Here’s one from the TinBu Archives:

A Money Back Guarantee is As Good As Gold!

I think we can all agree there is no such thing as a free lunch. You should never take a wooden nickel (whatever that is!?!). And if something is too good to be true, it probably is. The modern era has taught us (society as a whole) not to trust anyone, and question everything. If someone has the opportunity to take advantage of you, there’s a strong possibility they will, so we’re conditioned to assume everyone is out to take advantage.
This cold hard fact of life often makes consumers reluctant to buy. When considering a potential purchase, consumers always question their choice: what if it doesn’t work, what if it doesn’t perform as the advertising promises, what if it’s not right for my purposes? This internal war rages within the mind of your consumer as they agonize over whether or not to make the purchase.
So, whether online or from a brick and mortar store, what’s the best way to assure a potential buyer they’re not making a total mistake in purchasing a product or service from you? Offering a money back guarantee – it’s really as simple as that.

Standing Behind Your Product

If you stand behind your product, i.e. your product delivers as your marketing promises; you should have no apprehension in offering a money back guarantee. Whatever the nature of your business, you should provide a quality product or service, as described in your marketing materials. If you’re falling short in this regard, your business has bigger problems.
Success in sales is all about overcoming a buyer’s objection. If you make a buyer feel their risk is mitigated, they’ll have fewer objections to purchasing your product. Hey, if it doesn’t work out, they can always send it back, right

Human Behavior Works in Your Favor

The primary reason many businesses hesitate to offer a money back guarantee is the fear they will be flooded with a rash of returns, challenging their cash-flow and potentially destroying their company. Research consistently demonstrates, however, this is not necessarily the case—assuming you deliver a quality product, that performs as advertised, at a competitive price. Based on these circumstances, less than five percent of the average consumer returns their purchases
Empirical research shows the “average” buyer thinks twice about making a return. No matter how easy the return process may be, buyers generally perceive the act as a “hassle.” Most people possess a sense of fair play, if the product performs as advertised and serves their purpose, they are hesitant to return the product. If you’re offering a quality product, a guarantee is often the final selling point in achieving a sale. As stated above, the buyers risk is mitigates, and they can always return the product if it doesn’t meet their needs.

Forget the Time Period – Human Behavior Works in Your Favor

Many businesses struggle with outlining the terms of the guarantee, how long of time period to extend the guarantee, and what conditions to assign with the guarantee. Once again, you’re negotiating against yourself. For a guarantee to be effective, it must be perceived and genuine, and to appear genuine your guarantee needs to be equitable, offered for a reasonable period of time, and unconditional. Without these key ingredients, your guarantee won’t ring true.
If you really think about it, does it matter if a customer returns a product after 30 day, 60 days, 90 days or 6 months? A return is a return. If your product fails with normal use after 6 months, it’s not unreasonable for the consumer to feel cheated, and seek restitution. If your product failed because the consumer is misusing it, the percentage of people (according to current research) that would actually seek to redeem the money back guarantee is incalculably small. The average person wouldn’t consider it an option and would most likely be embarrassed to even make the attempt.
A 90 day, unconditional, money back guarantee is the ticket. Your customer has the option to try your product risk-free for three months. Statistics show that almost no one who keeps a product for 90 days makes a return. If you extrapolate on that logic, a consumer is even less likely to return a product after 6 months. So why not just go all the way and make it a 6 month unconditional guarantee? The more you offer, the better your chance of making a sale. If you’re confident in your product, tune up your guarantee and watch the sales roll in!