Posted by Lending Club :: February 11, 2009 @ 6:05 am

To help build rapport with customers, many retailers have been relaxing their return policies this year. Even still, you may see vastly different policies implemented between different locations of the same store.

After Christmas, I had to return an item to Old Navy without a receipt. I didn't expect to get much for the item since it had likely been placed on sale before Christmas. Even with that expectation I was surprised that I would only receive $5 for an item that probably had cost at least $25. To make matters worse, I would get the money in the form of a gift card mailed to my home for use at a later date. With these limitations, and the low inventory available at that store, I decided not to make the return.

A few days later, I tried again at a different location. This store's inventory was much better as was their liberal return policy. They honored my return at the non-sale price of the item and allowed the credit to be used the same day. Given the fact that they were having a huge sale, I ended up leaving the store with twice as much as I was trying to return. I understand that all Old Navy stores are part of the same parent company, but I am much more likely to shop at this second store in the future.

If you find that a store is not giving you a fair price for a return, consider returning the item to an alternative location. If you live near a state border, you may even try returning the item in another state. To help avoid this situation altogether, carefully examine the return policies of stores, save your receipts, or include gift receipts when giving items as gifts.

Have you gotten more than usual in return for items this year?