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REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

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Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#71

Post by OfSanguineFire »

justinator wrote: post #64
OfSanguineFire wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different online retailers do sales at different times and with different degrees of discount, so if REI is selling an item at MSRP, it could be that a customer can save a great deal by judiciously searching the competition and getting the item from somewhere else. Moreover, when I last shopped heavily from REI a decade ago, it was often claimed in the outdoor community that its prices were inevitably higher than oth…

That is interesting anecdote and hearsay, but I was looking for an example. I'm not saying you're wrong, but is there somewhere else I should shop? Do remember Amazon is getting in deep water for all sorts of things that basically boil down to price fixing, so there are many factors at play for MSRP being solid across the board.

So from the EU I cannot access at present the website of Moosejaw, one of REI’s major competitors, but I am sure that if you compare prices of gear between the two over time, one will be cheaper than the other when it has a sale at less than MSRP. Comparing prices across retailers and buying during limited-time sales is online shopping 101.

A gallon canister of Coleman fuel is $19 at REI, and $14.98 at Wal-Mart.

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#72

Post by nerdbert »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #69

I'm not saying this is the cause of the layoffs, but recently REI instigated a no bags policy (or at least mine did). This isn't the standard buy bags for 10 cents at the register, there quite literally are no bags for sale, unless you decide to buy a backpack. However, their website gives free shipping for $50 and is the same price as in store. One of the most insane and obviously virtue signaling policies I've ever…

I live in Europe and haven't received a bag from a store in years. Recently visited the USA and they were being foisted on me left and right.

I submit that people will adjust to this, I sure have, and that the real solution is for more stores to do it so that it seems normal.

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#73

Post by bawolff »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #69

I'm not saying this is the cause of the layoffs, but recently REI instigated a no bags policy (or at least mine did). This isn't the standard buy bags for 10 cents at the register, there quite literally are no bags for sale, unless you decide to buy a backpack. However, their website gives free shipping for $50 and is the same price as in store. One of the most insane and obviously virtue signaling policies I've ever…

You know,its funny, the most shocking part of this story to me is that most people still live in places where buying a bag at a register for 10 cents is an option at any store.

Where i grew up this has been banned for more than a decade.

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#75

Post by lazypenguin »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #69

I'm not saying this is the cause of the layoffs, but recently REI instigated a no bags policy (or at least mine did). This isn't the standard buy bags for 10 cents at the register, there quite literally are no bags for sale, unless you decide to buy a backpack. However, their website gives free shipping for $50 and is the same price as in store. One of the most insane and obviously virtue signaling policies I've ever…

How is it virtue signaling? They can either ship their products from one warehouse to their stores, then you drive and pick up your item. Or they can just ship it directly to you which presumably means the item travelled the same distance? Unless you live walking distance from REI?

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#76

Post by msikora »

prepend wrote: post #59
NegativeK wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Large outdoor goods retail chain in the form of a co-op. They're known for having a very open return policy as well as cash back to anyone who joins their cheap membership things. (Naturally, they're not perfect -- so they're known for putting small shops out of business when they arrive and for becoming more faceless to some of their employees as they grow.)

> They're known for having a very open return policy Sadly not so much. Now it’s a one year limited warranty and I’ve been hassled about returning things because they ended up not fitting right. They used to be great and would take anything back for any reason. And this always led to me buying tons more stuff. With the new policy, I buy much less. Especially since the REI brand is pretty low quality now and no one su…

Also there were those amazing garage sales, I have always stocked up on high quality hiking boots, almost new, with like 80%-90% discount. Thi was like 10 years ago, now I think they have a section and it's not anywhere as good in both selection and prices.

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#78

Post by csharpminor »

pokstad wrote: post #15

A lot of people in that sub say they are part of the layoffs. Maybe they just laid off everyone that goes to that REI subreddit.

The note to employees indicates the layoff is only about 2% of the company’s workforce so it would appear there’s a good deal of overlap.

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#79

Post by jancsika »

NegativeK wrote: post #21
squigz wrote: post #8

What is REI?

Large outdoor goods retail chain in the form of a co-op. They're known for having a very open return policy as well as cash back to anyone who joins their cheap membership things. (Naturally, they're not perfect -- so they're known for putting small shops out of business when they arrive and for becoming more faceless to some of their employees as they grow.)

> They're known for having a very open return policy

Since 2013 it appears to be a one-year return policy. That's shorter than the warranty on most of their clothing brands (basically "forever" excepting long underwear), and about equal to warranty on most of their footwear brands.

For "vectorizing" returns-- e.g., dealing with multiple pieces of clothing/gear-- it's probably quite convenient to be able to return a bunch of stuff at once to an REI physical location.

For a single item exchanges or replacements, it's probably just as easy going through the vendor's warranty form on their website. In fact, most of those companies have stellar customer service on the phone.

And I do mean stellar. Like, imagine the exact opposite of Gmail's tech support. Honestly, if you have a broken zipper on a recent Patagonia jacket or a cracked buckle on an Osprey pack, call their customer support and enjoy the maximally productive humane conversation with someone who is truly interested in helping you, the customer of their company. It may restore your faith in humanity (though potentially at the risk of making you question your line of work in ad tech, so be warned...)

Re: REI is Laying Off 275 Employees

#80

Post by bawolff »

lazypenguin wrote: post #75
ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #69

I'm not saying this is the cause of the layoffs, but recently REI instigated a no bags policy (or at least mine did). This isn't the standard buy bags for 10 cents at the register, there quite literally are no bags for sale, unless you decide to buy a backpack. However, their website gives free shipping for $50 and is the same price as in store. One of the most insane and obviously virtue signaling policies I've ever…

How is it virtue signaling? They can either ship their products from one warehouse to their stores, then you drive and pick up your item. Or they can just ship it directly to you which presumably means the item travelled the same distance? Unless you live walking distance from REI?

Not to mention shipping large orders is probably cheaper for them than hiring cashiers, and all the other expenses of a real store.
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