The Pottery Barn rule is American jargon alluding to a "you break it, you buy it" policy, by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display.
In reality, Pottery Barn—the upscale home furnishing stores in the United States—does not have a "you break it, you bought it" policy, but rather writes off broken merchandise as a loss, as do most large American retailers. Many U.S. states have statutes forbidding such policies (absent negligence or willful destruction). Legal doctrine also holds that a retailer incurs the risk that merchandise will be destroyed by placing it where customers can handle it and not doing anything to discourage them.
Read more about Pottery Barn Rule: Origin and Usage
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