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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not understand why people don’t return the BNWT items

110 replies

Singlebutmarried · 10/08/2018 10:06

Especially those that are still in store.....

.......or am I a cynical old bag and think they may have been obtained with a five finger discount? 🤔

OP posts:

SnugglySnerd · 10/08/2018 12:01

I have some lovely baby clothes people have us that still have tags on as they were too small for the babies and as I'd just has a c section and had twin babies to look after I didn't quite manage to get to town to return them. I will eventually list them on eBay unless I can pass them onto any friends who have babies in the meantime.
There are lots of reasons why people might not return items eg illness, bought it a bit small planning to lose weight or too long planning to alter it but never got round to it etc.

pennycarbonara · 10/08/2018 12:04

Had no idea people assumed this. I use eBay but not Facebook.

I have often seen stuff listed as BNWT/BINB which is years old, just unworn with tags or in its original box. My scepticism about the stuff is instead to see the 'BN' bit as inaccurate, only there because it's part of a stock abbreviation. UWT / UIB (unworn with tags/unused in box) would be more accurate for most items IMO.

If I know when I bought an item like this and it's two years old, or less, I will state the year/season I bought it. (Although in practice it's been a while since I had anything unworn with tags to sell, as I rarely overbuy now.)

DeepfriedPizza · 10/08/2018 12:12

There are 2 ladies that work with me who order tonnes of stuff via online shopping. I am talking hundreds of pounds every week. They will order different sizes and forget to send them back. They will take them back when years out of date to see what they can get back for them.

One time one of them had bought £400 of stuff, about £250 was to go back, when she went take them back, it was 6 months too late and everything had gone into the sale and she got £40 back.

I am sure if she sold that on ebay she would have got more

DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops · 10/08/2018 12:12

When I worked in retail, I couldn't refund people or refund them at full price on a bnwt item if they had no proof of purchase or proof of price at purchase, or an exchange only gift receipt, even if the item had a price tag. If people wanted their money back or didn't want different goods or store credit, BNWT sales let them recoup some cost.

I worked at a Boden-esque company, too. So it was surprising how much you could charge, even for used not bnwt stuff online as some products had huge fan bases. Ex-colleague used to eBay her uniform (stock we got free on season clothing allowance) whilst it was still current and she'd used it! Eventually the company cracked down on ebay as people were using their staff discount to buy & then selling on bnwt at full price /over full price if it was a sold out item in a good size.

pacer142 · 10/08/2018 12:18

BNWT means stolen.

Err NO it doesn't. We sell quite a lot of stuff on Ebay. Mostly it's because either sizing or fashion or season has changed by the time we get around to thinking about wearing the stuff. For my DS in particular, he grows so quickly, things we bought a couple of months ago now don't fit. In the past I've bought loads of "summer" clothes, only to have a washout summer, so sold instead of worn. As we don't live close to a decent shopping centre, we tend to buy in bulk a few times per year, or buy in bulk on the internet (to get freepost), so there are plenty of times when the return period has passed by the time we come to wear the stuff.

Hizz · 10/08/2018 12:22

I would presume stolen.
I live miles from shops. If I buy clothes I try on again as soon as I get home and if I still like it the tags come off and it goes on the wardrobe.

mouse26 · 10/08/2018 12:22

I often buy stuff in the sale and find it doesn't fit right or suit me when I get home. I usually convince myself that it'll fit/suit me better in a few weeks. They never do and it's always too late to return.. Charity bags get lots of bnwt items from me

TightropeWalk · 10/08/2018 12:31

I sell things BNWT and they are certainly not stolen! I don’t shop often and frequently find I miss the return dates. Sometimes a shop will allow you to exchange if you are over 28 days but sometimes it’s not worth the hassle. I also am rubbish at keeping hold of receipts and so may have lost it. Also items on sale often only have 14 days return or at marks and Spencer you sometimes don’t even have any return option.
If I had something I hadn’t paid for (for whatever reason-I’m not a thief) I would donate it rather than sell it.

WhentheDealGoesDown · 10/08/2018 12:33

We have just bought a large new wardrobe so I am busy sorting out stuff, DH saw some stuff with tags which I knew would be destined for the charity shop and said but you haven't worn it, its not worn out, why did you buy it then, you must have wanted it, aren't you going to wear it.

User12879923378 · 10/08/2018 12:33

I've got a collection of tagged stuff upstairs that didn't fit me when it arrived that I meant to return and forgot about. I've not sold it online because I keep forgetting to do that too. I'm just disorganised.

PattiStanger · 10/08/2018 12:35

Maybe Jenbarber is assuming everyone is a thief like she is, pretty stupid and obviously untrue statement there.

notacooldad · 10/08/2018 12:36

A few years ago I bought DS who was about 8 at the time a load of new ski stuff in the sale for next season as I had done every year. For one reason or another we missed the ski season and when went the year after of course DS was too big. All the labels were on the snowboarding jacket, trousers, gloves, base layers etc.
I'd be upset if someone thought I had stolen them!

RedSkyLastNight · 10/08/2018 12:40

My parents buy me hideous clothes for my birthday (yes, I've asked them not to). They are always from non-mainstream shops that are near them but not near me (4 hours away). Or they've bought them abroad. I sell them all as BNWT.

3stonedown · 10/08/2018 12:41

Haha I've got a few bits for sale on ebay at the moment BNWT. They are NOT stolen!

I tend to buy and take the label off the first time I wear it. Too late to take it back, and I don't have the receipt. Or if I paid under £20 I can't be bothered to pay postage etc
I imagine the people who think BNWT means stolen are people who tend to buy investment pieces rather than cheap and large quantities.

mantlepiece · 10/08/2018 12:45

I was in Boots the chemist yesterday and there was a man with a large carrier bag clearing two whole shelves of shampoo etc. He then headed for the door.

Obviously I alerted the Pharmacist nearby to what was happening, but he wasn’t at all bothered. Just said oh it happens all the time, we aren’t allowed to challenge them.

I WAS quite surprised by this, there must be shoplifting on a massive scale that I wasn’t aware of! The companies must find it better to absorb the losses than address the issue.

Point being this stolen stuff is being sold somewhere.

nervyuyt · 10/08/2018 12:47

BNWT means stolen.

It really doesn't. It means the item is new, and still has the tags attached.

There are many many ways to explain that, theft is only one of them.

Ellie56 · 10/08/2018 12:53

Can you take something BNWT back without a receipt?

Some shops like NEXT and M&S will take them back but will give you a gift voucher or credit note. But you will only get the current selling price, so if you bought the item at full price and it has gone into the sale you will only get the sale price refunded.

WaxOnFeckOff · 10/08/2018 12:58

I would presume stolen.

If I buy clothes I try on again as soon as I get home and if I still like it the tags come off and it goes on the wardrobe.

So, are people not allowed to do things differently to you?

LipstickHandbagCoffee · 10/08/2018 13:08

I’ve had some significant bargains buying BNWT I don’t presume stolen at all

LeighaJ · 10/08/2018 13:15

@hannnnnnnxo

In the US Victoria's Secret does exactly that with the clothes from their online shop. Sell extras, returned items, and imperfect ones on to third parties with the agreement they don't use their name when selling them and the tags are defaced.

I bought loads of them off eBay and directly from their websites later.

MaryShelley1818 · 10/08/2018 13:18

I’ve bought things from eBay BNWT and also sold a few things (various reasons - gifts/past return deadline/changed mind at a later date).
It has literally never once crossed my mind that these things may be stolen.

YeahILoveSummer · 10/08/2018 13:59

I buy clothes and don't take tag off until I am actually going to wear it. This might be after the return policy of 28 days so by then it is too late to take back. No five finger discount. Is that what people think?

Maelstrop · 10/08/2018 14:14

There are plenty of third party sellers on eBay, notably for big chain stores, Littlewoods, South label, Evans. I’ve bought several pairs of shoes from one woman who is obviously an outlet for Evans, always bnwt. I’d be amazed if she was nicking 300 pairs of shoes from there! They’re almost always size 9+, too.

Mari50 · 10/08/2018 14:14

I don’t sell anything BNWT but I often donate stuff to charity shops and it’s defintely not stolen. Invariably if it’s my dd’s clothes I’ve over bought in some sale and she’s grown out of it or if it’s mine it’s something I liked the look of but then didn’t and it was too late to return for a refund.
I’m a bit offended that people assume it’s stolen..... rather than I’m a wasteful bint hmmm

BertieBotts · 10/08/2018 15:27

Yes, I suppose unworn/unused is more accurate than brand new but I would take brand new to mean something which has never been used even if it's really old. I'm not familiar with fashion seasons and I would have no idea if something was current or old so it wouldn't really occur to me to specify. I'm not even sure that it would matter to most people, unless the item is 10+ years old because that's when something starts to look really dated. Obviously if you're really into fashion, you'd probably be more aware though.

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