[morganm]

Are they really a co-op any more, or has the organization been co-opted by executives?

Members can vote for board members, but only after they have been approved by the "Nominating and Governance Committee". Executive pay is also not disclosed.

REI used to offer a lifetime guarantee on every product they sold. Sadly, this was abused by many people which I believe left no other option than to limit it. This used to make up for paying full retail for everything. Backcountry.com soon followed suite by reducing their warranty accordingly.

As a climber, I've noticed their selection in that department has dwindled quite dramatically over the years.

Maybe these things aren't practical in today's world. For me, they are slowly transitioning from an amazing store I would plug every chance I got, to just another retailer.

If you're ever in Canada, be sure to check out MEC. They still have a lifetime guarantee and their house brand is top-notch and of exceptional value.

[ramatevish]

I was told by an REI employee that a large motivator for the change in return policy was the 2008 financial crisis. She mentioned a lot of people were returning decades old equipment. I personally feel a year is more than fair, and I have absolutely no reason to demand more from them in that regard.

[morganm]

From my view, the lifetime guarantee meant that REI's incentives were aligned with mine: stock only the highest quality items and have an extremely knowledgable staff to access my needs and pair me with said products.

I've had a couple instances were a product failed well outside of 1 year. I could have warrantied through the manufacturer, but REI handled it for me and I had a replacement in 5 minutes. That outstanding service is no longer.

[mattlutze]

No piece of equipment will last forever, though, and that lifetime guarantee wasn't sustainable.

Sure, if I take care of my boots they last a while. Should I get my money back or have them resoled for free if the glue fails 2x or 3x after the manufacturer said it was guaranteed? Probably not. If the DWR on my rain jacket can't be refreshed, or a plastic connector on an extendable hiking stick fails after a thousand miles in the mountains?

A year feels like a big change from "forever". Maybe 2 or 3 would have made a better headline, but again you've got people that will have learned about the program (I've been a member since 2003 and never knew about the lifetime guarantee...) and will pick stuff up with the express purpose of beating it up then getting it replaced or returned. That's not good to me as a co-op member, either, because it puts pressure on the company to raise prices to cover the cost of returns and repairs.

[scott_karana]

> No piece of equipment will last forever, though, and that lifetime guarantee wasn't sustainable.

Not in theory, but it was sustainable if it was really just a mutual contract of quality transactions.

The majority of REI members wouldn't have returned a worn out pair of boots, I suspect. But then the economy crashed. :/

[mattlutze]

Yeah... unfortunately they should have / have to build their business around those sorts of situations.

[umsm]

There are some products where a return period of greater than 1 year makes sense: Seasonal equipment that you can't use regularly. You may buy a snowboard or similar equipment, use it once, and then put it away until next season.

If on the second use (greater than 12 months later) they break, it would be nice to be able to return the equipment for being defective.

[Tiktaalik]

MEC is undergoing the same sort of changes, and becoming more of a regular big box retailer. It's distancing itself from its traditional backcountry outdoors focus and embracing urban recreation, such as running, cycling and yoga.

There's a good recent article about it here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/mec-govern...

[spacecowboy_lon]

Presumably the members (coperators) elect this governance board?

Beyond a certain size you have to have some element of representative democracy in a coop.