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For those who don't know, this fits really well into everything REI stands for. They are a Coop where you can join and as a shareholder a customer can make back a percentage of what they purchase. Both them, the products by vendors sold in their store and their competitors (LLBean, Patagonia) pride themselves on reuse by offering many loose warranties, these are often lifetime warranties.

As someone whose father worked retail for 30 years, and working several Black Fridays myself, I can't say I wasn't moved.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

> 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. :/

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

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.

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...

Presumably the members (coperators) elect this governance board?

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

They are not the cheapest for camping equipment, etc... But on the other hand you get a generous warranty so that many times this ends up cheaper than buying from the places which essentially are "final sale" outfits.

So, in the long run, they can be cheaper and the staff are more knowledgeable than average (for retail) about the things they sell. That means they hire enthusiasts (hikers, campers, cyclists, etc., and not random JC student who do not care much about what they sell.

As an aside, one of the few stores that I miss from Europe in the US is Decathlon. They're a cut above the really low-end discount outdoor stuff places in the US - in some ways nearly on par with REI's store brand, but a bit cheaper. It's a great place to get cheap "pretty good" stuff for sports/activities you aren't that serious about. If you find you're really into something, you can always move on to more expensive, higher quality gear at a more specialized retailer.

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll give Decathlon a try. They have a store a few miles from me but I have never visited as their advertising brochures never appealed to me: nowhere do they mention the quality of their items, just very low prices that made me suspicious.

Go to any campground in France and nearly 90% of the tents are Decathalon. Kind of like Walmart for sporting goods: reasonable quality a wide breadth (but narrow depth) of products and a great place to get gear for everyday-level outdoor activities. On Mont Blanc and the surrounding massif, you typically don't see as much Decathlon stuff however everywhere else, it's ubiquitous. I do like the store about as much as I like Target in the US. I buy some gear from REI on occasion, but it seems like the stores tend to lack the depth for serious gear purchases. For example, it was nearly impossible for me to find high altitude mountain boots. They suggested I order online and return them if they don't fit, however with mountain boots, your life (and toes) depend on a perfect fit, which often requires a knowledgable salesperson. That's where REI could (and used to) win, however their selection now just seems like a greatest hits collection of weekend warrior gear; not much I can do in an REI that can't more easily be done at a proper genre-specific shop.

If anyone is ever in Chanonix, the place to go is Snell Sports; three generations of the owner's family has ran the place and they literally have almost any piece of gear to take your from the Alps to K2. If you're a non EU resident you can even get the tax refunded. Snell is my model for what REI could have been. Instead REI is really just a Walmart for the Starbucks crowd. Admittedly, I do like REI and am a member, but it's really a shadow of what it could be.

Some of Decathlon stuff is excellent, especially their backpacks. When my Osprey day bag had worn through, I nearly bought another for ~£40 but then thought I'd try a £10 bag from Decathlon.

I absolutely can't fault the quality of it. As an added bonus, it seems to be waterproof even though this wasn't advertised.

I'm a club member here in NYC. Their store is beautiful, a wonderland for someone interested in outdoor activities (I get those feelings in bookstores, craft and building stores, and electronics stores as well). I was really happy to see this. My Mom always feels awful for black friday workers so it's a bit ingrained in me to feel bad when people are working when they could (should) have the opportunity to be enjoying holidays with family and friends.

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