I bought a Pair of waders last year (end of september) I fished every day till till the 18th of November, then put them away, Beat to crap(never washed/rinsed them)
I went to the new store that just opened in the next town to me, and handed them to the girl at the return counter,(muddy and salt stained) not even a question just took them back and gave me a brand new pair. I Love LL Bean :kewl:

Yea, I've done that a few times :hee:

I'm trying to determine where the line of abuse it though. So I replace some spiked felt boots for free and now I need a new pair as they really don't last all that long.

It's not like they should last forever, and for a hundred bucks you're not buying perpetual service...or are you?

-spence

LL Bean opening in Mansfield this fall.

I'll be abusing the return policy. :smash:

I don't think it is abuse if it only lasts less than 2 months, if you wore it and used it for it's life expectancy than returned it, it is abuse.

I don't think it is abuse if it only lasts less than 2 months, if you wore it and used it for it's life expectancy than returned it, it is abuse.
No issues there, I'm talking about things that wear out, but don't have a very defined life expectancy.

-spence

I got Orvis silver label.....great waders! Figure if I get a season out of them....they don't owe me anything! I just buy a new pair! They are still going strong after all last season.....gotta patch a couple hook holes up high tomorrow!:wall:

No issues there, I'm talking about things that wear out, but don't have a very defined life expectancy.

-spence

There is a fine line

I work at a store where we will basicly accept any returns no matter the reason, we do this to encourage custumers to see if the products will work for them at home. I remember one return where the guys brought back two $150 luggage trunks w/stickers and obvious wear after his kids were done with them for camp. Doing things like that is blatent abuse of a well meaning system, and if more people acted this way you may see the return policy change.

if the waders only last two months of hard use, then you should get a new pair, even with hard use, that is unacceptable.

I do not feel that I am screwing the system at all, they didn't last I paid over $260 for them I would think they should last 2 years of hard use. these were leaking last November and that's when you don't need them to leak when it is cold. so really it was only a month before they leaked.

Nice Bob:cheers:

I am on my 3rd pair in three years. I asked the person at llbean if it was ok to return them and she told me that the waders should last you longer than a year. It is nice to see a company stand by their product.

The way I look at it is that thye can improve on their product by monitoring the "defects" in their product.

I do not feel that I am screwing the system at all, they didn't last I paid over $260 for them I would think they should last 2 years of hard use. these were leaking last November and that's when you don't need them to leak when it is cold. so really it was only a month before they leaked.


I agree with you there, they should last at least a full season!!!
seems like llbeans idea of quality control is their return policy...

I do the 2 year rule as well. if i get 2 years out of it i buy a new one. If not, i send it back.. I love the bean ultralight wading boots but they never last a full season- not my problem they dont make a durable product..

this thread reminds me i have to send em all back before i go to cuttyhunk this month :D

whats the best pair of boots for llbean waders, looking for somthing in the 50-100 dollar range

It is great that they have a good policy on returns. Last year I bought two pairs of breathable waders with felt sole boots and the suspenders came off the bib while trying on one pair. They were returned. The second pair lasted about three trips this spring before the suspender straps on the bib came loose. I wound up sewing them back on because I need them now. Maybe it was a fluke production run but I think they need some type of quality control.

I agree with you there, they should last at least a full season!!!
seems like llbeans idea of quality control is their return policy...

Yeah. There's something to be said for buying something that doesn't leak or break in the first place.

Warranties are great, but so is not getting wet when you don't want to be. What good does a warranty do in the middle of the night on Block Island in early November?

Of course, the trick is finding/buying waders that don't leak so that you don't need to use the warranty or spend an entire paycheck on them... :doh:

I just did the same thing on Saturday....returned mine since they were leaking and actually upgraded to a sturdier model. They gave me full price of my old waders off the price of the new ones and called up the main office to oerder them for me and to waive the shipping. They are coming on Wednesday.

Way to go Bob. You should get new waders for only two months in them.

My westbranch are leaking after 2 seasons. I am sending them back. We bought a new old stock kid carrier at a used childrens gear store. It was from 1990, but never used and the tags were still on it. My wife read me the policy on the tag which said (not exact quote)...if you are not satisfied with the product at anytime. Not that we need to return it, but it is nice to know that they stand by there product. I beleive this gives llbean a serious competetive advantage. What they lose in returns is returned in multitude by customer loyalty that drives their sales. Also, I agree that waders should last more than 2 years. However, it seems all brands wear out pretty quickly. See beans is smart, cause I am sticking with them. If my next ones last 3 or 4 years, I will replace them with beans. I will not spend 250+ on waders that aren't backed by that type of policy.

I got Orvis silver label.....great waders! Figure if I get a season out of them....they don't owe me anything! I just buy a new pair! They are still going strong after all last season.....gotta patch a couple hook holes up high tomorrow!:wall:
I just found a 6" hole in mine, the hard way...wtf

$30 to fix them, I was going to just buy another pair while these get repaired, but 0 in stock! :lossinit:

I wonder what the percentage of waders Bean has returned. I think that most sporting goods are not worn out but left to die in a closet of old age.
My beans waders are the $99 dollar ones, less than the boots and I've been fishing in them since last september sometime.
My Orvis Pro Guides are three years old and dying with a few weeps and now a new abrasion leak on the inside.

As they said in the great philospohical movie "Tommy Boy"

"I could take a dump in a box and slap a guarantee on it, I've got spare time"

I too buy the ~mid $100 waders, they usually don't last a season, so I send em back. I sleep fine at night...

All there waders are from China, and I am sure they are dirt cheap
the mark up is a good 500%.

I had the west branch boot foot which was a great pair of waders
the only problem is I beat the crap out of everything I own, "Full Throttle"
I went with fly weight stocking foot and boots, then with
the left over money I bought my Wife a couple of things.

LLBean in Mansfield? Yahoooo!

yup, part of the new Mansfield Crossing, spend lots of dough so my %#%$%$^&&6%% taxes will go down .

I deal with damn mall construction traffic every day

yup, part of the new Mansfield Crossing, spend lots of dough so my %#%$%$^&&6%% taxes will go down .

Like that will ever happen :bsod:

-spence

one can dream

I had 2 year old $99.00 Emergers from Bean's. Up in Freeport, I told the salesman that they were starting to pinhole after 2 seasons. He ENCOURAGED! me to bring them back to have them looked at. So I did and they gave me a full credit on the spot... upgraded to a pair of "wicked toughs gtx" the same day.

Very happy with the new ones!

An LLbean 20 minutes away. This could cost me big bucks!! :)

I assumed they would be carrying yuppy clothing (see Spence's avatar) and little else. Do the stores usually carry outdoors gear? I recall being in a LL Bean once and it was all clothing?

I got Orvis silver label.....great waders! Figure if I get a season out of them....they don't owe me anything! I just buy a new pair! They are still going strong after all last season.....gotta patch a couple hook holes up high tomorrow!:wall:

I have the silver labels too. They are awesome!! This is my second season with them and no leaks (knock on wood). Gotem for cheap on ebay.

I assumed they would be carrying yuppy clothing (see Spence's avatar) and little else. Do the stores usually carry outdoors gear? I recall being in a LL Bean once and it was all clothing?

Yeah, i stopped in one down in Maryland last summer, hoping to pick up some fly line for my buddys new fly rod, but that LL Bean had ZERO fishing gear. Hopefully the one in Mansfield does.

Ive been happy with my Bean Emerger waders. Good waders for the price.

The one in Burlington Has everything, give them a call and ask, cheaper than driving all the way there to find out No.