Wardrobing: A popular retail phenomenon

Plainfield, Ind. (WISH) - Although the superdome went dark during the Super Bowl Sunday night, some folks who bought a new TV for the big game will keep theirs dark Monday morning.

Wardrobing has become a big phenomenon in the retail world. Wardrobing, when a consumer buys a product for a one-time use and returns it without anything wrong with the product.

At liquidation.com in Plainfield, thousands of returned TVs end up in their warehouse. They test the TV to make sure it's in good working order and then resell it anywhere from 25-60 percent off on their participating and partnering websites.

"Many of those TVs come back into our facility where we go through a process to test, inspect, grade and inspect so they can be resold to our customers," said Jeff Rechtzigel, who is in charge of E-Commerce for Liquidation.com.

The National Retail Federation says in late 2012, of the businesses surveyed, more than two thirds reported their products returned because of wardrobing.

"Fifteen to 20 percent of all TVs sold get returned and that costs businesses billions," Rechtzigel said.