Bucks Blog: Navigating Retail Holiday Return Policies

Now that the holiday shopping frenzy is over, it’s time for the traditional Returning of the Gifts.

Edgar Dworsky, founder of the Consumer World Web site, advises that shoppers check a store’s return policy carefully before trying to return an item. Many stores have the same holiday policies as last year, he reports, but a few have made changes that make their return policies more complicated.

Electronics often are subject to shorter return periods than other items. But some stores have changed their policies in general, to shorten the window during which items of all sorts may be returned or exchanged. Many retailers, however, then turn around and make exceptions to those policies, to extend the return period for items bought around the holidays. So shoppers need to pay attention.

“It can be very confusing,” said Mr. Dworsky, who each year publishes a report on retail return policies.

Mr. Dworsky cites Sears’s holiday return policy as an example of one that needs to be read carefully; details vary depending on when the item was purchased.

According to Sears’s Web site, items purchased between Nov. 11 and Dec. 24 that usually have a 30-day return period, like electronics and video games, can be returned through Jan. 24. Items purchased between Nov. 11 and Dec. 24 that usually have a 60-day return period, like major appliances and sporting goods, can now be returned through the later of 60 days from the date of purchase, or Jan. 24.

Target, Mr. Dworsky says, now has a 30-day return policy for items like computers and tablets. But for holiday items (purchases made after Nov. 1), the 30-day clock doesn’t start ticking until Dec. 26.

Because return policies vary, “you really have to read the fine print,” Mr. Dworsky says. “It’s not uniform store to store, or year to year.”

To help returns go smoothly, Mr. Dworsky advises against rushing to the store on Dec. 26, when lines are long and sales clerks harassed. “Don’t go the day after Christmas,” he said. “Wait another day or two.” Take a receipt or a gift receipt with you, and return the item unopened. But be aware, he said, that a gift receipt is unlikely to get you cash; typically, you’ll receive a credit or a store gift card.

Familiarize yourself with the details of the retailer’s return policy before visiting a store and trying to make a return, he urges. That way, if the clerk seems to be shortchanging you, you can be more assertive. And if you are asking for something outside of the official policy, you will know that you’re seeking an accommodation — and can behave accordingly. “Understand the policy,” he said, “so you can know if what you’re asking for is reasonable.”

Are you returning gifts this year? Let us know about your experience.

Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/navigating-retail-holiday-return-policies/?partner=rss&emc=rss