What about if I bought a swimsuit online and took it back knowing all of this? I'm torn myself, but comeon! a $50 suit for $12?? That is a huge savings I could certainly use right now. Yet I would buy them knowing about this loophole. If it wasn't such a big savings, I wouldn't even worry about it, but times are rough, and they are going to turn around and resell the suit for the clerance price, why not let me buy it for the sale price then?
Honestly, its the stores fault for having that policy, so I do not see anything wrong with it. If it become such a problem that they were losing to much money then they would change their policy. Its not like you are cheating the store behind their backs. They marked the price down from $50 all the way to $6.50 in front of a customer (even though it was not you). The fact they would rather do that then ship it back to where they store their online only stuff shows that they are still making a profit on $6.50.
If you feel really unethical buying this swim suit online and returning it to save money, then you could donate the extra cash to some charity!
Legally, yes, you are well within in the store policy. It's not your fault they have this loophole, you are not breaking any rules. However, ethically, or morally, I wouldn't do it. When stores do stuff like this, it's not like they are just going to be okay with losing money on it. The cost is made up through other things or in other areas. The cost is past on to other customers, so at the end of the day, someone, somewhere is paying for it...and I can guarantee it is not the clothing store/company.
If you're asking, you know the answer... it already hit your morality alarm.
People always say this but I don't always buy it. Sometimes I think we're looking for validation for our actions like...we want to do something but we know not everyone would agree but we really wish someone would. If that makes sense.
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Originally Posted by berryblondeboys
Interestingly, I've found an online site that sells suits from returns, but it's like a 20% markdown, not more than 50%.
Ethical or not, if it were me, I would so try and see if it works. If it doesn't, just return it and save up for it when you do have the funds.
Oh, I'm not saying to not do it! Just that it feels like they're ripping off the first guy in a pretty major way. Doesn't seem right at all to me.
I wouldn't do it if the store were something local or a small business, but I wouldn't have a problem doing it at H&M or Forever 21. I don't think it's really a question of morality. The person wasn't stealing — the employees didn't have a problem with it — so I don't see anything at all wrong with it.
I wouldn't do it if the store were something local or a small business, but I wouldn't have a problem doing it at H&M or Forever 21. I don't think it's really a question of morality. The person wasn't stealing — the employees didn't have a problem with it — so I don't see anything at all wrong with it.
I agree, it's not like she does this ALL the time it was one swim suit and quite frankly if I didn't want something I spent money on and went to return it...if I saw the sale price was lower then heck ya I'd buy it for that price...who cares unless she argued with the cashier in order to get her way then again no problem. It's not like she's shopping online 24/7 then bringing these clothes back to the store and returning for sale prices. She did this once and decided since it was 6.50 she wanted to keep it. lol even the ugliest things look better at a sale price of 6.50.
My karma is that if I tried that, they would tell me no (or I would get jacked somewhere else).....but that is my karma. LOL However, I would try it. Simply because it is what that store created. If that store takes in items that are only sold online but will resell them at a very cut rate, then I would go for it. I would also troll that store on a regular basis and look at that rack for great savings on any item.
Unethical? Not really.
Thrifty? YES
Stupid store? You bet.
I don't blame her. I don't think she's evil or bad. She's smart and she was allowed to do it.
A lot of us would not pay for a movie at a multi-plex theater and sneak in to another show right after, but there are many who do. Are they bad people we don't want to associate with? depends on who you are.
Maybe what should be examined is, what else about this chick bothers you? Maybe this is the tip of the iceberg and she just sucks as a moral person. Or maybe, she saw opportunity with no legal consequences and can afford to pass that along and buy you a drink later this weekend.
What store is this happening at?
I'd go ahead and do it. It would just suck for you if they ended up changing the policy between now and then because they catch on.
if she didn't want the suits to start, she shouldn't have bought them back even if they were cheap. she's not likely to wear them and someone else who *would* have worn them might have to do without now.
that part is unethical.
I disagree with that. Someone can be on the fence about something, decide against it, but when they find out it's cheaper than they thought they think "Oh, what the heck. I'll get it anyway." I know I do that a lot. Do I wear whatever it is the most? No. But I do wear it. It's just clothing. Not food you're taking out of a starving person's mouth.
I don't think it's unethical. The employee said it could be done. The manager said it has to be on the floor first, so she waited for it. It's not that different from standing in line for hours for a Black Friday sale. You know it's going down in price and all you have to do is wait.
Honestly, I think it's a stupid policy for the store to have. Either don't accept online merchandise or sell it for what it's worth online, it's not the consumer's fault the store has backwards policies.
Unethical? Not really.
Thrifty? YES
Stupid store? You bet.
I don't blame her. I don't think she's evil or bad. She's smart and she was allowed to do it.
A lot of us would not pay for a movie at a multi-plex theater and sneak in to another show right after, but there are many who do. Are they bad people we don't want to associate with? depends on who you are.
Maybe what should be examined is, what else about this chick bothers you? Maybe this is the tip of the iceberg and she just sucks as a moral person. Or maybe, she saw opportunity with no legal consequences and can afford to pass that along and buy you a drink later this weekend.
Oh, there is nothing about this women that bothers me, and she certainly doesn't suck as a moral person. It just got my mind thinking, after buying back the suits that she orig did not want, and then returning the ones she did indeed want, was it stepping over a line? I agree, if this loophole is in place, she didn't do anything "wrong" She also didn't know about it before standing in line to return these items and then seeing the clearance price sticker print out.
But really, the big question is, she called and told me about this, is it wrong that I know want to try this? I need a new swimsuit, I don't think I should "have" to pay $50 when *if* returned to the actual store, they will turn around and sell both peices for $13.00. But as of now, they are not in the store at that price, they are online for $25 a peice.
I wouldn't go and buy several and return them just to buy them again, I'm simply talking one suit.
I don't think the described incident crosses the line at all. I can imagine myself in this woman's place. If I were to order a $50 swimsuit and when I get it, it just isn't WORTH $50 to me, either because it doesn't fit right, or the workmanship is poor, or even it may just be an unflattering color. So I return it, and learn that it's going on to a sale rack for $6.50 - I then have to decide:
It wasn't worth $50 to me, but is it worth $6.50? The answer might be yes, and if so there's no moral dilemma here.
To order it knowing you're going to try to return it? That's a little more questionable, however even if you try this, there's no guarantee that your ploy will work. You could take it to return it, and they might not put the suit on the clearance rack right away, and someone may get it before you. Then what are you going to do - try it again? If so, they may realize what you're attempting and refuse to accept the second suit.
Or they may even refuse the first suit - and then what are you going to say?
"But my friend returned hers, and she got to buy it at the sale price?"
That's awkward (to say the least), but is it unethical on your part? I'm not sure. After all, you are taking some risk here. The store could change their policy at any point. And store staff/managers usually even have the legal right (in most states, at least) to apply their return policies with discretion. While they may have a general policy to accept all returned items, they probably don't legally have to, which means they could (whether they suspect what you're trying to do or not) say "no." And if they're a chain, they may decide to send returns from their store to another store. If they suspect you just want the clearance price, they can say "no" and send it to another store. If they choose to let you take advantage of the loophole, that would make me even more suspicious that they're making a decent profit even at $6.50 (and that's a scary thought).
I think you need to obey your own conscience in the matter.
Now say you now decide (knowing the loophole) to order ten more swimsuits (at $50 each) and then take them all back in order to buy them back at $6.50 and then sell them each on ebay for $25 a piece? Is that ethical?
Even this, I would have to say, I'm not really sure. It's not illegal, so it's passed that first test. And I've worked in retail just long enough to realize that there's a huge discrepancy between cost of manufacturing and profit margins. The clearance price usually still makes a profit. Is that ethical? Is it ethical for stores to buy clothing that is made overseas at slave wages, perhaps even by child workers? However, if not for these "sweat shop" jobs, some of these child workers would starve to death or become child prostitutes, so which is worse?
Is it unethical to buy clothing that isn't made by adult American workers earning union wages or at least foreign workers earning a living wage in their country?
Most of us don't even know who is making our clothes (but isn't that sort of unethical too - that we don't even care who is making our clothing, how many local jobs are lost because of it, how the people making our clothes are living...)
Call me a dummy but it sounds like she's losing money on them? She paid more online and only got a fraction of it back? And than re bought them at the clearence price?
Is she going to resell them? Even so they are hers to do what she wants. If she had gotten them at the reduced price online and returned them for the higher price, than yeah its dishonest to me.
The other weird thing is, did she have a reciept for them? At my store you get what you paid for even if you bought them online so long as you have a reciept.
If it wasn't such a big savings, I wouldn't even worry about it, but times are rough, and they are going to turn around and resell the suit for the clerance price, why not let me buy it for the sale price then?
