Tips for returning holiday gifts

When it comes to big retailers, Kohl’s and Amazon may have the best return policies around.

To return a gift from Amazon, you need the gift’s order number, and you’ll get an Amazon gift card as a refund. Marks & Spencer, for example, will give you a full exchange or refund in the form of a credit note if you return something with a gift receipt until 16 January if the item was bought on or after 14 September 2015. (Normally, items must be returned within 30 days of receipt of shipment.) Walmart will give you until January 25 for items with a 30-day return window; Best Buy will give you until January 15. You may also be subject to restocking fees. Visit the manage returns page. Some shops offer store credit, while others do exchanges or refunds.

Make sure your item is returnable or exchangeable before you trek out to the store or post office.

And if you shopped online, make sure you check the website, because you might get stuck with shipping costs. “I get gift receipts, and I always hang onto them, and I let everyone know that I have the receipt”. But if you paid with a major credit card, Kohl’s will refund the charge with or without a receipt. Many have strict requirements about what can be returned and the timeframe of when it can be returned. Would you just prefer to get gift cards or cash for Christmas? No refunds on downloads.

The National Retail Federation said almost 40% of consumers returned a holiday gift last year, and this year is expected to be similar. Policies about returns and exchanges are usually available from the cashiers, stated on the sales slip, or available online.

“We have a huge line and I normally work by myself, or we normally work by ourselves”, said Heather Heidel who works at the return counter in Target, “I had to call someone to come help me”. If you plan on bringing something back, you want to check with the store and their return policy. If return or exchange policies aren’t clearly displayed, ask for details. Some stores may offer store credit on items brought back without a receipt, and typically that is worth the store’s most recent price.

And JC Penney charges a restocking fee of $75 or more on certain furniture items. It seems simple enough, but some Target employees say not every customer is happy with a gift card. No receipt for that ugly basketball? You’ll get a gift card for the full price of the item, but not cash. But House of Fraser and TK Maxx will not refund or exchange returns without a receipt. These tips also apply to traditional “brick and mortar” retailers, so go prepared and know the return policies and your rights as a consumer. Then you can get a check, which is cool because it’s money but not cool because you will have to deal with the guilt of having returned a $2,000 gift. With a receipt, L.L. Bean will reimburse you using the original method of payment.