We sure hope that you got everything on
your holiday wish list this year. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the reality.
God bless ‘em, but sometimes friends and family don’t quite hit the mark with
their gifts, whether you have the item already or it isn’t exactly what you
were hoping for.
If you’re looking to exchange a holiday
gift without a receipt, many retailers will tell you that there’s nothing that
can be done. We beg to differ. On Lifehacker.com, Whitson Gordon laid
out some techniques for getting that return to go
through, even if you don’t have the receipt handy.
Among some of the tips are:
Check That
Store's Policy
Before doing anything else, check up on
that store's return policy, so you know what you're going to face. Many stores
don't actually care about having a receipt—Wal-Mart, for example, will let you
get cash back for anything under $25, and store credit for anything above
that—no receipt necessary. Target, on the other hand, can look up any purchase
using your credit card or gift card. If you shop at stores like Costco, that
require a membership, they can easily track your account's purchases. Amazon
even has a policy for gift returns, which is great when you don't have the
receipt yourself. Basically, don't waste time building up a case if you don't
need it—check your store's policy, see if you can wrangle up whatever you need
to get your money back, and head on in.
Be Nice
and Stay Calm
This is super important. No matter how
frustrated you are with the company, it's rarely the customer service rep's
fault that you had to wait in line, or that your product was defective, or that
you don't have a receipt. In most cases, they want to be there as little as you
do, and you're going to make them want to help you a lot less if you're
rude—and since, in many cases, you're the one trying to go against store policy,
you want them to be on your side as much as possible. Being honest is also
great, but be careful it doesn't hurt your chances of returning the item—if you
knew the item was non-refundable and say so, you're probably going to have a
harder time convincing them.
Realize
That Store Credit Is Often As Good As It Gets
Pick your battles. If you can get the store
to offer you store credit, you've probably won that battle. You won't be able
to make every store give you cash back, or refund your credit card, but a
willingness to compromise can get you pretty far. Whether it's store credit,
exchanging the item right then and there, or (if it's defective) getting a
repair or replacement, you'll be getting more of your money's worth with a
compromise than you would just keeping the unwanted item.
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