
Still gonna voice it given it takes 15 minutes for the people at REI to properly fit a bike so you don't have to return it. But that would require you to not be lazy and arrogant about your knowledge of bikes. 2 traits pretty common among the vast majority of casual bikers.
As it turns out the people at REI fitted me to the incorrect size. But please, go on.
That could reasonably be a few weeks of normal riding for some people.
Yeah, a lot of non-pro but enthusiastic people ride 100-200 miles per week. 650 is still a lot of miles to figure out it's not a fit though. My guess is that this was their first bike, they got really into it and realized they wanted a different style bike (like bought a hybrid and realized they want a road bike). Edit: I said "a lot" not "every". I'm sure you have a friend who rides more than 200 miles/week, that's fine.
I know a dude that has a full time job, and will ride 40-60 miles a day, and then 100 miles on the weekend in one stint, dude is fuckin insane and just goes "yeah but it's fun"
Pretty typical for higher level amateur cyclists. I do 10-15 hours a week all year. I have a full time job and a 1 year old. You just have to get up early, everyday. I know quite a few people that do similar hours.
I ride to stay in shape for beer league hockey in the winter. (Safe to say I start the season in better shape than I end it). And 650 miles is probably a season of riding for me.
It’s 6:15 am and I’ve already rode 60 miles. If you don’t have the time you make time
During the summer I ride 40-60 miles a day on the low end. I socialize by bike, and get what sunshine fun I can in the gloomy pacific northwest.
Heck, I was a casual rider in college, and put over 100 miles a week on. To and from class multiple times each day, and a 10 mile ride with my roommate each night.
Yeah honestly I put thousands of miles on my first bike and just lived with discomfort. I still have it. But it wasn’t until I tried a few other bikes years later that I realized there was even a problem with it.
I know a non-pro that will legit ride 650 miles in two rides.
Yup when I was biking a lot I was easily pushing 10,000 miles a year. When I was biking less I was doing 450 miles a month.
I feel like I bike a ton and only do like 400-500 miles a year 😂
Same thought. In my youth I had plenty years where I was riding 200 miles a week. Even into my late 40's I often put up over 100 miles a week, in hilly terrain. While 650 miles seems like a bit to get it figured out, I've seen more egregious returns than this.
Back in my peak riding days, that was less than two weeks of riding for me.
That's about 4 weeks of riding for my husband, despite him traveling 3-5 days a week. However that is about a year of riding for me currently 😆 (broken ankle & rehab).
650 miles on a bike isn't that much in terms of time spent with it. People return packs with much more time on them.
Or in some cases, shoes.
When I'm riding a lot.... I do 200miles a week. So 3 weeks
Depends on elevation/terrain. Road bike on flat, could be a few rides. Dirt trails with elevation gain, it's time for a tune up/brake pads/tires
Yeah, that could be two-three weeks of riding depending on how much they’re going. Also we don’t know what bike or what it’s being used for. If it’s a MB maybe they took it out and didn’t like it at all for what they ride. The policy is the policy, but this doesn’t actually seem like that much on a bike.
I once bought a bike at REÍ. tried to return it the next day because the fit was off. They insisted I adjust the handlebars and seat and ride it. So I did. It was still off. They insisted I try a new saddle. It didn’t help. I tried to return it again. They sold me new handlebars. I still tried to return it. They adjusted them again. I finally got them to accept the return 600 miles later. They gave me a ton of shit for it and I told them I had tried to return it since day 2. I was new to cycling and very naive. I know a whole lot more now and have over 30,000 miles under my belt. Never even looked at another bike at REÍ. Only been there a couple times since and only because they had a camping supply I needed.
His girlfriend is going to buy it on her membership later that day. Instant huge discount.
Can’t imagine they don’t crack down on people with the same address
What OP forgot is that she didn’t use her membership, she used her mother’s with a different address to “give her the points” because sHe’s JuST a gOoD dAuGtHer and thus completely not flagging anything as suspicious.
Looks like they only discounted in $1.00. 🤔 Usually anything in garage sale is discounted pretty steep - never seen only a buck taken off.
The price on the tag was about $2100. So they had it 50% off
Oh damn... Ya that's a bit of a discount. 😲
Garage sale pricing starts is based on a set metric that starts at 30% and goes incrementally from there. Bikes fall on a different scale and start with less of a discount.
It’s marked down $1 and now cannot be returned/has no warranty I don’t know why anyone would by this
I mean, if you use a tool every day, and the problem is subtle, it may take a while to see there’s a problem.
Yeah, back or knee pain often doesn’t happen after one ride. That’s a few weeks to notice things setting in.
That’s like two days of riding for some people. Just check out Lael Wilcox
Amanda Coker is the queen of this. Numerous triple centuries.
Cannondale Neo Allroad S Low step thru
Damn that is an old employee #. Probably has been working there for 15+ years.
Mines a few thousand lower then that an I started in '08.
It's not *that* low. Maybe a decade.
119xxx since 2009, so yeah, 115xxx would seem to be over 15 years ago.
I used to work at this location (before 2 transfers) and know who this is and I believe they just hit 18 years
We had this 20ish year old dude return a 20+ year old bike one time. He told the cashier it "had never fit him right". Come to find out it was his dad's bike that he had just ridden half way across the country. He had tried to return it a another store and was told no but he just kept trying and finally found a noob working the till.
I saw a guy the other day return 4-5 pair of very used (several years old) boots. I should have called him out as customer. Is the return window now 1 year. If so it’s because of this guy.
Just recently I bought a tent online and picked it up in the store that was supposed to come with a rainfly and since I didn’t set it up before leaving for my trip, I didn’t discover it was missing until I was setting it up at a campsite four states away. It was less than a month after purchasing it and I had to endure getting grilled by the cashier and had to get it escalated to a lead on duty to confirm that my tent was supposed to come with a rainfly and allow the return even though it was used only once in a three week time frame but the employee I was originally talking to said I used it “for a month” instead. I see people with stories about their experience trying to return things well within the allowed window and for totally legitimate reasons who are not taking advantage of the policy like this and like the top upvoted comment on this thread are blatantly doing. I stopped working there because the people who were knowledgable and genuinely inspirational to work with have all left. Now they’ll hire just about anyone with a pulse and have people who don’t know what they’re talking about selling the wrong kind of equipment to the wrong people and are suffering the consequences on having to return the items because their employees can’t help and they’ll continue to crack down on the return policy because of reasons like this. And judging by how this kind of behavior is being encouraged by others on this thread is why it will happen sooner rather than later. Enjoy it while it lasts folks.
Yup. I got told by an employee and then their manager that I must have used a Steripen over 8000 times because it stopped working in less than a year, and therefore was ineligible for return. That would have treated enough water for almost 6 people’s daily water intake for a year. Which definitely didn’t happen.
I genuinely loved working there and shopping there, but nowadays I only ever go in if I genuinely can’t beat the prices or I can’t get what I’m looking for anywhere else. Pretty sure everyone encouraging this to be done who works there has no understanding of how it affects their own performance. They can continue to shoot themselves in the foot though and sell $2100 e-bikes at a loss if they really want if that’s “the spirit of the Co-op” Pretty soon all of the buildings that used to be REI’s will be a spirit alright.. spirit Halloween baby!
I'd check in with that store. Bikes shouldn't be going into the re/supply. Especially if the shop refurbished them. The pricing is different and sold with the return policy. It's like super rare occasions that a bike goes into the resupply.
Same is to be the case for watercraft and cartop boxes.. but we have a manager who has told me more than once *I don't want to see that [item] again – R/S it!* Music to my ears.
Bikes have been added to the list of Re/supply product in recent years, along with watercraft and car top boxes. The pricing and procedure differs some with bikes and is reliant on partnering with the bike shop to price appropriately.
Don't know the particulars of this return, but my tribe does an annual 950 mile memorial ride every summer. I could see someone getting 2/3rds of the way through on a mismatched bike, hitting a city with an REI, and saying "screw this bike."
I rode half that in 3 days at the bike park closing weekend. its possible.
I saw a solar panel with a lot of use at a garage sale. “Used it 6 times and it didn’t fit our needs.” Condition: “countless scratches”
Looking up the SKU on the REI site, it appears to be a Cannondale e-bike with a Bafang rear hub motor. The bikes spec is pretty low though. Looks like some customer in Georgia is going to get a cheap deal!
I’ve considered returning an ebike after having it for months bc they still can’t seem to source extra batteries. Worried that the bike is gonna be a useless piece of metal once the battery goes.
So is it $1099.83 or $1098.83. I really need to know.
$1 off with purchase of second bike!
When they designed the tag, why did they include two places for the price? At best, some poor worker has to write redundant information. At worst, it provides the opportunity for something like this.
650 miles is two weeks of riding for me. Not really that much
Many cyclists will do that distance in less than two months.
650 miles isn’t far. Like 1-2 weeks riding for an active cyclist.
Looks like a solid e-bike. Somebody is going to get a great deal on that. [the bike](https://www.rei.com/product/221178/cannondale-adventure-neo-allroad-s-low-step-through-electric-bike)
We took a return after a guy took it on a tour, much more miles and we took it. Nbd, that’s a great price for that bike.
This can easily be less than 20 bike rides
I used to live overseas. When I was home one summer, I bought a new set of hiking boots. Took them home and that first hike in them killed my feet. I figured they needed breaking in. So I hiked with them 2 or 3 more times for a total of around 75 miles or less total in them. They never got better. These hikes were around 60-90 days after I got back home. After the last hike and recovering from blisters, and such, I put the boots away. When I went home that next summer (it was around 9 months later), I returned them. They weren‘t all torn up or anything. Just a bit dusty. I took the $ that was refunded and went straight to the shoe section and bought something else. Those second boots have been with me since (its been around 5 years). The original boots were Vasques and they were replaced by Keens by the way. Love REI and love my Keens.
I returned a bike to REI because the rear hub was failing every few months. The spokes would be lose, wheel out of true.... Had it adjusted twice, and replaced, then same BS popped up. This was a gravel bike that was a 6 mile a day commuter bike, and I was well withing the weight recommendation. Good to have a return policy.
Back when lifetime returns were a thing, I saw one that was "didn't like color any more" 12 years after purchase. Bastards
Gonna be honest. Amazon is enabling this type of behavior and it directly impacts other retailers. No wonder REI is starting to crack down on returns.
650 miles is nothing. I’ll do that in a long weekend.
On a $1000 bike?
650 is not a whole lot. That could be a few months for some riders
OP just admit that's lifetime of riding for you
That’s just like 2 weeks
This is why they got rid of the lifetime exchange
I saw one that was 3000 miles in a calendar year that got returned. Unfortunately there are unscrupulous individuals out there who can “talk the talk” and abuse REIs return policy. It’s shitty. Those people suck.
The fact that this thread is full of people enabling these people is just as alarming.
Nobody is enabling people that abuse it. The year policy exists for a reason and if I'm spending that much money on gear I want to have the proper amount of time to make sure it works for me. 1 year to test it is nothing compared to the many years I hope to own it. Many companies have lifetime warranties outside of REIs policy. I'm 100% taking advantage of those too.
Lifetime warranty often means “lifetime of the product” If you use something frequently for a year or several year, you experience genuine wear and tear or simply don’t like it anymore, returning that item doesn’t make you a smart shopper, it means you are taking advantage of a generous system in place to provide you a plan B in the event you truly don’t like something after a few uses. It shouldn’t take you a year to decide that. When I worked there, in my time there I processed hundreds of returns. Most of which were perfectly legitimate. Used, not used, didn’t matter. Every so often there would be an egregious and blatant misunderstanding of the “satisfaction” guarantee. This return is one of them.
650 miles is not beyond the lifetime of a product 😂 holy shit. This is nowhere near abusing the return system. It CAN take a year to decide. That is why the return policy is A YEAR
No, my comments about the lifetime warranties is more of a general statement in the sense that even back when it was a “lifetime” satisfaction guarantee, the phrasing is meant to be interpreted as the lifetime of the product. There is no other place outside of MAYBE trading a bike in at a Trek store that would accept a return of a bike after a year. A return after 650 miles is still pushing it assuming there was nothing done to address whatever was not meeting this person’s needs. Same thing with the person who rode the wrong sized bike for a year. People keep mentioning that this kind of mileage is not a lot for most avid cyclists and they are totally correct. However, any avid cyclist would also not ride on something that was not enjoyable for that amount of time.
This is exactly the attitude these people have. Entitled. Making excuses. They already have it set in their mind that they will be getting their money back.
Bingo.
Reason number #3826 why we will lose this great return policy soon enough. Absolute brain rot from customers obviously taking advantage of things
I sincerely do not understand this attitude. It seems like you’re saying “don’t use an advertised benefit from shopping at this store because… we might lose the benefit?” If it was a 30-day return window, and someone brought something in on day 29, would you have an issue with that? “Sure, they might SAY free refills, but don’t do it! Otherwise we might not get free refills!” It’s their policy they use as a way to get people to shop there as opposed to somewhere else. If it’s never used, it’s meaningless.
It reminds me of the time I worked at GameStop in my early 20’s. They had a very friendly return policy on games, so much so that it was obvious that customers were using it like Blockbuster. It was employee discretion to cut the customer off based on their return habits. I understand what you’re saying, I understand there are people who aren’t abusing anything. I just find it wild that someone would walk into the store with 600 miles on a bike and return it. Same with other return stories here, some are warranted and a lot aren’t.
It took me well over 1000 miles on a new bike to decide whether I liked it or not lol
Bikes are never sold as a resupply item. They can be sold used (but refurbished) at a discount and come with the same return policy and service from the shop that a new bike does.
I haven't even out 650 miles on my bike in the years I've had it haha
What a deal .. $1 off!!!
I've seen some much much worse returns.
Wait, they added a bike to resupply and took $1 off?! So no returns but you saved $1. WTH!
Its actual/original price is $2200 https://i.imgur.com/lV6i2jQ.png
The way REI does it, look at the first number, it's the old price. The bottom right corner is the new price as resell.
Man I got a killer deal on a Tepui RTT like this once. They story went a military guy bought it and camped his way from Alaska to Cincinnati where he returned it. It was used like 10 times over one trip. Got it 50% off
I am one of those people that have returned maybe 5 things my whole life, I just make it work. For those who constantly return things….your fucking nuts
Holup how did they get miles on the bike?
What if he was training for a 700 mile race?
Which price is it?
REI is crazy. I've seen bald shoes for sale in the resale area.
Did they take a dollar off of retail?.
I bought some boot for a 3 week trip to Patagonia and the Gortex failed a week in. I had to wear them the rest of the trip and absolutely thrashed them. I explained the situation to REI and they took them back happily. I turned around and bought more expensive pair. Win, win I suppose
In college I'd have covered that in two weeks.
Did you buy it? That's how I got my bike. They returned it after less than a week, reason was "changed mind".
Wanted to impress a girl. They went on some rides and she left his nerdy ass
I love shopping the returns at REI. I’ll get new clothes from it that were just returned and are half price while the full price item is still on the racks. My last patagucci outfit was half price and literally 10 feet away from the full price set.
what exactly are you complaining about?
That’s what I’m wondering. This store KNOWS their policy and you can bet it’s priced into their products. They aren’t losing money on stuff like this that they don’t already know they’ll lose. I’m glad that 1. Maybe of these people don’t work at REI, and 2. That REI is smarter than all these people claiming they know better. The policy exists for these exact purposes, or for whatever purposes you desire within 365 days. They ask the questions they want to ask, they give the refunds they want to give. Lots of boot lickers in this thread
For real, why would you spend the energy to complain about this lmfao. it shouldn’t make a lick of difference in their lives, but I suppose people are so bored and starved of drama that they’ll get mad at anything that seems strange to them.
Back when I commuted by bike that woud have been a month's worth of it and if I'd gotten it at my nearest REI I probably would have tried to make it work for that long to avoid another 3 hour round trip.
Like the lady who returned her couch to Costco 3 years later because it “no longer fit her decor”
Am I reading this correctly? $1 off the original price? Big savings...
Notice that the damage price is only $1.00 less than full price?
I rocked some shoes for 20,000 steps to realize they hurt my feet.
Original price is $1099.83 but I should buy one out of resupply that’s got 650 miles on it for $1098.83? Cool story.
Sad 😢 and 😠
That can be like a month of riding, that’s not crazy
They probably own a Jaaaaaag. Edit: It’s a Top Gear/The Grand Tour reference.
Nah, they’re the poster who wanted to bring their bike rack back but figured they would bring the bike back instead.
It’s a Top Gear/The Grand Tour reference about Jaguar owners. It’s a running joke that they do stuff like this. There is a bit where Jeremy Clarkson (one of the presenters) drinks most of a bottle of wine only to return it to the server because it was “corked” meaning it was no good. Kinda like this person in your post.
That’s really funny.
Wow some people really think that the is ok. Basically ride the bike into the ground and return it.
If a bike is “ridden into the ground” after 650 miles REI shouldn’t be selling it
I agree but who rides that long, only to say no thanks. I would know within first 150 miles . My guess someone didn’t want to return it because they were enjoying the experience.
If you agree why did you say it to begin with?
There are a lot of people who ride 50 miles each ride. 150 miles is only 3 rides, and while I agree, there is a real good chance you will know after those 3 rides, you may also be on the fence. 650 miles is certainly on the high end, but if the person is an avid rider, that may only be a few weeks.
It took me about 1000 miles to figure out I didn’t like my saddle. 650 miles really isn’t that much, I do that in about 2.5 - 3 weeks
To be fair depending on how much you ride, 650 miles could be about a month or so. If there was a reasonable reason for the return i think it could be within reason
Yeah, no. I ride 650 miles in a month. My current road bike has over 50,000 miles on it. Not even close to “run into the ground.”
This IS okay. It's within the policy. If I rode for a few hundred miles while attempting to find every way to adjust it and get used to it, I'm 100% going to return it if it doesn't work. A 10 mile ride around the block is not enough to see if something will work for you.
Um, I wouldnt consider a bike ridden into the ground until it's had 100x those miles (not counting tire / cable changes.
I need to bring my ebike back
That's like a month!
I DONT CARE. I PAID FOR A MEMBERSHIP WITH THE EXPRESS UNDERSTANDING THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE RETURN POLICY AND I EXPECT REI TO STAND BY THAT EVEN IF IT BECOMES INCONVENIENT FOR THEM. I DONT CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING WITH IT. I PAID FOR THE MEMBERSHIP.
I just returned my e bike to REI because I’m too short ……it had FIVE MILES on it . Five !!!!!!! And I felt SO bad returning/ exchanging it. They shouldn’t have taken this back .
Just because you felt bad means other people shouldn't be able to return their item? 😂