LEC Returns - A question about overexcitement

[triseis]

Following the recommendation of a few people on here, I've bought a handful of LEC shirts (about 6) sized down to a small from a medium. At first, I loved them. They weren't billowy, they looked good, priced decently. I wore them a couple of times each and started noticing a trend. All the sleeves were sufficiently short, I have to roll them up in order to wear them. The shoulder seam was about 1/2" to 3/4" high of my shoulder. If I pulled my shoulders back or reached waaaaay behind me, I could feel some tension in the buttons. And my wife started saying I was on the boundary of hipster fit (a little bit further down the line from billowy than I was looking for).


They're still much better than most of my other shirts (polos and dark blue vertical stripes, meh), and I think they still look fine rolled up and casual like, but they've definitely moved from "fantastic!" to "ehh... they'll do". So now I feel a little stuck. Some of these shirts were bought back in May, and I kind of feel like I'm taking advantage of LEC's rather generous return policy. Should I hold on and swap them out over the next few year? Or dump them and try to get a better fit?

[Rodney Dean]

I recently took back a shirt from March. I'd say if you're not going to wear them anymore, return and get something that fits. They absolutely will take them back, and you don't need to feel guilty about their policy.


Also, use their instant chat and find out what the chest and waist (and any other) measurement sizes are for those shirts, and then make sure the replacements are a little bigger.

[Focuspants]

I actually found their sleeves to run long for their sizes. You must have really long arms :P I usually wear a medium and sized down to small in most of their shirts. I have a 34" sleeve measurement, and the smalls have 34" sleeves. The mediums run 35" or so.


I am 5'10 1/2 - 5'11 ish in height for perspective.

[jake89]

Return.

No guilt whatsoever.

Their sizes are inconsistent and its not what you expected when you bought it. Its the cost of doing business for them.

[tomservo]

I think I need to do the same. I find sleeves to be way too long. Like the shirts in general but could size down to a large as well.

[Hardrain]

I would hate to return them. I think its great that a company chooses to have such a customer friendly return policy, and I don't like to see it abused. Don't get me wrong I order tons of stuff from LEC to see how it looks and return the stuff I don't like, but not after wearing it.


You made the choice to size down and had ample time to realize the sleeves were short before wearing them a few times. Plus, I am guessing you got them for dirt cheap in a sale, as all LEC purchases should come. Just one man's opinion but I think returning them now would be abusing the system.

[AnonymousJay]

I agree with Hardrain.

[jake89]

Abusing the policy would be someone who knowingly buys somethings with the clear intention of returning it, after they have worn it out for months or years. I dont think the OP had that intention nor is he is looking or trying to abuse their policy. Their policy is whatever, whenever.


If you take a look at their website, LE post this story in regards to their returns :


"Featured on the cover of our 1984 holiday catalog, the taxi was purchased for $19,000 by a Kansas native as a gift for her husband (an avid car collector). In 2005, her husband contacted Lands' End and expressed interest in returning the car for a full refund. Of course, we obliged - because whether your purchase includes a tote or a taxi, your satisfaction is Guaranteed. Period.®"


20 years late...I guess


LE and LEC bake into the cost of the their products a small insurance amount in case folks return an item to cover costs related to returns. Whether you return it or not its in the cost.


Im not advocating that folks return items for the smallest of reasons. But the option is there. Thats their policy.

[trash]

I think using something for a while and then returning it is abusing the return policy, but if you never wear it and then return it months later that's not so bad. I did that with a shirt from LEC, and while I felt awkward returning it, they didn't comment at all on the fact that I purchased it months ago. I would only return something I wore a few times if it started falling apart before I thought I got a reasonable amount of use out of it, and even then only if it cost more than $20.

[fiestaplatypus]

I'm not gonna get in to the whole ethicallity debate regarding the return, but the sleeve issue is one of the risks you take when you size down and you should be ready to check for that immediately. Based on LE sizing, I would need a small in all their shirts for the waist and chest measurement. What do I order? A large...and then bring it straight to the tailor's after a wash. If you're a skinnier guy, with long arms/broad shoulders, you need to factor in the cost of tailoring for any shirts you buy from a traditional fit type of retailer.