Tragedy of the Commons

i wouldn't do it, but have no problem with others taking advantage of it. the retailer certainly knows what they are in for, and i have taken advantage of similar guarantees under different circumstances.

sears used to have a satisfaction guarantee, but i always found them reticent when i told them i wasn't satisfied.

 

Locally, Nordstrom, REI, and Costco have clamped down on their return policies for essentially what you describe.

For Nordstrom, the problem was mostly with party dresses, which now must be returned with all the tags still attached. For Costco, computer and TVs returns have been shortened to 90 days.

 

There may be newer and shinier lights in moral philosophy than Kant, but if his 'categorical imperative' appeals to you at all, the quoted sentence makes just about a textbook application of it.

-Chap

 

i was a dealer for toro products for 30 years. somewhere along the line, their marketing department decided a 5 year unconditional warranty would be a good sales tool.
as more and more functioning products were returned, they had to reduce quality to make up for lost profit.
in the end, competitors with shorter, conditional warranties, but better quality products were eating their lunch.

 

I'd say there are two versions of the first story. That one is preplanned. Another occurs if you are in a market (etc.), some disturbance outside, clerk distracted, and you shoplift something. Unplanned and opportunistic. But they and other more complicated scenarios involve a person who declines to follow norms of society. While appearing to do so.

Not detectable, prosecutable crimes but something less. Or, one might say, something more because it is more 'deniable' than commission of a crime. One can always argue that their personal diminution of society is small enough to ignore.

But, as with good (even small) deeds, they tend to accumulate, through time and across committers. Eventually society itself is affected. Either way.

The negative actions might be prevented by some type of parental, school, or moral (religious?) training. Usually they are (I guess), and society functions. But not always, so bam, tragedy of commons.

Vendors' returns policies adjustments above are a reasonable response but they have nothing to do with the existence of our tragedians above. A level of parasitism that societies (ideally) have enough surplus 'production' to withstand.

 

No problem: just adopt the "Minnie Pearl" look:

 

It's worth noting that one strategy for fighting this is to restrict returns to the minimum period allowed by law, and with things like tags and such intact... but to offer favorable replacement policies. So, once you buy it and hang onto it for a while, you're stuck with it... but if it legitimately breaks, you can get it replaced.

 

what if you were to tell the clerk, 'i'll be returning this after the wedding'?

 

For most goods, in most places, there is no legal requirement for the retailer to take any returns at all (excepting items that turn out to be unsuitable for their intended purpose). Returns have merely become a common marketing practice.

 

we were like a car dealer. everything passed through us, and toro covered all the costs. if a cutover wanted price or a name, they got toro. if they wanted quality, they got something else.

 

He had a few goes at his favorite wording, and there's some leeway in translating it from the German, but yeah, any time you catch yourself asking, "this thing I'm proposing to do myself, if it were universally done by everyone, would I like living in that world?" you're on Kant's wavelength....

-Chap

 

Matthew 7:12 NCV, see also Luke 6:31

Do unto others you would they should do unto you.

With apologies to non-Christians for any unintentional offence taken

 

I think the whole point of returns is stupid unless it is DOA. Buy pants and they don't fit? Your problem, buy another pair in a different size. Buy dinner and don't like it? Too bad, don't eat it or order something else. This whole buying and returning thing is a scourge. The only time I return things is when they are broken from the factory or explode on the first use. If it melts the second time, I just buy something better the next time.

 

or you might expect a free repair at least. it's called capitalism, and it's all marketing and up to the mfg/wholesaler/retailer. though i suppose the government might be involved to a degree.
and there are probably some business people who genuinely believe there products or services should perform to a certain standard, and are willing to eat the cost of their own mistakes.