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Nordic Online Store Boozt Blocks Thousands of 'Serial Returners' (bnnbloomberg.ca) 53

Boozt, an online Nordic department store, has banned thousands of customers for returning an excessive number of purchased items. From a report: The retailer has blocked about 60,000 of a total 3.5 million customers, in a bid to reduce the significant costs associated with "serial returners," the company said in a statement. "Their behavior is too expensive for both the company and the environment," it added. Returns are costly for retailers both in lost revenue and in the cost of trying to turn around an item to be sold again. In some instances items returned aren't fit to be sold again, leading to waste.
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Nordic Online Store Boozt Blocks Thousands of 'Serial Returners'

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  • Yeah throw that in there.

    • by saloomy ( 2817221 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:11AM (#64576795)
      Why not? It is a book, you buy the book, you get the book. Why on earth are they accepting returns? The paper is bad? Maybe it was damaged in shipping, such as it got wet, but that should be explainable. "No questions asked." is a terrible policy and not every retailer should operate under that scheme. Questions should be asked. Returns should be allowed on an as-needed basis.

      Buying something means you commit to the transaction.
      • by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:16AM (#64576807)

        Costs. If you return rate is low enough, the honour system is far cheaper than generating RMAs. If only a few people abuse this, banning them is still the more efficient answer.

        I like it - it's cutting out the assholes who ruin things for everyone else, the people you can't trust who cause the rest of us to be constantly questioned.

        • Paying your customer service reps to sort through legitimate returns can cost more than just taking the returns. Credit card companies run into this with chargebacks, e.g. when a card holder disputes charges. It can cost more to fight it out with the customer than to just write it off, but you keep track of who does the most chargebacks and if you make more money off them than you do off them using/abusing the system you don't care.

          Big data means you can look at somebody who returns 100 items a year but
      • They sell a lot of clothes. If you cannot try them out in the store, you will have to do that at home and return everything that does not fit. For other products, on the web the items always look better than the real thing. If you don't have a brick-and-mortar store, stop whining about returns.
        • Seriously. They know the bulk of a shipped order consisting of 12 of the same blouse in 6 colors and 2 sizes each is going to be returned. Boozt and companies like them have destroyed brick and mortar retail by taking this "unlimited returns try-it-on-at-home" approach to capturing the retail clothing market.
        • If you ever been to the bargain cave of a REI Outdoor store, you would be surprised how much dirt and filthy the up to one year returned, no questions asked products they resell are. Many folks "buy a clothing item to actually use it, sometimes one time only, then return the now used item for full refunds. Wrong? Perhaps. Costly? It sure is. Should the store be blamed? I do not think so.

      • The items are not books. Boozt is a department store that sells primarily clothing from what I can tell. With clothing returns, there is an additional expense of cleaning them before reselling. And the story is about blocking certain customers that are serial returners not every customer return.
        • And how do they determine who is a "serial returner"? Here's an example of how this will end badly for them:

          My wife has a petite body, and never knows what is going to fit her, so she'll order both a small and a medium, try them on, keep the one that fits and return the one that doesn't. If she was a customer of this company and they gave her a hard time over that, she's no longer going to be a customer by choice because they are being shitty about it and forcing her to either keep something that doesn't

          • From what I've seen your Wife would not be in any danger what so ever. The examples that have been given by Boozt locally here in Sweden is customers that have bought 30 pair of shoes in the same size only to return every single one and then one week later bought those 30 shoes again and returned them all again. In short, we are talking about people that actually misuse the free return policy here.
            • Well if that kind of pointless and malicious behavior is going on, then they're absolutely within their rights to yeet those kinds of clowns out of their system. This just seems like one of those situations where if they tune the selector a bit on the heavy-handed side, it could end up costing them more than it saves.

              • by pacinpm ( 631330 )

                Well if that kind of pointless and malicious behavior is going on, then they're absolutely within their rights to yeet those kinds of clowns out of their system. This just seems like one of those situations where if they tune the selector a bit on the heavy-handed side, it could end up costing them more than it saves.

                It's not pointless behavior. Those people wear those shoes, each pair every day. So in one month you wear 30 pairs and can return all of them with minimal signs of usage. And then you order next 30 pairs.

                • Which is abusive of the system, if not actually violating terms of use / etc. People that do that deserve to get banned, because this isn't a shoe rental service.

      • Well, because they aren't making the decision out of concern for the environment but using it as an excuse to make themselves look good if anyone is opposed to them ditching serial returnees. Its like hotels that say they don't change linens to save the environment. Like ok, we both know its about saving costs — which is a good reason by the way. No need to throw a lie in there.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        I don't know what the law is in the Nordics, but in the UK you have the right to return anything sold "at a distance" within 14 days, for any or no reason. You pay return postage, but you can discard packaging or re-use it for shipping.

        The basic idea is that with catalogues and the internet you don't have an opportunity to inspect the goods in person until they arrive. In the case of clothing, you can't try it on first. Bad sizing is one of the main reasons why people return clothes.

      • by mjwx ( 966435 )

        Why not? It is a book, you buy the book, you get the book. Why on earth are they accepting returns? The paper is bad? Maybe it was damaged in shipping, such as it got wet, but that should be explainable. "No questions asked." is a terrible policy and not every retailer should operate under that scheme. Questions should be asked. Returns should be allowed on an as-needed basis.

        Buying something means you commit to the transaction.

        Believe it or not, some retailers actually believe that providing real, honest good customer service is the best way to generate repeat sales based on good will.

        A no questions asked returns policy is one way to generate a lot of good will. Sadly it's a system that can and sometimes will be abused. Rather than change their policies, this retailer has simply banned the serial offenders.

    • Reduce, reuse, recycle in that order. If they're only going to use an item once and then through the return process someone else gets to use it that could well outweigh the environmental cost of moving the item around. not that the behavior is ethical.
      • by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:24AM (#64576829)

        If they're only going to use an item once ....

        Its worse than that. Some people order multiple items, different sizes, to try on at home to see if they like it or to find the proper fit. Then return the sizes that don't fit, what turned out to look better in the catalog the in real life. In short, people using a return policy to avoid going to brick and mortar and trying something on to verify the look or size.

        • And how are we supposed to go to a brick and mortar to try something on, if they don't have a brick and mortar anywhere close by?

          If you sell clothes online, you better expect returns or no sales.

          • by drnb ( 2434720 )

            And how are we supposed to go to a brick and mortar to try something on, if they don't have a brick and mortar anywhere close by?

            If you sell clothes online, you better expect returns or no sales.

            Use the sizing guides that websites provide. Personally I found they work well. But really its about making an honest attempt to be accurate. I normally wear a size 12 shoe. Occasionally a brand offers a 12 that doesn't fit, I return it and get the larger size. I don't order an 11 1/2, 12, and 12 1/2 with the intent to return two. Thats abusive. Ordering your normal size and returning the occasional mismatch would be expected for online.

            FWIW, its not unusual to need a different size hiking boot than tenn

            • The online store for Reebok (so not a completely unknown brand) in my country had a discount on certain older models of their shoes. I was in the market for a replacement for my cross trainer shoes, more worried about my fitness than being in the latest fashion, so I went there. The sizing guide actually recommended a different number than my normal size. Turns out it didn't fit. I e-mailed customer service and they recommended to try the next two half sizes and return the unwanted ones (at no cost to me as

              • by drnb ( 2434720 )

                So basically the equivalent of ordering 3 different sizes with a return of 2 pairs,

                Not really. You ordered one according to their guide and it didn't fit. You had a problem and they worked with you to fix it. You also made them aware of the problem, if customer service repeatedly gets this complaint they know something might be wrong with sizing guide or a shoes last being used in manufacturing.

                I actually decided that it would have been more efficient to get the 3 sizes from the start - and resolved to do just that if I ever need to again in future

                That would be abusive, you know your correct size now.

                I did have good results with some other brands' sizing charts though.

                Same here. I have notes on my phone with brand and size. Adidas needing a half size more than my usual.

        • by mjwx ( 966435 )

          If they're only going to use an item once ....

          Its worse than that. Some people order multiple items, different sizes, to try on at home to see if they like it or to find the proper fit. Then return the sizes that don't fit, what turned out to look better in the catalog the in real life. In short, people using a return policy to avoid going to brick and mortar and trying something on to verify the look or size.

          These people are the problem. A Nordic retailer is banning them. It's a win-win for everyone who isn't abusing the system.

    • Lots more things are said to be "for the environment" that don't actually do anything than this.

      For starters there is the energy cost simply in transporting it back. Then there is inevitable packaging material waste like tape and boxes.

      Almost always being returned means the item cannot be resold as new so it means more of the same item have to be produced to accommodate a certain level of return.

      Often no-one wants the returned thing so instead of it existing in someone's house being used it goes into a lan

      • I've shifted almost all of my Amazon orders over to buying "saved with used" when available. Haven't kept track but the money saved over the last few years instead of buying new is probably well over $2000. Even the stuff marked "good" is usually in sealed packaging and, depending on the item, can be up to 50% off. Never had a dud so Amazon must be doing a really good job grading the returned stuff that is offered at a discount.

        I don't know how the economics work out, especially with the double transport

        • by Xenx ( 2211586 )
          While I fully support doing so, it's worth pointing out that often it means you're giving up or reducing any warranty in at least the US.
          • Absolutely, and you do need to use common sense to make it all work. Like capping the risk to a comfortable price level combined with the possible lack of warranty (mine has worked out to under $200 items). And the type of item. Bought a save with used SSD for $50 last week that was $100 new. The thought being that it was listed as "good" so even if it was opened, there's no way someone wrote 500TB on it before returning. Sure enough it came factory sealed, someone just decided to return it unopened.

            • I'm glad that has worked out for you, but I have to admit I've had enough bad experiences ordering new items from Amazon I've hardly ever tried ordering used...

              Maybe ordering used is the way to go though if Amazon pays more attention to quality of used items than new ones!

              • Heh, fair enough. And to be honest, as someone naturally skeptical of such situations, it still surprises me each time it works out well.

    • Pretty feeble FP. Care to explain the joke? Or maybe it just needed a funnier Subject?

      My new Subject is about a related aspect that I'd been thinking about broaching somewhere around here, so I guess this story will do. However my main reference will be Samsung's Galaxy phones.

      To me the main point of the story is how stores (such as Boozt, a store I've never heard of) want to pick their customers now. Only the most profitable need apply! We don't want your stinking sales unless we are going to make lots of

  • Why are people returning your products? Probably poor descriptions, size inconsistency, or shoddy construction. https://slashdot.org/story/24/... [slashdot.org]
    • ...why, if any or all of the reasons are true (and it's likely they are) do these people keep buying more stuff from them?

      Are they returning everything they buy or is it, in the case of clothing, they are buying a range of sizes of the same item and return what doesn't fit?

  • Good for them (Score:4, Informative)

    by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:23AM (#64576827) Journal

    Obviously these people are abusing the return system by reading then returning. Last I checked, a store which sells you something is not a library.

    This same thing has been happening in the clothing industry with certain stores preventing from either returning items because you've done the same thing so many times, or outright dropping you as a customer. What was generally happening is someone would buy a piece of clothes, wear it, then return it.

    This is why we can't have nice things.

    • I know a person who works in retail at Macy's. She says that returns waste a ton of time and energy and that they see the same faces over and over. I asked if the worst of them were actually bitchy customers or scammers. She said that the scammers were 5:1 to the honest folks just returning something they didn't want or couldn't use.

      As an honest customer, I have no problem with stores blackballing problematic customers. That lowers prices for me and private businesses can do business with who they want. T
    • Obviously these people are abusing the return system by reading then returning.

      It's a department store that sells mostly clothes from what I can see.

      What was generally happening is someone would buy a piece of clothes, wear it, then return it.

      I think ordering multiple items when you only want one or two and returning the ones you don't like, or ordering multiple sizes and returning the ones that don't fit, are probably more common cases.
      Their FAQs do not mention any upper limit to the number of returns allowed. I think it's a bit unfair they will ban you as a customer, without giving any indication of what is and is not acceptable. They could also start charging for returns if

    • The story is not about books. It is about Boozt which is a department store.
    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Actually, in the US, there are around 3 big companies that retailers have signed up with to deal with problem returns.

      Every big retail store you deal with, from the online only ones like Amazon, to brick and mortars like Best Buy, is partnered with one of these companies.

      Your returns are tracked - and it can lead to the retailer denying your return, often with a receipt that points you to the website that shows your returns and why you got denied.

      Returning big and expensive items often will ban you from ret

  • by JBMcB ( 73720 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @12:08PM (#64576971)

    There was a great This American Life bit about the return desk at LL Bean in Maine.

    LL Bean once had a famously lenient return policy, where you could return anything for basically any reason. Clerks at the desk would last an average of a month or two before going nuts and transferring to a different department. People would buy a package of four cookies, eat two cookies, and return the rest of the package for a full refund in a five minute span. People would buy a kayak, go kayaking, and return it at the end of the day, again for a full refund. People would return completely used tubes of lip balm or sunscreen. They ended the policy when people were caught buying large bags of used LL Bean clothes at thrift stores and returning them for full cash refunds.

  • In the UK: PrettyLittleThing customers upset after account ban over returns [bbc.co.uk]
    Fast-fashion brand PrettyLittleThing (PLT) is facing criticism from customers who have had their accounts with the company deactivated because of the number of times they have returned their purchases.

  • If they don't want a "customer", they should decline to do business with them. As they did.

    The other reasonable choice is to require an RMA before allowing a return.

  • I only return stuff to Amazon when:

    (a) the product is obviously damaged prior to my receipt (shipping box or bag may or may not show damage);

    (b) the product was misrepresented in it's Amazon description (generally with sellers that 'warehouse' goods, usually unsellable JUNK, at Amazon);

    (c) I bought more than I wanted (happened ONCE, bought 2 of same book at same time, kept 1 and returned 1).

    • Is that not the norm? I think I've done 3 returns in 15 years, one was an empty envelope, one was a "new' tablet that couldn't connect to WiFi with someone else's data on it. The other was a car part that I got wrong.

  • Books? What?
    They sell textiles, which have high return rates online. Regardless of policies.
    I'll never understand why the people who don't read the articles and shout their opinions are the ones getting up votes.

  • I guess we see less influencers showing off their Nordic clothes on their Instaface pages.

If all else fails, lower your standards.

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