Why LL Bean taught customers a hard lesson: Nothing lasts forever, especially not return policies

For generations, L.L. Bean has had one of the most generous return policies of any retailer.

This month, the 106 year-old outdoor gear maker decided that enough was enough.
On February 9th, L.L. Bean Executive Chairman Shawn Gorman announced in a letter on Facebook that customers now have one year to return an item, and it must accompany a receipt.
That was a stark departure from what used to be a lifetime satisfaction guarantee for any item, in any condition, even years after purchase.
While originally created to protect buyers from defective products, the growing problem was that people were taking advantage of the liberal return policy.
"People were going to garage sales and eBay, and buying very old and worn merchandise and returning it to stores for full credit," Jay Baer, a marketing expert told CNBC's "On The Money" in a recent interview.

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