It's also a way for big merchants to crush smaller merchants, especially with music gear. Guitar Center will accept returns where the product can no longer be sold new and eat the cost while a local merchant can't, and loses business as a result.

Plus the quite common experience now of buying "new" only to find that the unit is scuffed and missing parts etc.

It's another one of those things that seems like a win for the consumer but is really just anticompetitive and borderline fraudulent.