Comment by krisoft

> What stops ExampleCo from asking for a receipt and limiting replacements only to legitimate channels?

They can. Doesn’t help with the reputational damage though. People who think they bought an ExampleCo jean will still think that the company quality has slipped. They will still tell all their friends that the “new jeans made by ExampleCo are not like they used to”. Not all of them all the time, but some of them some of the time.

> why is ExampleCo directly dealing with the consumer, and not Macys or Goodwill?

That doesnt help with their reputation.