That doesn't make sense. In general, "write offs" just means subtracting a cost from profit, along with the cost they pay for the items that are successfully so

That doesn't make sense. In general, "write offs" just means subtracting a cost from profit, along with the cost they pay for the items that are successfully sold. (Unless you know some special tax result that allows them to deduct more than the price of the damaged item) I'd guess it's something to do with the margin being much much higher than we imagine. Like it's sold for $100, but it only costs $10-$20 incremental cost to produce. Hence why I'd think the manufacturer would be eating returns, because that allows them to keep their margin higher.