'08
Mummy star Brendan Fraser, 39, is said to have committed a minor retail sin. He bought designer clothes for a special event to the tune of thousands of dollars. He then had them rush dry cleaned and is said to have put the tags back on so he could return the items and get his money back.
Brendan Fraser… spent thousands on designer clothes he wore to a special event, then sneakily reattached the tags and returned them to the story for a refund after hurry-up dry cleaning!
Insiders say Frugal Fraser’s assistant arranged a 2:30 am laundry pickup at his swank BevHills hotel, insisting that the dirtied duds had to be ready by daylight because “the items were being returned to the store” where he bought them.
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 18, 2008]
Have you ever done this? I’ve returned clothes of course, and sometimes after I’ve worn them, but it wasn’t like I had the intention of returning them at the point that they were purchased. That makes it ok, right? Usually the returns were for a reason, like the clothing itched or didn’t fit right. I’m not a returner so much as someone who tries on as many clothes as possible in the dressing room, which can also be annoying for retail staff. There are other people who just buy a bunch of clothing at the store, try them on at home, and then return what they don’t like.
Maybe Fraser had a justifiable reason to return the clothes, but it sounds like he bought them with the intention of bringing them back. Fraser is going through an expensive divorce and hasn’t had a lot of films out in recent years, so maybe he’s trying to save some cash where he can.
Many stores have a database that’s set to detect when people habitually buy clothes and return them. For example, The Limited and Express stores allow only so many returns from a single person in a 60 day period. Are you a wear and return type of person or do you know someone who is? Is this ever justified?
Brendan Fraser is shown outside of The Today Show on 7/30/08. Credit: L. Gallo/WENN
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Brendan Fraser, Cheap
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60 Responses to “Brendan Fraser returned thousands worth of clothes after wearing them”
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I don’t know, but I swear if another pair of Ann Taylor pants that I buy need to have a hem repaired after wearing them twice, I am taking them in and demanding a refund. I am on at least the 4th pair in a year that need to be re-hemmed.
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I knew a stylist that did this regularly. She’d buy clothes for fashion shoots then take them back the next day. That seems pretty dishonest to me. I don’t want to wear something that someone else already sweated in. Yuk.
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I work in a shoe store, and find it so annoying when people wear stuff and try to return it. Because we can absolutely tell when someone has worn the shoes outside, and they try to pass it off as wear from in the store before they purchased them… we’re not idiots, we can always tell. Thing is, it’s not sanitary to wear something out and try to return it, your sweat gets in it and it shapes to your body. But I’ve heard some of the most ridiculous excuses to do a return, people are just cheap and want something to wear for one night and get their money back after.
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Why didn’t he just hire them in the first place? Makes him look a bit sad and desperate.
Re pre-planned wear & return, totally wrong. Why should I pay full price for something which, if already worn, is actually second-hand. Fine to return something worn if it has a flaw etc, at least that’s not going back on the shelf/rail for someone else to buy. Definitely a no-no.
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I returned shoes once. They hurt like a mother and I admitted to the staff that I’d already worn them. They accepted them back for a percentage off, something like 15%, but I couldn’t wear them again anyway. There’s a gray area in this return issue for me. If the product is defective or breaks after you’ve only worn it a short time and/or is inferior in some way, it’s ok to take it back if you explain this clearly and don’t try to pass it off as new.
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Brandan could just wear the same clothes to more events, I think lots of male stars do that, audience can hardly tell cause those clothes are often in dark colors. I always wear the same clothes until they are worn out, but then again, my clothes do not cost as much, to return them after wearing is just plain unacceptable.
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Most people do return clothing after they already worn them but I am sure he has enough money to afford to purchase them anyway. He already has two big movies in the top 5 box office chart so I am sure he has been paid well.
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damn, Brendan isn’t aging well is it… if he were a woman someone would have noted this already…
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Unfortunate picture. He used to be so cute….
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Yeh you are right, he looks so tired and much older for his age and he is only 39. It is a shame because I though he looked good in The Mummy movies.
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@Christina, it was actually the first thing I noticed about him - so doughy and bloated - but just not interested enough in him to comment on it. But fair point on the double standards!
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I cannot believe this guy still has a career. He’s so odd looking.
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Tammy I can SO relate to this. I bought two pairs of very good quality wool pants and both of the hems came down! I was not impressed.
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I rarely return things because 1) I’m lazy and 2) I rarely buy anything without trying it on.
But isn’t this wearing & returning policy the Hollywood way? Doesn’t everybody do it?
Also, those hair plugs are not convincing anyone, Brendan.
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Retail is a nightmare industry to work in. I worked at a boutique store and once had a girl literally throw a tantrum because I would not give her cash for the black dress she was trying to return with deodorant marks on it. To be honest returns are much more of a hassle than people who try on a lot of clothes in the dressing room.
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I once bought an entire ensemble for a company christmas party (outfit, handbag, shoes, jewelry) with the intention of returning it all because I couldn’t afford to keep it.
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I wonder if he returned his hair after shooting THE MUMMY RETURNS or whatever the hell it’s called.
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After reading some of these comments my eye is twitching.
I find it a deplorable habit when you purchase clothing, shoes, etc. with the intention of wearing them and then returning them. If you can’t afford it, don’t purchase it.
I hope I don’t shop at the same stores as you do.
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I buy everything on eBay. You get really fine things for excellent prices, but there are no returns - ever.
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LOL!! @ I wonder if he returned his hair after shooting THE MUMMY RETURNS or whatever the hell it’s called.
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a lot of people have to rehem pants when they buy them so most companies will do a temp stitch- that’s why some will come out easier…
Retail is an awful place to work when it comes to returns. I don’t even work in clothing and have people trying to return random things that no one in their right mind would return and get mad at you for saying no.
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My first job was in an upscale women’s clothing boutique. My boss allowed, really encouraged, her teenage daughters to buy clothes (at other stores), wear them but save the tags, and then come into our store and use the tagging machine to replace the tags and return them. She let her friends, and her daughter’s friends do it as well. Interestingly though (dry cough), she had a no cash-return, only store credit policy in her own store, and she refused to take anything back if the tags were removed no matter what. I saw her refuse returns to people who really deserved it, who were bringing back an expensive dress where the zipper had been obviously sewn in wrong, things like that. It’s so low to buy things with the intention of returning them, it just says so much about one’s lack of character. Hear that, Brendan?
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Anyone know where to find yearly earnings for actors? I heard on the radio, in passing so I can’t remember the exact amount, Fraser made 30+ million dollars last year alone.
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I’m with you, Daisy424.
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I’m a proud poor woman and I’ve NEVER done that. I’m glad stores on cracking on folks who do it. Come on people, please live within your means.
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I heard Canadians like to push the limits. Is this a result???
Word of advice. The enquirer and paparazzi will never let you be normal and allow you to return anything you buy anywhere to Target. LOL
Dressing rooms and bring your stylist when your shopping. Could be the beginning of a new way of shopping-efficient shopping. Hell it is not like you can’t afford to spend some of that bank you’ve amassed!
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I worked in BH retail when I first moved to LA. This happens ALL THE TIME. It’s was actually listed as an annual expense in one store I worked at. They would take back anything, even stuff from other stores to keep their “customers” happy. There were a few regular abusers of this policy. In Fraser’s case, he has been a star for a long time now, and should have the complete knowledge of the clothing borrowing system, most stores/designers have for photgraphed events. I would hazard to guess that at least 80% of what you see on stars on the red carpet, on talk shows, etc is borrowed. The designers get more value press from a red carpet event than the cost of anything they loan and the get the mdse back usually, which is held in archive or is sold at a sample sale etc. For a BIG event like the Oscars, they will usually let the stars keep the clothes at no charge. Why go through all of the trouble of this when you can just borrow the stuff?
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Ugh - buying clothes with the intention of wearing and returning is very low-class behavior. Equivalent to throwing cigarettes on the sidewalk or harassing your waitress.
I have always loved Brendan Fraser - he’s hilarious in interviews - but if this is true it will really alter my opinion of him.
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*agrees with Lola
yehhh…some returned clothing looks dingy…
wonder if he does the same with the toupets
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Also have worked retail although at a store that will certainly accept anything damaged or defective, worn or not. But people REALLY think salepeople are morons when they insist stuff isn’t worn. Dude, we KNOW!!!! Even if it’s dry cleaned.
Also, I thought (and I don’t know for sure) that actors could expense clothes/accessories purchased specifically to wear on the red carpet?
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If it comes down to a tough decision between two or three items, I will always bring them all home and try them on a few times before I pick the one I like, then return the one(s) I didn’t want.
So yeah, I guess I do intend to return something every time I do this.
Am I evil?? Dressing room mirrors cannot be trusted!
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I have never returned an item. Ever. With clothes, I try them on, and if for some reason later I don’t like it..well, it sits in my closet. With items, even if something was broken when I bought it, I can’t return it..I don’t know, I get scared.
Like they wont believe me or something, and I am not a yeller, so I wouldn’t want to argue.
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He’s holding his crotch like he has to ‘pee pee’ How odd.
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I don’t believe it. Putting fingers in ears. Lalalalala.
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For huh..
Actors cannot expense clothing that can be legitimately worn to another event. Even with an Oscar dress, it can be worn again, so it is not deductable. Unless you buy something as a costume, say a doctors lab coat, that you normally wouldn’t wear, that can be deducted. Or say Cher can deduct her stage costumes etc…You can, however, deduct dry cleaning for clothing worn to “events”…go figure. -
How cheap!!!!! Returning stuff unless there’s something wrong with it or it doesn’t fit well is just plain wrong.
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Thousands? Ok, so the minimum based on that is 2 thousand. Fraser doesn’t shop in Walmart. 3 shirts = $900, 2 pants = $1,000, 1 belt = $100.
There is $2,000. Not a whole lot to return if you don’t like them. And no company is going to refuse him returning anything, just to keep his business.
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Seany D., that’s ok to return clothes you take home and try on, but not wearing, drycleaning, putting tags back on and returning.
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“Most people do return clothing after they already worn them”
huh? Are you kidding? Thats a disgusting practice. I’ve never returned an item once worn even if the product is defective. To return already worn items would defintely be in the ’something for nothing’ category in my opinion. Which is NOT very far from STEALING.
bad karma for sure………..:roll:
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I don’t think it’s so much the wearing and then returning as much as the intending to return when you buy. On another note, his tongue peeking out is vomitacious!
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I’ve done it many times when I was a teenager and couldn’t afford decent clothes. I mostly did it at stores where I felt ripped off, where the price was too high, and employees weren’t friendly. I just thought to myself, wait until you have my armpit sweat on your fingers in a couple of days hahaha. I always wash clothing when I first buy it because I know people return stuff all the time.
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I had a friend who used to buy dresses at Macy’s and then return them after wearing them once and exchanging them for a different dress each time, so she’d have a different dress for each occasion. She even had a little machine where she was able to put the tags back on them too. She was a frugal little thing, coming from a large Chinese family, and they worked in some of the sweat shops in nyc so they had a lot of stuff in their home. I thought it was pretty cheap to do that, but also smart at the same time. She offered to do the same with a dress I had bought, but I told her no thanks. Brendan Fraser makes 100 times the amount that she does now. What a cheap bastard!
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Big wow.. I return shit to Wal-Mart all the time.
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The guy had the cloths cleaned before he sent them back. That-s more class than some of the people in the stories above. I think he was being responsible.
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That’s absolutely disgusting! Makes me want to puke to imagine wearing something someone has already sweated all over. I always automatically wash new clothes with heaps of germ-killing chemicals, just in case some feral slob has misused them before I bought them.
Eww. Manky crotch and pit phobia!
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My husband purchased me a teddy for me as a Valentines Day gift at Fredricks.
After I opened it, I noticed the crotch area of the teddy had a dried white discharge on it.Of course I was disgusted and we promptly went back to the mall to return it. The sales staff accused me of wearing it and refused to take it back. It was only when I raised bloody hell with the manager accusing them of not checking their returned items before restocking them is when I got a refund.
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Awwwg!! Daisy, I am trying so hard not to hurl!
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I know, huh? I had already commented on this thread earlier, but after reading what you wrote, I thought, what the hell
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Thank you, Daisy, for graphically describing why the practice of wear&return is UNFORGIVEABLE!!! Said it earlier, no excuse for it, and anyone trying to defend it after that little tale will have their work cut out for them. (And that it was a Valentine’s Day gift makes it even more grotesque!!)
As an aside, is there not an international no-returns policy on underwear??
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In the states, you can return bras, I am not sure about underwear, I f-ing hope not. Never had to.
Bathing suits usually have that strip down the crotch.
What country do you live in Geronimo? -
UK. Bras yeah (although usually need to still have price tag on it unless it’s a ‘flawed’ return.) but not knickers, teddies, all-in-ones etc. I buy swimwear online mainly and it’s only returnable if the hygiene strip hasn’t been removed/tampered with.
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I can always tell when CB writes the story. It always has a compassionate & understanding undertone. Never judgemental. CB, you are a sweetheart.
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Don’t celebs “borrow” expensive clothes to wear to events? They say the name of the designer and that way everyone is happy nd they return the clothes the next day…then again maybe he is not celeb enough or he’s just a jerk.
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I personally think this is the tackiest thing to do- ever. I have been in the retail industry for 15 years at Neimans and Bloomingdales and this type of customer is the worst. I have to say though, more women do this than men (women average 34% returns to mens 11%)- but think about this people:
YOU ARE AFFECTING SOMEONES LIVELYHOOD.
most sales people in designer and better brands work on straight commission. So here you got to wear this outfit, made your impression, then return it so the SALESPERSON has to pay back the commission and the store cannot sell it because it is worn merchandise. A TOTAL LOSS. ALSO those people that keep items for months or years and then return it…. RUDE. Stores do not keep merchandise forever, so now it is marked down or out of stock so the sales person cannot recoup the loss.
THINK ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON AND NOT YOURSELF the next time you buy something with the intent of returning it. Would you like if your boss took back part of your earnings? I think not.
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What’s worst is that he looks awful.
Hope he see’s a Doctor soon…even if it’s a plastic surgeon.
I’d hate to wear something he did.
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A lot of managers take back items already worn to keep the peace.
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I once returned something I bought at Target, when they asked me if I had worn it I said “No” but the return lady actually SMELLED it in front of me to see if I was Lieing!!!
Too bad they didn’t do this to B.F. He looks like she smells like a tub of Shit. -
I definitely think there are two sides to every story and the other side should be heard before rude comments fly (but he probably has this odd idea that it’s his business).
This is one of those “you had to be there” things.
Only as a scenerio, but if I made a purchase and something in the transaction rubbed me the wrong way, I would probably anything possible to remove myself from the purchase.
kg
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I definitely think there are two sides to every story and the other side should be heard before rude comments fly (but he probably has this odd idea that it’s his business).
This is one of those “you had to be there” things.
Only as a scenerio, but if I made a purchase and something in the transaction rubbed me the wrong way, I would probably do anything possible to remove myself from the purchase.
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CB; “Posted in Brendan Fraser, Cheap”
Says it all……
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