Michigan Internet Marketing Club

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Guide to Returning Gifts

Guide to Returning Gifts

Let’s face it: Shopping for other people is difficult. And sometimes even the best-intentioned gift giver gets it wrong. That’s why it pays to pay attention to return policies when you’re shopping, just in case things don’t work out.

According to a new Consumer Reports nationally representative survey of 1,000 adults, a gift has to be a real doozy before it goes back; almost nine in 10 Americans rarely or never return a present. But 43 percent said they would seek a refund or exchange if they were on the receiving end of a truly cruddy gift.

To help minimize the problems, our resident shopping experts took a good look at customer-service policies for several major retailers. Read on to find out which retailers offer no-questions-asked satisfaction guarantees and which ones have rules that are far more restrictive when it comes to returning gifts.

Why the differences? Some companies are big enough to absorb losses from customers who may take advantage of ultra-generous policies by bringing back merchandise that has languished in their closets. The businesses are confident that the goodwill generated by lenient policies will outweigh the occasional bad behavior and increase the company’s market share, says Jack Abelson of Abelson & Associates, retail consultants in Leawood, Kan. “They’re not doing it to be nice or altruistic,” he says. “That guarantee is built into the price of the product as just another cost of doing business.”

Best in the Business

The following retailers have the best return policies we’ve seen, pledging unconditional satisfaction when you shop in their walk-in stores or online. Quotations describing how they stand behind what they sell are taken from their websites.

Costco. “100% satisfaction guaranteed. We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. We will refund your membership fee ($55) in full at any time if you are dissatisfied.” There’s no time limit for returning most items; for electronics, there’s a very liberal 90-day limit from the purchase date.

Eddie Bauer. “Every item we sell will give you complete satisfaction or you may return it for a full refund.” That means anytime.

Harry & David. “You and those who receive your gifts must be delighted, or we’ll make it right with either an appropriate replacement or refund. Always. Everything’s guaranteed. No cutting corners. No fudging on quality. No excuses.”

Lands’ End. If you’re dissatisfied with any item, from sheets to slacks, return it anytime for a refund or exchange. The policy states: “We mean every word of it. Whatever. Whenever. Always. But to make sure this is perfectly clear, we’ve decided to simplify it further: Guaranteed. Period.”

Kohl’s. Its “no questions asked, hassle-free” return policy for all purchases has no time limit. No receipt? No problem. Just go to a customer-service counter with the item for an exchange or store credit equal to the lowest price the item sold for in the past 13 weeks. That is, unless you paid with your Kohl’s charge card. Associates can look up any order within 12 months and credit your account. Items bought with other credit cards or returned after the 12-month time frame earn you store credit.

L.L.Bean. “Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise.”

Orvis. “We will refund your money on any purchase that isn’t 100% satisfactory. Anytime, for any reason. It’s that simple.”

Zappos. Free shipping on all domestic orders and free prepaid returns for up to a year, as long as the items are in their original condition.

Tough Customers

These merchants have different rules and timetables for different products, and they refuse to take back some items.

Abe’s of Maine. Its stingy 14-day return policy is loaded with exceptions: No returns on TVs larger than 24 inches, fitness equipment, large appliances, microwaves, wine coolers, humidifiers, marine and camping equipment, watches, sunglasses, laptops, bicycles, and more. It’s also up to you to check for damage upon delivery; if you don’t, and a TV or appliance is broken, you’ll have to settle for servicing rather than replacement. In addition, if you cancel an order—even before it ships—Abe’s may stick you with a processing fee of as much as 3.5 percent of the item’s purchase price.

American Apparel. Items can be returned within 45 days (we criticized American Apparel for limiting returns of store purchases to 30 days several years ago), but the chain refuses to take back sale merchandise. Also not returnable: swimwear, intimate apparel, cosmetics and grooming products, and any item that’s been laundered. So if the colors run, you’re out of luck.

Forever 21. The apparel merchant has a significantly different policy for online and in-store returns. If you return an item to a retail location, you’re limited to an exchange or credit. If you mail it back, you can get an actual refund, but you’re also required to pay for return shipping.

GameStop. You have 30 days from purchase or the date on the packing slip, only with a receipt. The video-gaming giant reserves the right to limit returns to unopened or defective products.

Sears and Kmart. Those sister chains state, flat-out, that “refunds and exchanges will not be given without receipt.” With a receipt, there’s a 30-day return deadline for most products. At Sears, electronics, heaters, grills, and furniture are subject to a 15 percent restocking fee.

4 Tips for Returning Gifts

Don’t open the box. If you try to take back an item and the original packaging isn’t intact, merchants may impose a restocking fee (often 15 percent of the purchase price). That’s especially common for electronics. Other products, such as computer software, CDs, and DVDs, generally aren’t returnable once their packaging has been opened, unless they’re defective. And if products are missing tags, you may be stuck with them.

Keep those gift receipts. Make sure you don’t toss them out with the wrapping paper, because merchants often turn you away if you don’t have one. If you didn’t get a gift receipt (and you don’t want to ask the giver for the original), you may be eligible for store credit, though it may be in the amount of the lowest price the item sold for recently.

Check return policies and note any time limits. You can do that most easily online, or you can ask at a store’s customer-service counter. Big merchants usually allow up to 90 days for most items to be returned, but they may have far shorter periods for certain goods. During the holidays, however, some retailers will extend their deadlines, often until late January. For items purchased online, note whether the merchant also has walk-in store locations and allows in-person returns. That way, you can avoid repacking the item and going to the post office, as well as paying return shipping costs.

Bring ID. Some chains, including Best Buy and Victoria’s Secret, use computerized return-authorization systems to detect abuse. So you may be asked to show your driver’s license or other government-issued ID when you return an item in person. Merchants scan and store data from your ID to track your history, noting such factors as the frequency of your returns, their dollar value, how often you return items without a receipt, and the time between returns.

Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the December 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.