Buying Christmas gifts for all your loved ones can be a chore. Sure, it’s easy if a great idea pops in your head, but oftentimes we’re left buying something with high hopes that someone will love it. But what if they don’t? That’s when shopping season ends and returning season begins. Make sure you’re armed with the right tools and information to make returning unwanted gifts as painless as possible.
In its annual return policy survey, Consumer World found that while some retailers have extended holiday return policies, others are making that window even shorter. They have a handy list of retailers with the most generous return policies which could be valuable for shoppers who know returning will be part of their post-holiday activities.
If given the choice, I will always buy from stores where I know returns are never a hassle. For me, that means Costco and Target always top my list. Costco has no return deadline, except for electronics and major appliances which need to come back within 90 days. Target has a 90-day return policy for most things, but cuts it down to 30 days for electronics and only 15 days for Apple items.
Here’s where the bonus of having a Target Red Card comes in. Target debit or credit card owners get an extra 30 days to return anything and if you purchase with the card, you’ll never need to keep a receipt. The store can pull up anything you’ve bought just by swiping your card (same goes for Costco).
Maybe you need to shop at more than just those two stores but are concerned about return windows. The website offers.com has put together a comprehensive list of more than 100 stores’ return policies for 2019.
The Rakuten Slice app claims to be a shopper’s best friend for keeping track of everything you buy online. It will log every tracking number that shows up in your email and it will store all the e-receipts that come to your inbox. The app tracks all major shipping carriers and will send you notifications when a package is out for delivery. Slice will also let you know if there’s a price drop on your items and help you get some cash back.
One big perk is that it tracks return deadlines and will let you know when you’re running out of time to return an item. Finally, Rakuten Slice will break down your spending, showing your habits in easy-to-read charts and graphs. The free app is available for Android and iOS, as well as a web app.
Since Amazon customers all over the world ordered hundreds of millions of items between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday this year, it’s safe to assume lots of you are among Amazon’s regulars. Business Insider reports that the company has updated its return policy for the holidays and is offering free returns on millions of items sold on Amazon. The free return policy previously only applied to clothes, shoes and bedding, but now everything from electronics to appliances has the same perk.
To initiate a return to Amazon, go to “Your Orders” and choose a return option (at least one of which will be free). It will generate a QR code that you’ll need to show when you drop off your item for return. There are more than 18,000 drop-off locations including physical Amazon stores and Amazon Hub locations that are in about 17 states so far. You can also drop off items at UPS Access Point locations using a pre-paid label Amazon will create for you.
But the options you may like best mean you don’t need a label or even a box to send off your return. At The UPS Store and select Whole Foods Market and Kohl’s locations, you can simply show your QR code and hand them the item. They’ll take care of the packaging and labeling for you. This applies to any item shipped from Amazon between Nov. 1 and the end of the year. You have until Jan. 31, 2020, for returns.
You’ve been so full of holiday cheer this season, don’t let all those returns sour your mood. Be smart and know the return process on the gifts you buy, and the post-holiday returning will be a cinch.