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Buyer beware

A month or so ago, my spouse got me something from Brookstone. It was a great idea, but I realized that the product did not work out for me. On the receipt there was a note saying that returns could be made up to 60 days. We went a month or so after purchase and were told that Brookstone's policy was to refund the money before 30 days were up and to give store credit after that.

I personally think this is misleading. That store policy should be prominently displayed on the receipt where it says 60 days to return. Otherwise its a shady move - probably false advertising. A little bit on the range of mail in rebates - the whole idea with the mail in rebate is that a certain fraction of people will forget to mail it in, so you get more people to buy (they think they are paying less for it) but your actual revenues are more (because the average price is more than you say it is with rebate).

Brookstone's policy is in the similar vein. A certain fraction of customers (like us) will see 'Returns in 60 days' and assume its the regular return policy as you get in most stores (money back), while really after 30 days, they actually have your money and you have no merchandise. Clever.

I found nothing in the store I liked, but they have my spouse's money, so I need to get something. But never again.
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