Avoid Gift Return Hassles

Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:10AM EST

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Obviously, you have picked out perfect gifts for everyone on your list. But guess what? At least one of them (maybe more) will be returned, and you'll probably return a gift or two yourself. About 40 percent of Americans take back at least one holiday gift, according to the National Retail Federation.

Because so much of the merchandise returned after the holidays aren't truly gifts—the NRF says retailers will lose $3.7 billion in fraudulent returns this year—about 15 percent of retailers have toughened their return policies, while a majority will loosen them to make it easier for consumers.

So what's it all mean? Hopefully, the gift giver of your not-so-perfect gift was exceptionally thoughtful and included a gift receipt. If you think that's a gauche thing to do, it's not. With so many stores and so many return policies, a gift receipt is the ticket to a smooth return.

Here are some more tips to remember when the wrapping paper is recycled and the gleam is off the gift.

Check store return policies: They vary a lot. Generally, major retailers have 30- to 90-day limits on most merchandise returns — with exceptions, of course. Electronics purchases usually need to be returned within 14 or 15 days. Check the retailers' web sites for return policy details, including restocking fees that apply to certain products, which brings me to the next tip...

Don't open it: If you don't think you're keeping the gift, especially an electronics item, don't take it out of the packaging. It could make the difference of a 15 to 25 percent restocking fee.

Online returns: Some online retailers with brick-and-mortar stores will allow you to return gifts purchased online to stores. "Web only" deals, however, may need to be returned online only. Read the fine print.

You're being watched: Many major retailers are now keeping track of the number of returns an individual makes, with receipts and without. Return too many items and your name may appear on a habitual returners' list, Consumer Reports says. Not fair to habitual shoppers, but chains like Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, and Sports Authority are keeping track and setting return limits to cut back on the growing fraud problem.

Another gift card? Kiplinger.com points to swapagift.com if you've got gift cards you won't use but would like to trade  for ones you would. The trades cost $3.99 each. And if you're not interested in trading, the site offers 60 to 70 percent cash value for cards from certain popular retailers.

LINK: Gift returns: New rules require new tactics [Consumer Reports]

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  • 6 Posted by davidjriley98 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    I work at a very recognizable technology retail chain and I'm expecting this at work tomorrow. A couple of points: 1.) Restock Fee - I hear so many gripes about this, but guess what? Like this article says, if you don't like it, don't open it because if its open we can't sell it for full retail value. Furthermore, it is going to sit on the shelf collecting dust until some cheapskate shops for open items. You better believe we'll smack you with the 15% restock fee. 2.) Sales Price Matching - Guess what people; you snooze you lose. I am sick to death about hearing people going off about missing a sales price because they were too late. That's what a promotion is intended to be; short term. I do tell people if they buy items for full-price and they go on sale they can bring them in to price match, but IT DOES NOT WORK THE OTHER WAY. 3.) Gift Cards - If you're planning on getting any electrical devices with the bare minimum amount you received on your gift card be prepared to get what you pay for. The majority of the amounts given on gift cards will get you peripherals and accessories. 4.) Receipts - If you don't have the receipt and/or weren't given one then use your head; you'll be lucky to be given a refund back. See the other thirty people in line with their receipts? Don't bother making a fuss until you actually come prepared because you're just wasting your time as well as the retail associate and the other people in line's.

  • 7 Posted by tripletaurus on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    Am and old disabled female veteran, I don't want anything for free Oldman, but am sick of being drained of what little money I have. Just bought the SimsCity Societies for my son for Christmas. Gave it to him early. Tried on 3 PCs (all 3 had specs), the game didn't work properly. But just well enough to realize it is a pretty boring game. So we took it back and was informed that federal law requires that we exchange for the exact same game. I paid $50. for that darn game and it simply is not worth it. But because some folks buy a game, take it home and pirate it, then return, we are forced to keep a game we do not want. The new game does work but is a real disappointment. I feel gyped. I did not know of this law and tho it is posted it is such a small sign that even with my glasses I couldn't read it. So I guess that ends my ever buying another game that costs over 5 bucks.

  • 8 Posted by friar_mi_5 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    Here is Target's basic return policy. If you have a gift and have a gift receipt you will get a gift card equal to the amount spent on the item at time of purchase as long as it was purchased within the last 90 days. If you have a movie or cd or any computer software and you are returning, it must still BE SEALED in order to get store credit. If not and it is not defective then you will be able to trade that item for one exactly like it unless the store is out of that particular item and only if you do have the receipt. Target gift receipts do not show if an item has a restocking fee, only on the main receipt does it show this. So when returning any other electronic device keep it sealed. ALL ITEMS WITH A GIFT RECEIPT WILL BE CREDITED TO A GIFT CARD. If you do not have a gift receipt, Target allows two receiptless returns per year. You will be tracked with your drivers license number. The limit on each return is $20 for a year total of $40 plus tax. You cannot combine both returns for items over $20. Each one is seperate. If you have many items, many times you can use your drivers license and a spouses drivers license. This works when not any one item is over $20 but collectively they end up over $40. ALL RECEIPTLESS RETURNS WILL BE CREDITED TO A GIFT CARD. If you do not have a receipt or gift receipt and you have an item over $20, you will not get anything back on your return no matter what. If you bought something from the store using credit, debit, gift card, and check, we can look up returns for up to 90 days after the purchase. IF YOU PAY WITH CASH AND THE ITEM IS OVER $20 AND YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY RECEIPT YOU WILL NOT GET ANYTHING BACK ON YOUR RETURN. Hope this helps anyone returning Target items.

  • 9 Posted by tripletaurus on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sorry about double post, just really upset and took forever for post to show.

  • 10 Posted by michifornian83 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    What ever happened to just keeping a gift, even if its not the greatest thing on earth. Someone thought enough about someone else to buy them a gift, and all that person can think about is how rough the evil retailer makes it to ca----- in. How sad.....

  • 11 Posted by mike_mgoblue on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    Best Buy is a terrible place to try and return electronics. Best Buy corporation has given far too much authority to General Store Managers, and the floor Customer Relations Managers--who claim to be the highest ranking manager, even though they are not. If you call 888-BEST-BUY, it accomplishes absolutely nothing in the ways that it did in the past. Now, Best Buy Managers (such as General Manager Dave, Customer Relations Manager Brian, and Managers Mike and Jeff...all working at Fort Gratiot, Michigan) literally say rude and arrogant things like, "Call 888-BEST-BUY or Best Buy Corporate; it won't matter, because we are the store managers and we have the final authority!" When I called 888-BEST-BUY to file a complaint against the Customer Relations Manager--Brian--in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, I thought I might get some results. But the next day I told a Best Buy Manager named Jeff about the situation, and he bragged that my Official Complaint would do absolutely nothing, because the Official Complaint would be redirected to Dave, the General Manager of the store. Jeff made it clear that Dave would never penalize Brian, because they are friends in real life, not just in the store. When my aunt spoke with Dave in the store, he said that he was banning her from the store, because he didn't want someone like her shopping in "his" store. My aunt told Dave he couldn't do that, because she didn't do anything. However, Dave said that he could do "anything he wanted" because it was "his store." My aunt didn't even raise her voice to Dave; he simply was trying to show off to his friends who were standing next to him and laughing. I know my aunt was right, because a woman and her husband overheard things and told Dave they were not shopping there any more, and then they left, too. Dave, Brian, Mike, and Jeff, at the Fort Gratiot, Michigan Best Buy store continuously kept on saying, "If you look at the receipt, it says that we have the right use 'our discretion' whether or not we will accept an item--even if it is unopened and being returned within 14 days or 30 days of the original purchase." That is political talk for saying, "When you buy from Best Buy, there is virtually no guarantee of a reliable Exchange/Return policy." When I went to the Better Business Bureau, I found out that there have been over 12,000 complaints filed against Best Buy over the last three years! I also found out that the states of Connnecticut, Ohio, and Wisconsin have filed legal action against the Best Buy corporation because of all sorts of illegal actions such as Bait-n-Switch, and false policies with their Exchange/Return policies. Best Buy gives too much authority to store managers, which takes away from "Customer SERVICE." And Customer service is what causes customers to be "repeat customers." Best Buy is a store that my friends and I will never shop at again.

  • 12 Posted by sglc21 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    I work at a large electronic retailer in Canada. I believe what the past post said abut managers having too much power. I also believe the it depends on what store you are in. I know that at my store we go well above and beyond for customers. Many incidents have had our staff go on their own time and deliver products and services the customers homes. We all know that customers drive our business an we need to keep them loyal so that is how we treat each one. I also have a comment about the old saying that "the customer is always right". I have seen countless times where we disregard our policies and help the customer out. Even though anyone in their right business mind would say they were wrong. They always want the cheapest price and always last weeks sale. They do not understand that our company does not make what is on sale. The directives come from the manufacturer. If say the item is $200 and its on sale for $100 and the cost is $150 does it make sense to sell the item for $100. The reason why the sale is so low is because the manufacturer gives the company the extra $50 to make up the cost. If we sell it at $100 during the time when the sale is done, the manufacturer has no obligation to pay that $50 so we lose. We often just give them the price because we want them to come back. All I can say about that is please come during the sale and understand that it is a limited amount of time, that is why it is a sale. Also customers who do not believe that the manufacturer will not take care of them even within the 1 year warranty. We offer our services and are denied. That is ok, but do not come back after 6 months saying I want a new one because I bought it from here. Yes we sold you the item but we did not make the item. That is what a manufacturer warranty is for. I have seen this many times and have given them a new product to keep our loyalty and offered the same services again to extend their products life and again I get shot down. It is so sad to see how people do not learn even when they went through it already. Please believe us when we say the manufacturer warranty is garbage. Thank you for shopping and keeping me with a job :D

  • 13 Posted by vampsf on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gift receipts DO reflect the price that the person who purchased the gift paid. If it isn't the full retail price that you get back, it's because that's not what the person paid. I work for Barnes and Noble and I can't tell you how many people have memberships and they get 10% off everything minimum, 20% off of hardcovers, etc. And then there are the coupons that everyone had this season, 25% off of one item, 30% off of one item, you name it. If you really believe that the amount they are giving back to you is incorrect, ask to speak to a manager and they can show exactly how they came to give you back that amount. Our gift receipts are done in letters that translate into numbers when we enter them into the gift receipt lookup. We get so many returns, we don't have time to memorize what those letters are and what they translate to. Not to mention that as a lowly bookseller, we don't care enough to cheat you. We just want you to get what you need as quickly as possible so we can keep the line moving.

  • 14 Posted by singlew4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    What a specious report. The opening premise is undercut by the statistic of 40% making returns. So in all likelihood an average person will NOT be returning an item. Then it gets richer when the article says most stores are making returns easier. How do writers get away with such worthlessness?

  • 15 Posted by iloveme1969 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Here's the solutions to all your problems; Ask about the return policies of the store before you purchase and read any signs posted in the store, especially near the register. Retail stores are not required by federal law to accept merchandise for cash exchange. Many have done so in the past as a courtesy to their customers. In today's competitive marketplace, where customers no longer have a loyalty to their local stores and simply shop around for the lowest price, stores cannot afford to provide the this same level of customer service. Consumers flock to discount stores to save a few dollars on their purchases. Well, the retailers have to make that money back somewhere. Thus the birth of restocking fees and limited refunds. I don't agree with the return policies of many large retailers, so I am cautious with my purchases. My days of carefree shopping and easy unrestricted returns are over. Research the products before you buy and know what you may have to deal with should you decided to return any item. Yelling and being rude at the return counter won't get you anywhere these days.

  • 16 Posted by tammyanderson6 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    I paid cash for my electronic item, held it unopened for 6 days, changed my mind and returned it unopened on christmas eve. Thier policy is "anything over 100.00, you must wait 10 days for a check"....absolutely ruined my christmas as that was all I had to spend. And I paid cash. Maybe these rules are designed to protect but they hurt people too!

  • 17 Posted by pgh_golfer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    I refuse to burden my friends and family with gift cards. I'd rather give them actual money. It seems to work in all stores and there's never a fee. When you purchase gift cards, the only gift your giving is to the retailers.

  • 18 Posted by fratlines35 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    this comment is ridiculous - "the gift giver of your not-so-perfect gift was exceptionally thoughtful and included a gift receipt." Giving a gift at all isn't being exceptionally thoughtful? Maybe I won't think of them at all next year. Problem solved. Best Buy and WalMart also keep track of individuals returns. So if that is the case then they should be better equipped to turn away the thieves and take care of those with legitimate purchases. It is well known stores use returns to their favor as far as pricing goes. Since they cut prices as far as 60% during the holidays for a day then go back to regular pricing and that saves the stores from having to pay the full price back to the customer.

  • 19 Posted by malvernhills07 on Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:26AM EST Report Abuse

    I used to work at a big bookstore. Certain types of books would almost always be returned : travel guides, test prep books, "how to fix it" books, etc. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why - once you get the info you need you just return it. I used to get a kick out of the reason that every single person who returned a travel guide would say: "I decided not to go!" And the test prep books? "I decided not to take the test" Yeah...right! At least be honest and tell me : "Well I got the information I needed so now I just want my money back" Bookstores are not libraries.

  • 20 Posted by goodrabt on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    Talk about missing the point of the season. A gift is just that. A gift. Not a get-something-I-like-more token. Unless it is the wrong size or you already have one, I think the majority of returns are insulting to the gift-giver. That gift was picked out with you in mind. Usually time was spent picking that item out. To return it to get something else (exception being with the giver's full blessing...that does happen sometimes) is usually just rude. Peace on earth and good will towards men? Gimmie gimmie gimmie. The new holiday slogan. Ugh!

  • 21 Posted by trishatp1129 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    Whatever poor old ladies try to "cheat the system" by buying next years gifts the end of this year, OR by returning is not nearly AS BAD as how the stores rip people off with esculating their prices and then putting 40% or 50% off signs over merchandise before xmas. Then, how annoying is it that the stuff you just bought is cut way down in price after xmas. If we were smart, we would reassign gift giving to two weeks AFTER xmas, except for gifts to the children. Notice how buying gift cards are pushed too? Stores love all the money they end up keeping with people who either lose track of these cards, or never use the entire amount.

  • 22 Posted by rjct27 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Unwanted gift cards can be sold on eBay for close to face value. Yes, you'll pay a listing fee but I have actually had cards sell for MORE than face value, making up for it. It sounds odd, but it's a good way to turn unwanted gift cards into cash without lossing much if anything at all (except eBay's fee to list).

  • 23 Posted by trishatp1129 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    What a bunch of suckers we all are!! When you think about it, xmas present giving is really about SANTA CLAUS, and the children getting a toy or two. However, as the monster of capitalism grows, we now "feel the heat" at Halloween to BUY, BUY, BUY for the jingle season. As you get older, you realize it is like beating a horse to go around the track yet again, and the horse really doesn't WANT to, but does it anyway out of blind obedience. Commericialism in general has grown to nauseating proportions. We are drowning in a sea of selling in every corner of our world. We hardly have time to think with all the pawning thrown at us every which way. Television is non stop yak yak selling, and we pay for all those commercials with increased prices. What can we do? We better figure it out.

  • 24 Posted by rhynole on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why do you consider buying something on clearance to be "cheap"? If you had the choice of buying something at a discount as opposed to paying full price, wouldn't the SMART thing be to pay less than pay more? Isn't lower prices the retail industry's main tool in bringing in potential buyers?

  • 25 Posted by walyank on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    I was very interested in mike_mgoblue's post concerning BestBuy's return policies. I don't know when what he talks about started but 5-6 years ago I attempted to return a DVD to them that did not work right. The audio was muffled and distorted. My home theater at the time was not the most expensive in the world but it was not a piece of cr*p either. I even tried other DVDs to see if something had gone wrong with the system. No problem there so I decided it was this new one only and went back to BestBuy. They took the DVD to some room I could not see, told me it worked perfectly fine and that they would not exchange it. I said fine, I will not ever shop here again and will make darn sure to tell everyone I know to not shop in your stores either. And I have ever since. Every chance I get. Remember that you can always vote with your $. Most places are honest enough if your argument is right though. I once returned a copy of the "Rainbow Bridge" DVD to one of the big bookstore chains although it worked just fine. My argument was that the cover was 90% misleading as to the contents of the film. "Rainbow Bridge" was portrayed on the cover as a documentary of a Jimi Hendrix concert. This idea was reinforced by large photos of Jimi Hendrix and a couple small ones of other people. The text also talked of incredible interviews with Jimi. There was just about 10 minutes of Jimi in the entire film of which more than half was the interviews they were incredible alright. He was so stoned that you could barely understand a word he said. The bookseller took it back after a bit of talking about the fact that they were selling a product that was falsely represented. I also wrote to the company that was marketing this DVD to complain. Lo and behold, a few months later, while shopping I notice this movie had a new cover. All that to say we do have the power to change some things. But we have to raise our voice sometimes. Don't hesitate to do it. You never know. If that doesn't work, then vote with you $$$$. Have a good day.

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