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L.L.Bean Ends Its 100-Year No-Questions-Asked Return Policy

The guarantee said 100% satisfactory, forever, no receipt required. It survived two world wars. It did not survive eBay.

The Complaints Department

The Complaints Department

— 1 min read
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A pair of worn leather hiking boots
Photo: barbourians (CC BY-SA 2.0)

L.L.Bean's return policy dated back to founder Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912: goods were "Guaranteed to be 100% satisfactory in every way." No time limit. No receipt required. No explanation needed.

For over a century it meant exactly that. Customers returned boots bought at yard sales, coats found in attics, and backpacks with decades of visible wear, and walked out with a refund or a brand-new replacement.

In February 2018, L.L.Bean ended the unconditional version, moving to a one-year window with proof of purchase. The company said a small number of customers had been treating the guarantee as a permanent replacement plan — returning items years or decades old, or bought secondhand, for full value.

The new policy is still generous by retail standards. It is also, for the first time in 106 years, a policy with an expiration date.

Filed from public reporting:

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