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I'm just curious how people feel about wardrobing--the practice of buying something with the intention of using it once and returning it. Technically it's a type of return fraud.

I'm asking because I always find it tempting for tools. Like right now, I could really use an RJ45 crimping tool. I will likely never need it again. Or rarely at best. It's really tempting just to go to Home Depot, buy one, use it, and return it. Or hell, open the package, use it in the store, close the package and leave.

(In the end, I borrowed one from the IT guy)

I wouldn't do that. Even if it's a shitty faceless corporation, id feel wrong doing it.

I generally avoid it. I find it gross with clothing; you're getting your sweat and other bodily stuff on it. There are places that you can rent clothes and they're prepared to launder it. Unless I'm trying something on to see if it fits, and barring any issues that compromise it's use, once I take something out of the store, I know I'm stuck with it.

I do feel the same way about non-clothing, although I admit I bought a tablet recently with the assumption it would most likely be returned, only because I wouldn't know if it was going to do what I needed it to do until I got home. (It didn't, I returned it within a couple of days.)

I couldn't do it. With clothing I'm on the same page as Celt Z. I have tried things on at home and returned them ASAP. I couldn't wear it all day or out for a night, then take it back. It's just gross.

Non-clothing things, like tools, I always figure something will come up where I might need it again. If not, I could always give it to someone who needs it or sell it on Craigslist later,

I, for one, am disappointed that wardrobing doesn't involve hiding in a cupboard for a day pretending you are in Narnia.

evilmike said:

I, for one, am disappointed that wardrobing doesn't involve hiding in a cupboard for a day pretending you are in Narnia.

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I was expecting this to be about the upcoming Superbowl halftime show.

Gruebeard said:

I was expecting this to be about the upcoming Superbowl halftime show.

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That’s only if it malfunctions.

—Patrick

I've done it once for a handtruck/dolly. I was desperate and dirt poor. I used it for a day and took it back with little to no wear and tear. I've never done that with clothes or anything else. I haven't done that since then either. Still feel a bit ashamed about it.

I know a guy who took a truck for a test drive, moved a fridge and then decided that the truck "just wasn't the right fit".

I used to work in a place that sold pro audio gear. We had a list of people who were not allowed to return stuff, or at a minimum were forced to pay a higher-than-usual restocking fee just because of how frequently they were “giggin’ on the cheap.”

—Patrick

I thought maybe this was like swatting, but instead of sending a tactical police unit to murder your friend, you pushed a dresser on top of them.

Chad Sexington said:

I thought maybe this was like swatting, but instead of sending a tactical police unit to murder your friend, you pushed a dresser on top of them.

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Ooo, like in Beauty and the Beast?


—Patrick

That seems like a lot of planning to have a wardrobe handy. Those things aren't light. Or easily concealed.

I suppose it could become a "trend", but you'd have to be killing off a lot of dumb, unobservant people. "Right, why am I standing at the bottom of the stairs again? ...This isn't that 'wardrobing' thing, is it?...No? ...Alright , I'll just stand here...".

It feels really bad, ethically, so I don’t do it.

However our realtor went with my wife to bed bath and beyond, tell them we were staging a home and just wanted to buy stuff to make it look nice then return it within the return period.

We were up front with the store, they asked us simply to not remove the tags, and that it was fine with them, apparently realtors do that frequently.

We bought about $600 worth of stuff, but ended up keeping $200 of it because my wife liked it so much, and when we returned the portion we didn’t want two weeks later they said that’s what usually happens, the realtor gets someone to buy stuff they wouldn’t normally buy for staging, and while some of it does come back, a lot doesn’t and what does come back is still in showroom condition, since people know they are returning it and are afraid they might have to buy it if it becomes dirty.

So we bought $200 worth of stuff at full price we wouldn’t have otherwise considered buying, and all the store had to do was loan us $400 worth of stuff for awhile to make the sale.

I guess it’s not a bad deal for them.

We had to put everything away when we were home though, couldn’t trust the kids around the stuff and didn’t want to buy it all.

But even then, with the ful cooperation and permission of the store, it still felt like we were taking too much advantage of their return policy.

Missed this thread because I was in the hospital. But yeah, wardrobing is scummy. Back when I was in high school, I worked at Best Buy, and even back then they had to make special return policies for TVs because there was a common practice where people would buy large screen TVs the week leading up to the super bowl and then return them on monday. The policy was changed such that no returns would be accepted on TVs bought in Jan or early Feb unless there was something demonstrably wrong with the TV, and even then it could only be exchanged for another or for store credit.

I used to know a guy who was incredibly competitive with me. Anything I did or bought, he had to buy.

The problem: He made close to minimum wage, and I was making tech bubble money ($150/hour 40-60 hours a week).

So, for example, I bought a laser printer (which was $1000 in the early 2000's). So he bought a printer just long enough to show it off to all of our mutual friends, and then returned it. He did that with a lot of stuff. I found it tacky and trashy.And really weirdly obsessive about trying to have all the same shit that I had.

It wasn't like he needed any of that stuff and was desperate. It was all fake conspicuous consumption for the sake of raising his estimation in the eyes of our mutual friends.

Tinwhistler said:

I used to know a guy who was incredibly competitive with me. Anything I did or bought, he had to buy.

The problem: He made close to minimum wage, and I was making tech bubble money ($150/hour 40-60 hours a week).

So, for example, I bought a laser printer (which was $1000 in the early 2000's). So he bought a printer just long enough to show it off to all of our mutual friends, and then returned it. He did that with a lot of stuff. I found it tacky and trashy.And really weirdly obsessive about trying to have all the same shit that I had.

It wasn't like he needed any of that stuff and was desperate. It was all fake conspicuous consumption for the sake of raising his estimation in the eyes of our mutual friends.

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Ugh that reminds me of one of my ugly in laws who constantly chirps in that they "could have done that." Well you didn't horse face and you ain't getting a cookie for not doing shit you could have done.