Around Town: Tips for returning horrible Christmas gifts

According to the National Retail Federation, twenty percent of all returns take place during the holiday season, and one out of every three recipients has returned a holiday gift. Here are some smart strategies to employ so the process is as hassle-free as possible.

▪ Act Quickly: Many retailers extend deadlines for returns and exchanges for holiday purchases. Items typically have a 30-day return period and retailers will usually extend returns during the holidays. The longer you wait to return something, the more likely it is the item will get opened, or you’ll misplace the receipt, or you’ll forget about it. Once an item is in your return pile, don’t open it or remove any of the price tags, and be sure to keep the original packaging. You don’t want to give the retailer an excuse for not accepting the return.

▪ Check Store Return Policies:Every retailer posts its return policies online. Educate yourself on the rules and what’s required before bringing (or shipping) an item back, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises at customer service. Also, take advantage of free return shipping of online purchases when it’s offered.

▪ Bring the Receipt & ID:Obviously, if you have the receipt for a gift you’re returning, bring it with you to the store. This will prove to the retailer not only that the item was indeed purchased at the store, but it will also reveal the exact price paid for it. Without a receipt, the store may refuse to give a refund, or perhaps only allow store credit or an exchange. And the value of the item returned may be far less than the purchase price.Bring a valid government ID whenever making a return or exchange too. Major retailers, like Walmart and many others, often require an ID for such transactions, supposedly in an effort to combat serial returners and possible fraud.

▪ Don’t Expect Cash: Many retailers can look up recent purchases made with a debit or credit card to verify where it was purchased and the price paid, even if there is no receipt. But the store may require the original format of payment to retrieve the details; obviously, this could be impossible if the item was a gift. What’s more, in these situations, straight-up returns can generally only be issued back to the original payment method, not cash. Returns can also be tricky when the original payment was cash, or when the item is returned with a gift receipt rather than a standard receipt. Gift recipients should expect to receive gift cards, store credit, or exchanges. Roughly 25 percent of shoppers (and an astounding 40 percent of millennials) say that they have lost a gift card, meaning whatever value you might have gotten from that returned Christmas sweater could be money down the drain. Billions of dollars worth of gift cards sit unused for months, even years, in drawers and cabinets too. Remember to try to treat it like real money, and use it to snag some fun splurges or things you probably would have bought anyway during after-Christmas or New Year’s sales. If you do want to convert that gift card into cash, head to a resale site where cards are bought and sold.

And just for fun, these are the top gifts bought on Amazon:

▪ Cards Against Humanity-one of Amazon’s best-selling items. It’s atop Amazon’s list of the most wished for toys and games, and it’s easy to see why: the game is a laugh riot.

▪ Amazon Echo and Echo Dot: People have realized just how useful and fun a digital assistant can be.

▪ Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa: This is a simple, affordable streaming stick that fits into the HDMI port on your TV and lets you stream services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and more right to your TV.

▪ Instant Pot 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker: It makes cooking at home easier and more enjoyable, so you'll wind up eating home more often and dumping less money into takeout.

▪ TechMatte MagGrip Air Vent Magnetic Universal Car Mount: This conveniently small car mount attaches to your dashboard and holds your phone in place so you can better check GPS, quickly control music, or make calls and texts in a safer, more convenient way.

▪ iRobot Roomba: The convenience of a robotic vacuum cleaner cannot be overstated.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Around Town: Tips for returning horrible Christmas gifts."