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> You are trying so hard to be cynical about capitalism and America here No, I'm really not. These are my actual opinions. > Yes, exactly. You can use your mi

> You are trying so hard to be cynical about capitalism and America here No, I'm really not. These are my actual opinions. > Yes, exactly. You can use your mind to decide if you want the product. That's the opposite of mindless. So who's trying overly hard to support their POV now ? ;-) > I bought a synthesizer recently For sure there's consumer benefit to the "everything is returnable" norm, especially in cases like this where it's hard to know if something matches your needs without actually trying it. No doubt it also sometimes works the other way and folk are encouraged to buy stuff they don't need, then never end up returning it so just waste their money. Of course retail is a generally a win-win, but that doesn't mean the retailer doesn't have their own best interests at heart. They use the "everything is returnable" policy because at end of the day it generates them more profit. They wouldn't be extending you this "try before you buy" benefit if it was actually costing them more than not doing so (unless competitive pressure forced them to). I understand that "mindless consumption" is not how most people would be happy to describe their shopping behavior, nor is it a good description of everyone, but nonetheless it's hard to come up with a more broadly accurate and concise description of why stores do this to increase sales. Even in your synth case (where try-before-you-buy is plenty justifiable) it essentially fits ... you made the purchase because the store removed any worries you had about whether it was the right decision or not.

munificent 4y ago
> you made the purchase because the store removed any worries you had about whether it was the right decision or not. No, I still have all of those worries. I still have to pay for the thing after all, so the consequences are entirely the same. The only difference is how much information I have at the point that I have to make that decision. If I can return it, then I have first-hand experience before I decide to commit to the purchase. If I can't return it, I have to commit with less knowledge.
- HarHarVeryFunny 4y ago
  > No, I still have all of those worries. I still have to pay for the thing after all, so the consequences are entirely the same. Hardly. If you can return it you get your money back, else not, so the financial consequences of able-to-return or not are 100% different. > I was OK with ordering it online because I knew if it didn't work for me, I could return it. The alternative would have been not buying it. It was too expensive to commit to being stuck with it without any first-hand experience. Yeah, exactly.

munificent 4y ago

> you made the purchase because the store removed any worries you had about whether it was the right decision or not. No, I still have all of those worries. I still have to pay for the thing after all, so the consequences are entirely the same. The only difference is how much information I have at the point that I have to make that decision. If I can return it, then I have first-hand experience before I decide to commit to the purchase. If I can't return it, I have to commit with less knowledge.

HarHarVeryFunny 4y ago
> No, I still have all of those worries. I still have to pay for the thing after all, so the consequences are entirely the same. Hardly. If you can return it you get your money back, else not, so the financial consequences of able-to-return or not are 100% different. > I was OK with ordering it online because I knew if it didn't work for me, I could return it. The alternative would have been not buying it. It was too expensive to commit to being stuck with it without any first-hand experience. Yeah, exactly.