> This is also why secondhand goods in general are so cheap, and things like furniture may even have negative net value because they cost more to move than they are worth.
On the German equivalent to Craigs' List - Ebay Kleinanzeigen - IKEA furniture is much easier to sell than other furniture, even though IKEA furniture is cheap and quality is only "good enough". The reason, I think, is that used IKEA furniture comes closest to still being a standardized item. You can easily look up the dimensions online, you may already have or know the exact same item, you know what to enter into the search field [of Ebay Kleinanzeigen]. The overall buying experience might even be better than going to the IKEA store, as the furniture is already assembled and potentially closer to your home.
https://www.ikea.com/es/en/customer-service/services/buy-bac...
My grandpa passed away recently and stuff he had spent over a million dollars over the years to accumulate over the years sold only for $30k. I realized that most of the value in selling a product in keeping it organized on a shelf, and marketing to consumers that you are a place where someone can buy a product of that type.
But your POV is more interesting.
But there is that new category of things with too little actual value to be worth processing like pillows and compressed mattresses (once you allow them to expand, you cannot compress them at home.)
But a lot if the problem in returnable objects where a return is not cost effective has to do with shipping costs. Shipping it back + processing costs cuts into profits and the resale value does not compensate adequately. Fortunately for them, the "returns" ratio don't negate overall profits.
That said, when it makes sense to me, I will buy from Amazon's warehouse deals --there are some good deals to be had.
They had no use for a second mattress, so that’s how we got a free, brand-new very fancy king-sized mattress with minor cosmetic damage!
A guy I used to work/hobby with could tell you which factory a Mustang was built in, and though in my era (1990s) the markings had all been gone, it is said that he and others could even tell you the name of the guy who assembled certain parts by the markings or other inconsistencies. When restoring a Mustang, these details (e.g. built by Mario in Dearborn in early 1967) are replicated by a good restorer. I believe that Jaguar also has affectionados who know the cars to that level of detail.
That sounds more like an argument for tort reform to stiff plaintiffs with inane complaints about refurbished/restocked items.
They must have some ROI calculation. Or would that be ROR (return on return?)
Noyce!
An important part of a product is its standard, fungible nature. Every unit off the production line the same. Quality maintained. Sealed in packaging.
As soon as you take it out of the packaging it becomes a unique item with a history. It's outside the QA bubble. It might be in perfectly saleable condition; it might have something wrong with it (after all, there's a reason it's being returned); it might have been damaged by the customer. It's a liability. If they were to take it back and re-sell it to someone, and get sued, that would wipe out more value than throwing away hundreds or even thousands of the same good.
This is also why secondhand goods in general are so cheap, and things like furniture may even have negative net value because they cost more to move than they are worth.