THE POINT OF MANY RETURNS: A Busy Week at the Stores Begins Today With the Masses Taking Back Those Unwanted Gifts
By Dana Sanchez, The Bradenton Herald, Fla., The Bradenton Herald, Fla.
Dec. 26–So you thought the lines were long the week before Christmas? Wait until you try to return today the unwanted cheese grater or the sweater that’s two sizes too large.
Unwanted Christmas gifts are as much a part of the holiday season as mistletoe and eggnog. They contribute to the week after Christmas being arguably the busiest shopping week of the year.
It’s the time when all the clearance sales begin. Spring merchandise is on the way, literally, and retailers have to make room for new stuff.
It’s a touchy time for retailers, who have to walk the line between a trend toward tightening return policies versus alienating future customers.
Retail clerks are often pushed to the limit during unwanted gift-return week, and tempers run high among customers, who often have to stand in long lines with their young in tow.
Add to this soup of unhappy returns the recipients of gift cards, who want nothing more than to redeem skinny gifts of plastic promises for something they can touch and feel and see.
Sixty to 70 percent of Americans will receive a gift card this year — more than ever before — according to the Florida Retail Federation. In redeeming them, some shoppers will be visiting stores for the first time, and we all know how important first impressions are.
“In the old days, retailers would take back things they didn’t even sell just to keep customers happy,” said Rick McAllister, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Retail Federation. “There’s very little of that happening any more.”
Fraud and stealing have made many retailers leery of accepting returned gifts without proof of purchase. Some have had to deal with organized crime and cargo lifting that allows thieves to generate cash. Honest customers end up paying when businesses lose money from theft, McAllister said.
Return policies vary from store to store. Some give refunds while others give store credit.
Having a receipt is always a good idea, but that touches on an area of potential etiquette breaches. The gift giver, sometimes a very close relative or friend, might have engaged in “re-gift-giving,” an activity that creates fodder for comedians. Such givers would be hard-pressed to produce a receipt. Brenda Willis, general manager of Books-A-Million in Bradenton, said her store accepts books and other merchandise within 30 days of purchase.
Without a receipt, book customers can do an in-store exchange.
There are probably more people who read books before giving them as gifts than there are people who read them before returning them for new ones, Willis said.
“The majority of people in the world, I believe, are honest,” she said.
Circuit City, which normally accepts returns within 14 to 30 days of purchase, is extending its return policy. Anything bought from Nov. 25 through Christmas can be returned up to 30 days after Christmas, according to Tom Vogel, store director of Circuit City in Bradenton.
Proof of purchase is required, but as long as you have the phone number of the gift giver, the clerks can look it up and verify that the gift was in fact bought there, Vogel said.
“Be patient,” McAllister advises those looking to return gifts. “A lot of retailers are tightening their return policies for good reasons. Pricing-wise, it’s very difficult to be profitable in this highly competitive world.”
On the other hand, “retailers are not going to do anything that’s going to have a negative impact on their image,” he said.
president and chief executive officer of the Florida Retail Federation
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Copyright (c) 2005, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.
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