Typical Marketing BS goes about like this-
Iron core Gold impregnated Titanium Coated never say die NO BS You can’t break this stuff you filthy maggots Warrantee- Good until your grandkids die fighting a bear hand to hand!*
*Signed by me, Bill “the mega badass manly man” Townsend, the owner and founder with my first born child’s blood cause I mean it dagnammit.
Nobody builds gear that lasts forever, they just charge you for one and a half pieces of gear and give you a lifetime warrantee. Odds are good most won’t return the gear, so why not charge for it? It’s just marketing really. Even if it’s not, when was the last time your gear failed in the parking lot of your favorite store?
You probably aren’t here to buy gear that lasts forever, it’s over-built and not for you. You’d probably prefer not to pay for 1.5 pieces of gear just for fun. I don’t build gear to fall apart after a year, but I don’t force you to buy an insurance policy with every purchase either. Fair enough?
Keeping costs down for each of us is a big part of the goal, and a big part of that extra you’d pay elsewhere goes to cover those costs. I hate hidden costs. It’s not so much that they are hidden really, it’s just that they go to that magical place called overhead that hangs over the head of any business and raises the price you fine folks pay.
Returns and Exchanges are part of the deal in retail, especially in the internet age. As a customer I expect to be able to return or exchange a product. Plain and simple. On the other hand, I’m not charging you a membership fee or an extra 20% to cover the occasional jerk who rolls in a year later after a 2000 mile hike demanding a refund. You know that store and likely you’re here because you didn’t find what you wanted there.
So, since we’re all friends here, rather than hide the cost of that exchange from you and charge honest folks for dishonest ones; I’ll make you what I hope you find to be a fair deal.
Fair Deal Warrantee- 1 year from date of purchase
Defects in materials and workmanship. Period. Something is wrong with our products, I’ll fix it.
Something went wrong on your end? Well now we’re talking customer service not warrantee… read on.
Checking it out- 19 days
I get it, I’m the new guy and who knows what’s gunna be in that box when it hits your doorstep.
“Hey man, I checked it out and this stuff seems good Bill, I wanna hit the trail and try it out!”
“Bummer, I used it, but it’s not for me.” No problem, here’s the deal…
Trying it out fair deal 1 (under 19 days)-
I’ll give you 19 days, try it out safely! Use it the back yard or around the house. Trying out a shelter in the rain? That’s reasonable, not a big deal, just clean up any mud spatter when you get home and dry it off. Slept in that quilt for a weekend and didn’t wash your feet? Toss the quilt in the washer before you send your toe cheese back to me.
Plain and simple- if you can give it back to me in a condition that YOU would be happy to buy it again- then you get yer money back.
You try out a tarp, pack it up wet and forget it was in the trunk for a week, well I gotta figure you know what’s right is pretty plain and simple too.
Trying it out fair deal 2 (over 19 days)-
If it’s been more than 19 days since your purchase, and you just lost track of time… I’ll make a call based upon condition of the gear and yer eloquent explanations and work something out with you, likely a full refund less shipping.
If it’s been more than 19 days and you clearly used the gear… I’ll issue a partial refund based upon condition of the gear.
Why 19 days? Meh, at worst four days for shipping and fifteen days to figure out you don’t want to keep it seems plenty to me.
I used it and changed my mind- 60 days
“I thought I loved it, but after the bright and shiny wore off… it’s not for me.”
That sucks. We all get a little buyer’s remorse from time to time or make a bad call. One of the best things about the freedom of the woods is that you are responsible for your choices, good or bad. That doesn’t mean you’re SOL with me completely though so here’s the deal…
Changed my mind (under 60 days)- Give me notice, send it in on your dime. Most likely you’re going to get dinged 25% if you want a refund. Not much incentive for somebody to buy used gear without a discount now is there. If you never even used it, sure we’ll talk. If you take a store credit over a refund, chances are you’ll get a better deal.
If you trashed it, I’ll tell you what the ding is going to be and let you make the call. If you choose to keep it I’ll pay to ship it back to you.
Changed my mind (over 60 days)- Backpacking Light, Whiteblaze, and Hammock Forums all have excellent used gear forums. Now if you’re a total newbie and made a mistake, reach out, maybe we can work out a store credit.
Otherwise, the woods can be a harsh place, I’m not here to bail you out.
Why 60 days? If Matt Kirk can backpack the 2,100+ mile Appalachian trail in under 60 days, you darn well better be able to make up your mind by then.
I gotta problem- No time limit.
If you have a problem, I’d like to hear about it. We’re all outdoorsfolks, and I try to be a gentleman. If something goes wrong and there’s a way to help you out… well that’s what the trail is all about.
Wears, tears and defects- I won’t promise you free repairs, but if something is defective or just plain wore out a bit earlier than you feel is right, I may not charge you. Either way, I won’t gouge you for it.
But hey, that’s life, stuff wears out and needs to be replaced. Be reasonable and realistic.
Now if your problem was you and your trail partner exchanged full body coconut oil massages, drifted off to sleep blissfully and woke up to a dozen animals chewing on your quilt… other than share your story on the website, not much I can do but nod respectfully while I suppress my giggles.