A Target insider writes:“Starting next year, guests will no longer be able to return items without a receipt. This means that if you accidentally lose your receipt, or if your cashier doesn’t give you one, you’re SOL.
Our gift registries used to be good, but I’ve watched Target corrupt them as well. Now, you need a receipt to return any items purchased off the registry, even if you received duplicates caused by our glitchy system. Most stores allow you to use the registry to return items, but Target has crippled that system completely. I’d recommend not using our gift registries at all, and registering at other stores…”
When I started at Target, you used to be able to return any items without a receipt, as long as you presented a drivers license. This could be done twice per year. I’ve watched the return policy change frequently and have said nothing.I’ve been working for Target for over a year, and it’s had its ups an downs. I’ve enjoyed working there, and would like to continue working there, but the return policy is disappointing me.
I recommend going to your local Target, and filling out a comment card telling corporate how you dislike the
direction the return policy is going. You can also call them, at 1.800.440.0680. View http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/?node=3370571for more contact information.
Tsk tsk, Target is just “going green” and saving on electron costs by not looking up and seeing if a person’s identification matches the credit card used to purchase an item. If you’re giving gifts to other people, or to yourself, be sure to save your receipts in case anything goes wrong. We have two folders for receipts, one for tax deductible items and one for non tax deductible. All our receipts go into one of these folders.
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@Catperson:
Actually my Target experience has been pretty good with returns. I’ve never had a problem with returns. Three times I have returned electronic items that were opened and every time I have gotten a full refund (even though they have a policy where they could charge you a restocking fee). Once when I returned an item over 90 days they mentioned that it had been over 90 days BUT they let me return it for a full refund. I even bought furniture online and was able to return it to the store for a full refund (free shipping online). Since I have always had my receipt or used a credit/debit card, I have never been asked for my license.
Now as I type this, I hope they don’t change their policy to not allow debit/credit card returns. Then I’d have a problem.
I’m not sure why everyone is getting so fired up on wild, rampant, and unverifiable speculation. This “policy” has not gone into effect yet, at least according to the OP, and until there is something official from Target’s website, back of a receipt, etc. this should be taken with a grain of salt.
I think target is mainly doing this to prevent return fraud which is projected to be 3.7 billion this holiday season:
[money.cnn.com]
I always return my products with a receipt or gift receipt so I, and majority or others, won’t be effected by this. I feel bad for the innocent people caught up in this, but it will be hard to cry foul if the company adequately warms customers. One the other hand, I have no sympathy for the 5% of people who fraudulently return stuff to Target. Target can afford to lose those customers
this is actually true. i worked for target for two years until this june when i joined the military.
when i first started you could do the whole no receipt thing pretty much as much as you want.
then they limited it down until when i quit it was twice per year and it had to be under one hundred dollars.
i was in charge of mens and shoes but regularly helped up front(it was a smaller store) when we didn’t have enough help and i was good friends with the managers and the guest service team leaders.
i was told that in the future(they didn’t specify when) target was going to stop doing no receipt returns altogether.
this does fit the timeline and i knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
just save your freaking receipts.
or use a credit card or a debit card or a check. they can use any of those just like it was your receipt.
@TinyBug: Exactly. I used to be a fan of Target who, like the halcyon days of Ikea, gave the customer the benefit of the doubt. But, alas, those days are long gone.
I bought a pair of candle sconces there. They were on the shelf, taped together, with a price tag and barcode on eah one. I paid for them WITH MY CREDIT CARD (and don’t forget that Target is leading the pack when it comes to identity tracking), discovered that they didn’t look good and took them back to my local store with the receipt, where I was told that they would not be accepted because the original packaging was missing. I explained that there was no packaging when I bought them. They refused to accept that possibility, even though there was another pair on the shelves JUST LIKE THEM.
That was the end of my relationship with Target. Their stuff is crap and so is their customer service.
And for those of you who think losing a receipt is a crime, I sincerely hope that the first one you lose is for a twelve hundred dollar tv you paid cash for at Target.
…and doesn’t work.
Seriously, just keep your receipts. If you’ve worked retail you know how scummy some people are, just grabbing stuff and coming up to the front desk asking to do a return immediately. Trying to pass off bad checks from their friends businesses. Other random crap, etc. If we had serious penalties to habitual scammers, I don’t think we’d need to worry about it — instead the private sector assumes the risk, so they’d like to finally stop some of these practices.
@Troy F.: If you put it on the registry, why would you have to return it?
I like Menard’s- they require a receipt for all returns too. But they have kiosks where you can put in your credit card and look up all your purchases, and reprint the necessary receipt.@
href=”#c3179610″>hypebreaker: Who said it was a crime to not have a receipt?
Meh, no tears shed here. Having a receipt for returns is common sense.
Target’s return policy has always been bad for registries and yet people keep using them because if you are the person registering you think it can’t be that bad. Then by the time you are making returns of the invariable duplicated from computer glitches or listening to people complain about how nothing you registered for is still on their shelves even though only selected the items 2 weeks ago it’s too late.
Maybe now people will learn.
@benjimandodd: Not necessarily. I don’t know about Target specifically, but most companies cannot just look up any purchase which was not made on a credit or debit card. Checks or cash with no receipt – forget it.
@PYLON83
My experience is that the policy has in fact gone into effect. I went week ago Sunday with my return and…well you can read all about it on my previous post. Not sure abot what “wild, rampant, and unverifiable speculation” you were talking about. I know the wild look I saw in my wife’s eyes!
@hypebreaker:
i feel your pain. i bought a sweater set at lord and taylor one day that i absolutely loved. i got home took off the tags and hung it up to wear the next morning. i then realized that i had a sweater set of the exact same colour and ran back to the store to exchange it. i found a few other things that i wanted and walked up to the counter to make my exchange. the woman refused to take my item back. first she told me it was because i had the wrong tag. i grabbed an item still hanging and compared the two. then she told me it was because it wasnt attached. i asked her to point out where this was in the return policy. then the woman swear to goodness actually told me “im sorry, i just cant”. this was seriously within 4 hours of me purchasing the item that i was exchanging with receipt! im really not the disgruntled customer type especially since i work at a department store and i know what its like, but i took every item i was going to buy placed it on the counter and left. i then came in the next day got another salesperson and returned the item. bitch.
oh i forgot to add that she returned the shell (the undershirt) but wouldnt return the sweater part, making the whole thing all the more ridiculous.
@swalve:
You pretty much always get duplicate items – the registry doesn’t always update quickly enough, people buy something from the registry but don’t actually provide the registry information so it never gets updated, people buy something from the registry but at another store, etc.
We registered with Target for our wedding in February of 2005 and had a great experience. So, when I became pregnant this past July, it seemed only natural create a baby registry with Target. Just like the first time, we had a great time going through the store and scanning items into the registry.
When I started opening gifts at the baby shower though, several friends found themselves embarrassed when it became readily apparent that there were several overlapping gifts. To the point of where we had five of the same night lights, seven of the same crib sheets, three of the same crib sets.
Each person said they had taken their registry printout to the cashier and that it was scanned, but it did not update my registry until over a week after the shower. Our friends did not provide us with gift receipts because they were under the impression that they were purchasing items that were still on our registry.
“No big deal,” we thought. “Target is great about returns, so we’ll just take them back and get some of the other items that were not purchased.” We collected the items, went to the store, and we were then hit with what can only be described as a “jaw dropping” new policy.
They would not refund or exchange a single item.
We were then informed of their new return policy. Keep in mind this was not their policy when we originally registered. We were told that they would allow two returns per person a year without a receipt, but the limit on the returns was $20. We were able to return a few of the crib sheets we received duplicates of using the two returns they so “graciously” allow. We are still stuck with hundreds of dollars worth of other duplicates.
I can understand and appreciate that they wanted to revisit and update their return policy. Yet how can they possibly think it fair to apply any new policy retroactively? Also, these particular returns needed to be made as a direct result of their own registry system failing! When I explained this to the manager, he said, “Sorry, but that does happen from time to time.” Are you kidding me!?
Had we known we would be punished for the mistakes of their faulty system, we would have never registered at Target.
The new policy makes me feel like they think I’m a criminal. As I have no interest in feeling that way, we will no longer continue to shop in their stores. I’m sure the absence of our small contribution to their monthly totals won’t cause much of an impact on their bottom line, but I have a feeling we’re not going to be the only customers to object to the new policies.
We have since canceled our registry with Target and registered solely at Babies R Us. I suggest others looking for a baby registry do the same. The customer service is far better at Babies R Us.
Years ago, we shopped at Target for everything. If it was on sale at another store, we brought in the sales paper and Target matched the price. This price-matching was discontinued.
OK, so we went to other stores for their sale items, but pretty much bought everything else at Target. If the item went on sale at Target after we purchased it, as long as it was within the return timeframe, they adjusted the price. NOPE, now it is only within 14 days. Fine, if it was after that time, we brought the item back, returned it and repurchased it. NO MORE!! Now, the item has to be restocked before it can be repurchased! If the item is not on the shelves (like most Target sale items) – you are out of luck! (this just recently happened with a set of DVD’s I purchased as a Christmas gift – it went on sale 18 days after my purchase, a savings of $40 – I was out of luck).
If you receive a gift and need to exchange it for size or color – you are out of luck! They will not even exchange an item without a receipt.
Moreover, Target does not care about their customer. Whereas I used to purchase everything at Target – now I purchase NOTHING at Target.