REFUND.

The word gives a sense of calm to people who want to experiment with a product and want an escape avenue in case their expectations are unmet (or delight to people who don’t intend to pay for anything!).Companies/online programs that offer refunds (or “money back guarantee”) are generally viewed as 100% trustworthy.I was also under the same impression until recently ….Here’s what I found:

Most refunds have a time-frame tied in. Say you sign up for an online fitness programwith a $40-$100 price range…most of these products have a disclaimer — ” 60/90/120 day money back guarantee,NO QUESTIONS ASKED“.

The first time I saw this sentence I wondered

“Why would anyone offer a refund without bothering to ask questions about the reason for dissatisfaction?Don’t they want feedback to improve their product?”

Products/companies usually include a short questionnaire to determine the cause of dissatisfaction if they do care.

(Note:I have never obtained a refund for any online program so I am not sure if feedback is requested for,  but the “no questions” part is what forced me to ask questions!! ).

SO…what is the incentive if an online program offers a “no questions asked,100 percent money back guarantee”?Let me explain :

Say a fitness program is offered at $40 with a “no questions asked,100 percent money back guarantee within 90 days”and  1000 people buy this program.People who generally buy online fitness programs are encouraged to “use the program for the entire duration to see results”.  So,towards the end of the program say 350 people want a refund(for fitness programs the failure rate is usually above 50 % which is not an indication of the efficacy of the product itself but rather the lack of discipline in implementing the program and hence conscientious users might not apply for a refund).

The money has been in the bank account of whoever offered the fitness program for 90 days and generated a tidy amount as interest.

So the person offering the refund does not lose money by offering you a refund because he just “borrowed” your money to make himself(herself) some money!!So a 100% percent money back means your money back plus interest !!

Final thoughts:

Whatever I outlined above is meant to educate you to make an informed decision while buying an online program that offers a refund within a time-frame and not to malign everyone offering online programs (there are people who use these programs,get results or information and still request refund anyway!!) . This business practice is anyway legal and widely adopted with minor variations in the time-frame for refunds.