Jim G.

I purchased 2 rugs from Wayfair for $134 including "free" shipping. The rugs were advertised as having "jute backing" which actually means "no backing at all". The cost was about double what rugs of comparable quality (but with REAL backing) would have cost but I liked the pattern so I took a chance, thinking I'd return them (at my cost) if I didn't like them. When the rugs arrived and slid all over my hardwood floors, it was return time. So, here's where Wayfair gets you: They not only charged me for return shipping (which I'm not upset about); they also charged me for their original "free" shipping, making the cost of returning the rugs $70--more than half the purchase price!

Wayfair's "customer service" people took a "this is our policy... too bad/so sad" approach when I contacted them, sending me noithing more than pre-fab, scripted responses.

I know I'm spoiled by Amazon. They understand, as an online retailer, that returns are part of the cost of doing business and they'r fair about them. Wayfair doesn't get this. Yes, sometimes online retailers are going to lose money on a given transaction. But. They'll keep customers coming back if they understand they're in the business of selling products sight unseen so returns are going to happen. If Wayfair wants customers to "take a chance" on liking their products once they arrive, that's not going to happen if they penalize buyers with a 50% "thanks for gambling--but you LOSE" return policy. They need to change or go OUT OF BUSINESS!

If you want to gamble, go to Vegas and take your chances. But DON'T play "Wayfair Roulette" with your hard-earned money!

UPDATE: 8/16/13: this is an update on my ongoing communication with Wayfair since I posted the review above. Now, after 4 rounds of e-mail exchanges with Wayfair, their "Service Squad" representative has now "realized" there has been an "error in the system" in calculating my return shipping cost. The actual return shipping cost is $14.08--not $70 (not sure how this happened since that's a pretty big discrepancy... and I wonder how many other errors in the system have gone uncontested). Had this been the case originally, I wouldn't have had to spend my time posting about Wayfair--return shipping costs of $14.08 is certainly reasonable. This is a good outcome; but, to anyone who uses the Wayfair return system, you may have to check for "errors in the system" and then keep arguing with the Wayfair "Service Squad" before the error is fixed.