The basement at the flagship store of REI Inc., the privately held sporting goods chain based in Seattle, is like an evidence locker for how the outdoorsy retailer earned an endearing nickname: Return Everything Inc.

Hundreds of returned items are stacked in bins, hanging on racks and lining shelves. Tags detail the customer complaints: "suddenly not waterproof" on a frayed, blue, men's rain jacket from a previous decade; "don't fit well" on a pair of thick, black, women's clogs so well-worn that their original design has faded.

At another REI store, a customer recently returned a pair of women's sandals, designed for hiking and wading in rivers.

The problem? According to the tag, "not sexy enough."

For as long as anybody can remember, REI, which was founded in 1938 and has 130 stores in 32 states, has offered a no-questions-asked return policy, even giving customers cash in exchange for heavily used merchandise. Several years ago, a customer in Washington state successfully returned an REI snow suit he bought to climb Mount Rainier in 1970.