There are certain people who would take advantage of this. However, I think the vast majority of people see this as stealing from the store.

Return policies exist to protect consumers against their own mistakes, as well as the store's mistakes. If somebody buys something and legitimately does not like it, or if it doesn't fit, or if they realize they can't afford it, they should be able to return it.

But if somebody wears it for a year, gets it dirty, etc, they should not be able to return it. That would be taking advantage of a store's return policy, which would make it more likely for the store to change that policy. In turn, that would hurt the honest consumers.
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Define "exploiting."

Is it exploitation if I buy a jacket that, a year later, is falling apart despite the fact that I took good care of it? I don't think so, especially if I invest a decent amount of money in a jacket that was allegedly well made. If I buy a Walmart special off their clearance rack, I don't expect nearly as much quality as if I go shop at, oh, pretty much any other store that sells jackets.

Is it exploitation if I return the jacket after one year because I've gained thirty pounds and the sucker doesn't fit me anymore? I think so, because the weight gain is not the store's or manufacturer's fault. They didn't guarantee that my jacket would always fit me well, so they should not be expected to pay for what's not their fault.

Is it exploitation if I return the jacket just because I need money for something else? I think so, because the store and manufacturer aren't in charge of my finances.

Basically, I think that the "no questions asked" return policies are wonderful when I really need them for a legitimate reason - as in my first example. However, I've had the displeasure of meeting a few swindlers who happily return stuff to get the cash, even though the problem is entirely their own fault. They're abusing the policy, and they're the reason why some stores have tightened their policies. One store (can't remember which one, sorry) used to have a "no questions asked" policy for everything that they sold. However, too many people were scamming them out of laptops and other computers. These scammers would buy the new computers, use them without problems for a year or more, then return them for full retail price - and use the cash to buy another, new system. Basically, they were upgrading their computers for free, and the store and manufacturers were eating the losses big time.

Now, the store has a sixty-day return policy on all electronics, which sucks if your iPod or whatever has a defect that doesn't present until the seventieth day or something. Now, you have to go to all the trouble of returning the defective item to the manufacturer because a bunch of scammers cheated the returns policy. That sucks for honest consumers, which is why I dislike the scamming so much - it has a direct effect on me, and on other people who are simply trying to get what they have every right to expect as consumers.
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