Scott Duke Kominers, Columnist

L.L. Bean Will Regret Ending Lifetime Product Guarantee

The boot maker is trying to save money. The opposite effect is likely.

February 20, 2018 at 1:00 PM UTC

Scott Duke Kominers is the MBA Class of 1960 Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard University department of economics.

Take them back.
Photographer: Shiho Fukada/Bloomberg

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L.L. Bean has eliminated its famous 100-percent satisfaction guarantee, under which the company promised to repair or replace its products for life, no questions asked. Now, returns must be made within a year (except for defective products), and require proof of purchase.

The company says that the guarantee had grown too costly. Now it’s going to discover that ending it could cost even more.