Holiday returns and price adjustments during after-Christmas sales
Don't forget your receipts if you hit the stores for after-Christmas shopping in the next few days.
With retailers cutting prices repeatedly in a desperate effort to move inventory, you might be eligible for a price adjustment --- a refund of the difference if you purchased an item that's now selling for less.
According to the Associated Press:
Allen Chen, a part-time cashier at a J. Crew store in White Plains, N.Y., said shoppers with two-month-old receipts are asking for partial refunds for items now on sale. Normally, the store's policy is to refund the difference between an item's purchase price and a later sale price only if it goes on sale within seven days of the purchase.
"When I tell them it is past the seven-day policy, they tell me that they will just return it and re-buy it" at the sale price, he said, adding that his store managers are now allowing customers to do so most of the time.
More customers are also bargaining with sales people trying to make room for new products, according to the story.
Need help with a holiday return? More retailers have extended their gift return policies ...
... giving gift recipients more time to bring items back, according to Consumer Reports' Tightwad Tod.
But remember that you'll have more luck if you have a receipt and if the product is in the original packaging.
Also, CR note that retailers are tracking your returns --- the amount, whether you had a receipt, how many stores you return items to, in an effort to protect against theft.
Comments
I'm cheap, but come on…at least I have a tiny bit of dignity.
Cheap Jim, I can't claim to be dignified, nor have I ever tried a price adjustment myself ... but if I had bought some big-ticket item that had been discounted significantly, I would give it a try. You're right, though --- there's a fine line between frugal and miserly, and consumers should pick their battles. --- lfk
Posted by: Cheap Jim | December 26, 2008 9:47 AM