LuLaRoe is a clothing company known for its "buttery soft" leggings and cute, comfortable patterned separates. According to the company, more than 80,000 people are currently selling LuLaRoe via its multi-level marketing program.
Anybody can sign up to sell LuLaRoe, and sellers — known as consultants — can reportedly make up to a 65% profit margin (though according to the Federal Trade Commission, around 99% of all people who take part in MLMs actually lose money).
In April, a policy was implemented stating that LuLaRoe consultants who were going out of business (or leaving the program) could return unsold merchandise to the company and receive a 100 percent refund at any time. Consultants were even covered for the cost of shipping and handling.
Here's the policy that was sent to consultants in April:
But on Wednesday, the company told consultants that it was changing its policy, and is now only offering a 90 percent refund on goods.
The new policy stipulates that only goods returned in their original packaging will be refunded, and sellers must cover all shipping and handling charges.
Further — and a sticking point for many sellers — the policy says that only product purchased directly from LuLaRoe will be eligible for return (which excludes the many products that are sold and traded AMONG sellers). Additionally, the company will now only honor returns on product purchased within the last year.
Seasonal items or items that have been discontinued are no longer allowed to be returned for a refund.
And the shipping and handling charges for LuLaRoe orders can be huge. Natasha Roberts, of Knoxville, Tennessee, sold LuLaRoe for a year before deciding to pull up stakes in August. She's worried about the cost of returning her purchased merchandise. "I have nine boxes that are over 300 lbs! Then I would only get 90% of wholesale and nothing on the limited edition items," she told BuzzFeed. "I have dozens of Valentine’s Day leggings and some items from last Christmas."
Many LuLaRoe consultants took to Twitter to address the company's policy change.
Shame on you #LuLaRoe! Swindling women out of money overnight? Better grandfather in those who submitted already. Not a good look for you
And, similar to Roberts, many pushed for the company to honor its prior policy for any GOOB consultants.
Seriously @LuLaRoe...did a whole lot of people dirty this time. You need to honor the GOOBs from prior to 9/13/17.… https://t.co/EcRshXI6CG
Several consultants expressed a sense of betrayal over the shift.
My heart hurts for those who trusted lularoe only to get screwed by a sudden and unfair policy change. #suelaroe https://t.co/u5FyfEiabn…
A spokesperson for LuLaRoe said that the company's new policy was actually just a return to its pre-April policy. "LuLaRoe provides a fair and generous path to Independent Fashion Retailers who want to exit the business," said the spokesperson in a statement. "We are simply reiterating a long-term written policy that each Retailer agrees to when he or she signs up."
In the meantime:
