> For inexpensive items or large ones that would incur hefty shipping fees, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products.

I know many online shops which have done this for years, including amazon. It's just a no-brainer to let the customer keep a broken comb instead of making them return it. Shipping costs, people who receive the package cost, opening and inspecting the packaging costs and just processing that return costs a lot. Almost everybody has access to a phone with a very decent camera, that's enough to prove a product was broken on arrival.