3 ms·

What’s wrong with wanting to try stuff out? Or buying multiple sizes in order to get a fit? That’s just common sense if you can’t try on in person.

mushbino 3y ago
It's like the person in a long ice cream line who needs to ask for a dozen samples one after the other, but this then makes the ice cream store stop giving samples entirely.
- vkou 3y ago
  If the ice cream store was selling ice cream on a 70% margin, they wouldn't give a crap about how many licks of a tasting stick that customer would take, as long as they bought a scoop at the end of the day. Clothing retailers don't, either. They make way more money from someone who buys 50 dresses a year and returns 45 of them, than from you agonizing over a single shirt purchase.
- antihero 3y ago
  It is absolutely nothing like that. * Doesn't hold up line. * Retailers encourage/enjoy behaviour because it means more sales as people aren't worried to return stuff they don't like.
taneq 3y ago
Nothing's wrong with asking to try things out. If you're shopping online, though, the answer is no. You're in a different city, maybe a different continent, treating items that you bought online like dressing room try-ons is disingenuous. 'Buying online' = sending a purchase order = entering a contract to buy the item = if you receive the item and it is as advertised then the contract is complete. It's not a 'tHe cUsToMeR iS aLwAsY riGHt" free for all.
- Tijdreiziger 3y ago
  Dutch (maybe EU?) consumer law disagrees with you. A 14-day return policy is mandated by law, for the specific reason that consumers can’t inspect items prior to purchase (as they could in a physical store).
- turtlebits 3y ago
  If you're selling items where fit/look/comfort are unknown and you don't have a brick and mortar store- online purchasing and returns is the only way to try things on and is just a cost of doing business. Fortunately markups are very high on fashion items.
- antihero 3y ago
  You misunderstand. Online retailers need this behaviour because if people didn't feel that they could return things, it would increase friction to sales that would likely kill the industry. Do you not think online retailers factor this into their analysis?
probably_wrong 3y ago
To me, this is the line of reasoning that happens when you start with a bad idea and build reasonable steps on top of it. Ordering several items with the intention of returning all but one is a rational response to a problem caused by an idea that's flawed from the beginning. Online shopping for clothes is a bad idea because, as a rule, you can't try stuff before buying. The solution would be to have physical stores - it would be good for your neighborhood, reduces waste, can be quick, etc. However, it turns out that customers would rather not leave the comfort of their computers to go to the nearest shopping mall, so instead we'll send the stuff to them with free returns to make up for the fact that this is not an efficient method of buying clothes. We generate a ridiculous amount of garbage out of perfectly good items, we burn a whole lot of fossil fuels sending them back and forth, we destroy the neighborhood economy, and we lose a lot of money and time in the process. All of that to make a bad idea seem good. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
- jrussino 3y ago
  It turns out that customers would rather not spend extra time getting measured and then waiting for garments to be custom-made, so instead we'll ship large quantities of pre-made generic clothing in every possible size to a store in a shopping mall and then let them drive there, park, try on, buy the ones they like best (or move on to the next store), and drive home. We generate a ridiculous amount of garbage with all of the packaging and unsold inventory and the cheaply-made clothes that get worn out and discarded more frequently, and we burn a whole lot of fossil fuels shipping those products from factories to warehouses to shopping malls and making people drive to those malls, park, drive home, we take work away from tailors and seamstresses and homemakers, and people waste time and money in the process... Not saying you're entirely wrong, but it's interesting to see how quickly the "new thing" becomes the "old thing" that's getting disrupted.
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  > The solution would be to have physical stores Now I think that's the bad idea and the solution is shopping online.
- toast0 3y ago

mushbino 3y ago

It's like the person in a long ice cream line who needs to ask for a dozen samples one after the other, but this then makes the ice cream store stop giving samples entirely.

vkou 3y ago
If the ice cream store was selling ice cream on a 70% margin, they wouldn't give a crap about how many licks of a tasting stick that customer would take, as long as they bought a scoop at the end of the day. Clothing retailers don't, either. They make way more money from someone who buys 50 dresses a year and returns 45 of them, than from you agonizing over a single shirt purchase.
antihero 3y ago
It is absolutely nothing like that. * Doesn't hold up line. * Retailers encourage/enjoy behaviour because it means more sales as people aren't worried to return stuff they don't like.

taneq 3y ago

Nothing's wrong with asking to try things out. If you're shopping online, though, the answer is no. You're in a different city, maybe a different continent, treating items that you bought online like dressing room try-ons is disingenuous. 'Buying online' = sending a purchase order = entering a contract to buy the item = if you receive the item and it is as advertised then the contract is complete. It's not a 'tHe cUsToMeR iS aLwAsY riGHt" free for all.

Tijdreiziger 3y ago
Dutch (maybe EU?) consumer law disagrees with you. A 14-day return policy is mandated by law, for the specific reason that consumers can’t inspect items prior to purchase (as they could in a physical store).
turtlebits 3y ago
If you're selling items where fit/look/comfort are unknown and you don't have a brick and mortar store- online purchasing and returns is the only way to try things on and is just a cost of doing business. Fortunately markups are very high on fashion items.
antihero 3y ago
You misunderstand. Online retailers need this behaviour because if people didn't feel that they could return things, it would increase friction to sales that would likely kill the industry. Do you not think online retailers factor this into their analysis?

probably_wrong 3y ago

To me, this is the line of reasoning that happens when you start with a bad idea and build reasonable steps on top of it. Ordering several items with the intention of returning all but one is a rational response to a problem caused by an idea that's flawed from the beginning. Online shopping for clothes is a bad idea because, as a rule, you can't try stuff before buying. The solution would be to have physical stores - it would be good for your neighborhood, reduces waste, can be quick, etc. However, it turns out that customers would rather not leave the comfort of their computers to go to the nearest shopping mall, so instead we'll send the stuff to them with free returns to make up for the fact that this is not an efficient method of buying clothes. We generate a ridiculous amount of garbage out of perfectly good items, we burn a whole lot of fossil fuels sending them back and forth, we destroy the neighborhood economy, and we lose a lot of money and time in the process. All of that to make a bad idea seem good. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

jrussino 3y ago
It turns out that customers would rather not spend extra time getting measured and then waiting for garments to be custom-made, so instead we'll ship large quantities of pre-made generic clothing in every possible size to a store in a shopping mall and then let them drive there, park, try on, buy the ones they like best (or move on to the next store), and drive home. We generate a ridiculous amount of garbage with all of the packaging and unsold inventory and the cheaply-made clothes that get worn out and discarded more frequently, and we burn a whole lot of fossil fuels shipping those products from factories to warehouses to shopping malls and making people drive to those malls, park, drive home, we take work away from tailors and seamstresses and homemakers, and people waste time and money in the process... Not saying you're entirely wrong, but it's interesting to see how quickly the "new thing" becomes the "old thing" that's getting disrupted.
HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
> The solution would be to have physical stores Now I think that's the bad idea and the solution is shopping online.
toast0 3y ago