Bass Pro getting sued for not honoring guarantee for "Redhead Lifetime Guarantee All-Purpose Wool Socks"

They thought they were toeing the line, but might find out they were darned wrong!

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They need to get instep with modern consumer preferences.

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As it stands, their product has a bit of a stink attached to it.

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It’s not like they’re the market’s sole provider of socks, eh?

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“Guarantee” doesn’t mean “guaranteed to perform as intended”. It means “guaranteed against manufacturing defects”. In other words, if the product stops performing as intended, it’s only covered by the guarantee if it was due to a manufacturing defect. (Whether we’re talking the lifetime of the product, the purchaser, or the manufacturer is another story.)

Apparently the guy tried to return the socks because they faded. So the question is whether that’s considered a defect in manufacturing or whether it’s due to normal wear and tear (in which case no guarantee applies). The way I see it, if the company agrees to exchange the socks, they are admitting culpability (i.e. a manufacturing defect) and should issue replacement socks with the same guarantee.

Some companies make a blanket guarantee and will repair or replace the product regardless of the reason it failed to perform as intended. But I’d bet the fine print (if there is any) in this case doesn’t go that far.

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Well, obviously he wasn’t holding wearing washing them right.

(And, TBH, AFAIAC, colour is not a functional element.)

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Came here to say the same. Best damned socks ever. I wear wool or wool blends almost exclusively from autumn to spring and Darn Tough are by far the best. Smartwool always end up ripping or thinning in the heel, REI sucks and every other brand I’ve tried wear out in one season and/or feel like walking on gravel (Wolverine, Columbia, Carhartt). Darn Tough are cozy AF forever, even the 100% wool ones I’ve got. LL Bean are pretty good, too.

Mrs Peas has a pair that are starting to wear between the heel pad and the “tube” part. I was thinking of testing out the warranty with them. Tbh, though I almost feel guilty because they are at least five years old and probably get worn at least weekly. And she’s a wilderness instructor, so they definitely get hard use.

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They do. I had a couple pair that I used extensively for hiking and put a LOT of miles on. I didn’t have a full blown hole in either, but they were about to. Even then - they emailed me a shipping label and they sent me a code for their website to use for new socks.
Highly recommended.
Also, FWIW for replacement warranty stuff, since I mentioned hiking:
I bought a pair of Native Eyewear polarized sunglasses about a decade ago to use mostly for outdoor activities in the sun like hiking, etc at a price point that wouldn’t make me cry if they broke if I fell off a rock.
I had an issue with the coating coming off the outside of both lenses and used their (linked to luxotica) warranty claim form. I submitted pictures, etc… and they are sending me a new pair.
From what I understand, Ray Ban will do the same thing, but the only damage I’ve ever had on mine were self-inflicted. They truly are the best sunglasses for the money, IMO.

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Does it still count if you only dye your hair red?

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Not so. The text description for this product on the Bass Pro site explicitly says

  • Lifetime guarantee - if they wear out, they get replaced!

Nowhere in the description does it state or imply that this guarantee is only applicable in case of manufacturing defect.

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Ah, I stand corrected. I guess the question is whether color fading is considered “wearing out”.

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I’ve been to several Bass Pro Shops. I’m under the impression now that not every employee is even a professional bass angler!

But seriously, it really isn’t that difficult. Several manufacturers in the fishing gear industry offer true lifetime warranties. They charge an arm and a leg up front, but they really do honor their warranty - we’re talking fly rods, waders, etc. More expensive items by far than socks.

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I couldn’t find the part in the article or suit that said he was returning the socks just because they were faded, but that’s beside the point anyway since Bass Pro isn’t taking the position that he tried to return socks that weren’t sufficiently worn out.

The packaging on the socks makes some pretty bold claims, including “THE LAST SOCK YOU’LL EVER NEED TO BUY.” As legal defenses go “we didn’t expect anyone to actually hold us to the promises made on our product packaging” is pretty weak. If you don’t intend to honor a lifetime guarantee then don’t make one in the first place.

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I hear you! We bought Tumi luggage in the early 1990s, back when they had this guarantee. My husband travels A LOT, so it was a great investment. We actually had both pieces fixed for free 2-3 times each, so the investment was well worth it. But we heard that they changed their warranty
AND their luggage costs substantially more. So after 30 years, we’ve finally retired our soft-sided Tumi for a cheaper Samsonite hard shell that I’m sure will get destroyed during its first plane trip. Sigh.

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Great. So the lawyer will make $6MM in fees and the class will each get a $6 Bass Bro Shop gift card which 80% of the class will never redeem.

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Yes, but replaced by what? It doesn’t say.

I’d guess claims like “The last sock you’ll ever need to buy” are defensible as marketing hype, not a literal guarantee. In any case, from the MidRange article:

Starting in 2014, an Illinois man named Kent Slaughter bought a ton of pairs of the company’s Redhead Lifetime Guarantee All- Purpose Wool Socks, then started returning them as they faded.

But, agreed, the company is overguaranteeing and underdelivering.

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I remember when Craftsman tools came with a lifetime guarantee and they meant it.

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Lowes and Craftsman says they’ll still honor that for hand tools, no matter where the tool was bought. Kind of shocked if that’s true, but that’s what the wiki says.

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I apparently don’t know how to walk, judging by the insane holes in my socks. So the only socks I now buy are from Darn Tough. Their lifetime warranty is totally real and I speak from experience. Over the years I’ve returned 5 or 6 well-worn pairs for replacement and I’ve never had a problem (or a reason to sue…?)