Rooftop Tent Moral Dilemma... advice?

You should add a third choice to your poll. Resell it.

 

Compliments to the OP for bringing up the issue and opening himself up to this feedback!

 

Lol rest assured... REI isn’t losing money because of their return policy. If they were, they wouldn’t be in business. They still make money off majority of the crap they put in the garage sales.

 

Exactly

 

+1.

No dilemma, private sale as others have recommended. www.theiacp.org/codeofethics

 

Oh please. He isn't trying to scam REI or get one over on them. He would be returning the tent within the companies own policies.

Their policy states:
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

We stand behind everything we sell. If you're not satisfied with your REI purchase, you can return it for a replacement or refund within one year of purchase

He clearly isn't satisfied. If anything having some apprehension about returning the item speaks to his character, and not in the negative light you're trying to paint.

 

^^ this guy gets it.
Satisfaction gauruntee means.. satisfaction gauruntee. That’s literally what I told my REI employee when I returned my tepui. He asked why, i said I’m not satisfied. He said verbatim “right on, I just have to ask to make sure it’s not broken when we put it in the garage sale”

 

"I can't afford to keep this" != "Not Satisfied"

I guarantee anyone defending this practice of Rent n' Return hasn't ever run a retail business. And it's not even "rent" - it's use it for free.

This eventually costs us ALL more money, in the form of higher prices. REI - or any other company for that matter - doesn't just shrug and let it affect the bottom line. Prices go up to keep the margins the same.

So, there's your economic argument, no moral judgment required.

I still think it's a dick move.

 

+1

At least the OP is asking for advice on what to do though. Gotta give him credit. I wonder how many people in the RTT OverlandInstagram crowd are in the same predicament. I am guessing a lot.

 

Returns are for NEW product that was damaged in the box,your tent is USED and was not damaged in the box,NOT RETURNABLE.You bought it ,its now yours too do as you like,its not REI problem that you thought you were rich.

 

Keep it and use it as an excuse to go camping more.

 

Lol. Economic argument? Yeah that’s not how that works.
Companies can’t just jack up their prices to make more margin... you know what happens if REI jacks up their price because THEIR return policy is showing negative returns? People go buy it elsewhere for cheaper. Companies compete to bring prices down to equilibrium of supply and demand, not jack them up to meet desired margin. If REI wanted to up their margin on the tents, then they would exclude them from the return policy.

 

Make time to use it. There more nights you spend in it, the more you'll realize it's awesome for extending the range of your backcountry travels. And what a pain in the ass to return it, even if it's REI...

Here's the way I justified the cost:
Cheap hotel/motel @ $75+ a night,
$1700/75 = 23 nights, conservatively
I saved more that in less than a year,
and I have camped in it at some of the most beautiful places in the country.



My vote, keep it, use it.

 

You lose your dividend credits if you take it back. They seem to retain their value pretty well, so you could probably sell it for a couple hundred less than you paid, cash in your dividend money, and damn near break even.

I bought 3 hydro flasks with the REI dividends from my tent........

There's no back country in Ohio and we never our tent, but I'm just going to let it sit in the garage as I know my wife will never let me hear the end of it if I sell it and want to buy another in a few years.

 

THEN, the OP shouldn't have posted his moral dilemma....... From the first post, OP was NOT dissatisfied with his purchase, he has buyers remorse. Regarding REI's satisfaction policy - If you have a job, it is highly unlikely that your company WANTS "dissatisfied" customers, only satisfied customers are generally repeat customers. Taking advantage of their satisfaction policy, the reason many have cited as a rationale for the return, is a moral shortcoming. I suspect if you don't know the difference, you probably went through your mama'a purse because you didn't think you were getting a big enough allowance when you were a kid, or you still are.......

 

RTT's mounted on rigs sucks. RTT's mounted on trailers, or other devices you don't drive, are much better.

 

Yours mounted on a trailer?

 

Not yet. I built an off-road trailer to mount one on. My buddy has one on top of his Jeep & it's a PITA when we need to drive the vehicle in the evening or early morning.

 

I believe in Karma. I have worked my ass off for everything I own. There will always be people that feel that if the system allows them to steal, they are entitled to take advantage of it.

The lady in front of me at the store bought about $200 worth of groceries on a food stamp card. When I walked out to the parking lot, she was getting into a late model FJ Cruiser.