No, I wouldn't buy anything online if I couldn't return it. While I trust the sites that I buy things from, you never know when an error could occur. And sometimes things don't exactly fit the way you imagined they would, and there are differences in how some brands fit, so it's always nice to have that option of returning something for free if you buy online, just as you would if you bought it in the store.
I seldom buy personal products like clothing from online stores because my apprehension is the return. We have experienced returning a garden hose and the turnaround time is more than 2 weeks. Worse, it came back as it is, meaning it was not replaced and according to the description is that it was not faulty. If that happens to my clothing, I would surely get disappointed.
I too like the free return policy when buying period! I bought online at Walmart a microwave oven and it was defective. I went through the proper steps and it was found to be defective, so I had to bring it back to Walmart. At the return counter at Walmart and it was a snap for returning for it's a legitimate return problem. Got my refund and it was okay. Preferred the microwave oven to be working for it was on rollback! I got to admit though I sometimes over look the return policy because I feel it won't happen...silly me!
I do limit my online purchasing to avoid the need to return items and then it does have to be free or I will not purchase the item. I have sold on Ebay and no returns do happen and do eat up the profit the seller is hoping to make.
Well, I actually buy online without the option of free returns (unless it the shop's fault) however, with all the differences nowadays in the sizes, it's easy to get fooled and to order a smaller or bigger one, so it's more like a game of luck, the shop won't pay for the return taxes if you ordered the wrong measure, the only thing left to do would be try to sell it to someone else.
To be honest, I almost never check the return policies on the stores I shop from. Now I see that I definitely should... I'm lucky to have never had a problem with online shopping, but it could happen any day now. It's definitely better to be cautious, especially in regards to clothing. I'd feel pretty bad to have wasted my money on a high-dollar item online like that by never wearing it. Return policies = awesome.
I'm not buying from a website that does not offer free returns for its customers. If they cannot give what customers wanted, the least they can do is offer a service that can allow a customer to get back her money or find something else and have the wrong item be returned at no extra cost. Customer care should be a priority if they want people to keep buying from them. This is why it's still better to shop at a brick-and-mortar store so that you can be sure you're getting the item that you want at the right size and color.
