Running Warehouse Return Policy Etiquette

I like it their policy, since I'm a rather odd size or I flat out don't like the product.

Somehow the forum cut off my post...

In any event...

I am very happy they have a return policy like this, because they sell awesome products, have great service, and ship rather quickly.

The way I look at it, if I spend $40 on a pair of shorts, or $80 on a pair of tights, they better fit comfortably.

The way I see it you know your size. Sometimes due to the way things are made you may need a size up or down, so an exchange is ok.

If you contact them the day or two after your shoe arrives, they're gonna know that you just got the wrong size or color and aren't trying to abuse the system.

They just don't want people wearing things a lot before returning them.

I'm in the same boat here..

I bought 3 pairs of shoes from them recently and I hated every single one... and now I'm about to send back the third pair. Granted I ran like 10 miles in each of them, but I still feel a bit guilty. I guess that is the downside of online shopping

My take on their policy is it's okay if you return something after wearing for a run or two, but not much more. 90 days is a long time, and for many people that's enough time to completely wear out the shoe. If you wait the full 90 days and have been consistently training in the pair of shoes and return them simply because you're done with them or want to save some money, that's not cool.

To answer the OP's question about "excessive returns", I think you won't have a problem unless the stuff you're returning is well worn. RW is a good company that has the needs of runners in mind, and I don't think they have a problem with people wanting to try out a few pairs of shoes and sending a couple back if they don't like them.

My gut tells me it's something like as long as you are keeping 2 for every 1 used return,

I think your gut is correct. They can tell if people are trying to abuse the system.

I had a pair of Peg 33s (3 other shoes in rotation) that the heel sole ravelled after approx 42 miles and about 7 - 10 days past the 90 day return window. I called to explain the issue and was told no problem due to my purchasing/return history.

The key is to communicate with RW by telecon or email. They also respond quickly to email.

RW is the best !

I think if you take them out for a quick "fit" run on a treadmill, 1-2 miles, or walk around your house indoors, you should be fine... But I'm surprised if people would take them outside on a 10 mile run and then return it... In my eyes that's abuse of the return policy, and if more people were doing it I wouldn't be surprised if they re-considered their very liberal return policies... Just my 2c...

The same thing happened to REI when more people started to abuse their return policy and screwing it up for everybody:(

A 10 mile run on a pair of shoes then returning them? I own a business, and I certainly would say.. umm no -- gross.

RW return policy allows for this. It seems unlikely that they try to resell these shoes, and the return can only be for store credit or exchange, not a refund. But technically you can run 10-100 miles in a pair of shoes and return them. However, if you do this too often then they'll cut you off.

Also if you clearly ran in the shoes for 88 days and then return them for exchange because you "didn't like them" it's pretty obvious you're cheating the system. I'm sure they don't put the explicit policy for how often you can do this because then people would be more likely to go all the way to the limit than they would just being warned "you can be cutoff at any moment".

If you return a pair of shoes after 88 days and clearly never wore them outside, just tried them on and forgot to stop at the post office, I think they don't care, because they can still resell them.

Having a generous return policy is crucial to being successful as a remote shoe sales company imo.

Interesting. Though my business isn't a shoe store. :)

Whenever I use their return policy I always do a store credit. Especially since I'll likely buy something else from them.

Only complaint I do have about their store credit, is they do it in the form of a gift coupon. I inadvertently forgot I had one for about 2 years, and between then I bought several things from them. I wish they'd do it like Amazon, where it tacks on to your account.

In any event, I've always been satisfied with their service.

The 90 day return policy does have other restrictions. They ask that you try them on indoors in a place like your living room where you won't scuff up the shoe by just trying them on. I'm sure they are annoyed if the shoe shows any wear from even a single short run, but it's not worth risking a customer over. If you're going to cause them to scrap one or two pairs of shoes per year when you only buy one or two pairs per year, then you're probably a difficult customer. Certainly they are going to limit your returns if they can't resell the ones you are returning to them.

This is completely wrong—it literally says return them at any point, new or used, within 90 days. It’s totally common to put 10-20 miles on a pair of shoes before you realize they’re not for you. A certain number of returns is cost of doing business for them and the liberal policy is how they attract costumers who otherwise might use Amazon or Zappos.

I don't think you should be taking shoes out for multiple runs and then return them. I wear my shoes around the house on carpet, if they don't feel right i'll send them back in new condition. If the company is loosing money on 1 of every 3 pairs of sneakers due to being worn and returned there is no way they can stay in business. If you are that picky you should go to a local store so that a sales rep is able to help you. I'm lucky i know what sneakers i like and order the same pair every time so typically i don't have an issue with returns unless the sizing is off. I think the return/ exchange policy is great for individuals who have a quality issue/ malfunction with their used sneakers.

KawauchiFTW wrote:

I think if you take them out for a quick "fit" run on a treadmill, 1-2 miles, or walk around your house indoors, you should be fine... But I'm surprised if people would take them outside on a 10 mile run and then return it... In my eyes that's abuse of the return policy, and if more people were doing it I wouldn't be surprised if they re-considered their very liberal return policies... Just my 2c...

The same thing happened to REI when more people started to abuse their return policy and screwing it up for everybody:(

But this is exactly their policy---ie, take them out for a run, if you don't like them, return them. Functionally it makes no difference, and it's not a question of "abuse"---shoes in this sense are binary: new or not new. Two miles on a treadmill? Not new! Twenty runs in a drainage ditch? Not new! They can't resell shoes that have been worn for 1 mile on a treadmill as new. What would be abuse is returning a pair of shoes after 80 days, say, 4 times in a row, thereby getting 4 pairs of shoes, and a year of running, for the price of one pair of shoes.

Their policies have an important business rationale...if you can't try (not try on) shoes and then return them, why would you ever buy running shoes online? Better to go to the LRS and try a pair on the treadmill there. Returns is the cost of doing biz on the internet. And returning a pair of worn VF 4% (which I did; 8 miles on the road) does not mean RW loses $250. I mean, yes, they lost the sale, but they're only in the hole whatever they paid Nike for them minus whatever Nike gives them for pulped shoes. TL/DR: It's not abuse, it's their policy.

They just put your used shoes up on ebay.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of shoes up there right now all being sold by about 3 users who just "happen" to be located right in the same area that RW is.

I've gotten "used" shoes from them that were 70% off the MSRP and literally the only use on them was a bit of dirty on the bottom of the shoe.

I returned a pair of trail shoes to RW that had about 40 miles on them and had been through mud and dirt. Got a store credit.

If you wanted to be a d!ck, you could have a continuous supply of shoes for life by changing the name or email or address or something each time you order something and then return it.

When I want a pair of shoes, I google the shoe and get it from the place that has the best prices, but more often than not that turns out to be RW. Plus they have free and fast shipping and the generous return policy and I'll go with RW if it's close.

Thanks for the replies everyone. There seems to be a diversity of opinions here, which makes sense to me since here I am trying to figure out the spirit of their policy myself. I guess I lean more towards not wearing anything outdoors that you don't have at least some intention of keeping. For example, I feel like if you ordered three pairs of shoes only planning to keep one, took them all out for a run around the neighborhood, and then sent two back, that's probably abusing them policy somewhat (but maybe ok if you only do it every so often?). Like I mentioned in the OP, there's probably some ratio of purchases to returns that will keep you in the black, but I guess it's best to just stay as far away as reasonably possible. It would be a shame if they had to change their policy, because it is amazing and that (along with their fast free shipping) is the reason I buy almost all of my shoes there.

Someone mentioned them selling the returns on eBay. Does anyone have a eBay username by any chance? I'd love to poke around their used returns selection.

[quote]fatbody wrote:

Someone mentioned them selling the returns on eBay. Does anyone have a eBay username by any chance? I'd love to poke around their used returns selection.

I don't think RW sells their returns on eBay, I do know that Road Runner Sports sells their returns at race expos.