Imagine the following scenario: You purchase a backpack. You take it camping — 50 times. Five years after you bought it you're trudging through Yosemite when one of the shoulder straps breaks off. In any normal situation your only option would be to buy a new one or learn to sew industrial material. If you bought it at REI, however, you'd have another: Take it back and get a new one. Indeed, REI (short for Recreational Equipment Inc.) has what may be the best exchange policy in the world. Buy a piece of gear at the store — from a camping spoon to a $1,000 mountain bike — and if it breaks or doesn't work or is too small or you just decide you don't like the color, the company will exchange it or refund your money with no questions asked. For life. It's an awful lot of trust to place in your customers, but it results in an all-too-rare feeling for the modern consumer: being treated like a person rather than a walking dollar sign.