Hassle-Free Returns

Most people are aware that Big Box stores will give you back your money, hassle-free, for whatever reason. For most people, the hassle is finding the receipt, going back to the store, and waiting in line to return the item. Even if you don't have a receipt, many stores will give a full credit for the value of the item.

My mother is an expert at returning items. In the days when returning something was hassle-full, she'd go in without a receipt, without the packaging, with the shopping bag from a competing store, and still be able to get back her money. Usually, she'd assign the blame for picking out "the wrong thing" to my father. She'd speak with the cashier, the supervisor, the manager, the owner - whoever - until her money was rightfully returned. Although haggling for a return isn't always the best value for our time, there are two things we can learn from my mother's approach to returning things: (1) Persistance pays; and, (2) "Final Sale" never is final.

Persistance nowadays no longer means haggling with the manager, but keeping receipts somewhere you can find them. It may mean holding off opening an item until you need to use it, or even remembering which store you bought it from. Really, persistance is about not keeping something unless you are satisfied that owning it brings you value. If it doesn't bring you value, return it for something that does - either something else or money.

And a "final sale" isn't always final. Usually, you can replace an item or receive a store credit if you're willing to wait in line, speak with a manager, and not take a "no." Most stores know that it's to their benefit not to engage in haggling and will relent. As for those other stores, they'll eventually learn this lesson.

"Final sale" is more of an attitude that people take towards the things they buy. They think that returning something is a sign that they were wrong about purchasing it. To them, even large sums of wasted money are more valuable than a blow to their inflated egos. In fact, their sale was finalized before they checked out at the cash, before they picked what they wanted to buy, even sometimes before they entered the store. For these folk, returning something will be a big step in disconnecting emotions from their purchases.

You can stop a sale before it happens, as it's happening, or even after it happens. Many times, you can get money back without even returning something.

Last week, I bought two pantries that weighed 115 lbs each and could hardly fit into my car. After assembling them and admiring my work, I looked at this week's store flyer and WHAM! - they were on sale now for much cheaper! Yes, $40 less - each. Today, I went back to the store and got $80 refunded to me. I just went in, said I saw the pantries in the flyer for cheaper, showed my receipt, and got the difference returned. There was no argument, no explaining, no fussing. It took me 10 minutes door to door. The pantries haven't changed, but now I've paid less for them. Their value has increased.

There were items at this store that I'd already purchased elsewhere. I bought them at the sale price, and returned the other ones. Same use, but for less money.

For smaller purchases - and this is relative - it might not be worth it to trek back to a store to return something. However, returning is an effective way of ridding yourself of things that don't bring you value, while increasing the value of the things that you keep.