Consumerist reader Jonathan recently received a box set of CDs from his brother for Christmas. Unfortunately, one of the CDs that was supposed to be in the box was nowhere to be found. Compounding the problem, his brother had lost the receipt. Oh, and did we mention he made the mistake of buying the box set at Best Buy? [More]
returns
How Long Should You Expect To Wait For Refunds From Online Retailers?
By 12.28.11
We are now three days into the official Holiday Returns & Exchanges Season, and while those shoppers who paid a little more — and put on pants — to go shopping at bricks-and-mortar stores, it’s usually just a matter of waiting in line to get your refund. But for gift-givers who did their buying online this year, that wait for a refund could be anywhere from a few days to several weeks. [More]
How An Attempt To Return TV To Best Buy Left Man With No TV And No Refund
By 12.20.11
Eli thought he could just walk into a Best Buy with a TV and a gift receipt and walk out with a refund or store credit. But this is Best Buy, where nothing ever ends up the way it’s supposed to. [More]
More Shoppers "Renting" Electronics From Retailers
By 12.13.11
A new study shows that a growing number of electronics purchases — up to one in five — are being returned to retailers, and that a large majority of the items returned as defective are in fact perfectly fine. [More]
Returning Wedding Gifts To Walmart: Not All That Easy
By 11.2.11
The greeters aren’t the only ones at Walmart who demand your receipt. If you’ve registered for your wedding or other gift-lavishing occasion at there, know this: Wally World treats registry returns without a gift receipt as returns without a receipt. Even though they’ve got your registry right there, showing that someone else bought the item for you and precisely who bought it. Nope, being a registry item isn’t good enough. Reader Chris shared his sad tale, which ends with him being stuck with an air compressor and an awful lot of Walmart gift cards. [More]
Fashion's Night Out: Dolce & Gabbana Made Kids Buy $35 Lipgloss To Get Bieber Autograph.
By 9.12.11
Shoppers have figured out that Fashion’s Night Out in New York is a great time to scoop up freebies, like tshirts, prizes and free champagne. But in a recessionary move, this year retailers are making attendees pay a price if they wanted the privilege of attending their promotions and getting celebrity autographs. At Dolce & Gabbana, kids were told that they could buy a $35 tube of lipgloss to get Justin Bieber’s autograph, but then he only popped down the stairs to sing one cover song. Then he sped back upstairs without signing anything. [More]
Costco Lets Man Return 5-Year-Old Suitcase With Broken Wheel
By 9.7.11
DrRonster was inspired by a recent Consumerist post about a guy who couldn’t take advantage of Costco’s famed warranty because he wasn’t a member. The “Ronster” went to take his own suitcase in for a refund. The suitcase has a broken wheel and is five years old, yet his venture was met with success, as he is a Costco member. [More]
Costco's Lifetime Return Policy Only Applies To Actual Members
By 8.11.11
When one of the suitcases from Jon’s decade-old Kirkland (Costco house brand) luggage set broke, he didn’t fret. Why, Costco has one of the greatest return policies in the world! Maybe in the universe! When he attempted to bring the item back, though, he learned the hard way that the famed warranty only applies to the original member who bought the item. Which can be a little awkward when the item was a gift. [More]
Dell Makes Good For Man Whose Life They Wasted 400 Minutes Of
By 6.1.11
After Bill’s story of spending 400 minutes in Dell Hell to get his dead laptop replaced went up on Consumerist, Dell gave him a call [More]
Man's 400 Minutes In Dell Hell Could Cost Them Millions
By 6.1.11
By pissing off this one customer, Dell may have lost millions of dollars. Bill is a corporate account holder and a consultant who makes recommendations to Fortune 500 companies on how to spend their IT money. Usually he recommends Dell, but after his trip to Dell Hell, that will no longer be the case. [More]
A Sprint Phone Upgrade Is Immutable, Never To Be Undone
By 5.19.11
If you upgrade your mobile phone, then return the new phone because software problems render it unusable, does this mean that you’ve used up your upgrade and cannot receive a new subsidized phone again for the term of your current contract? Based on reader Jason’s experience…yeah, that’s pretty much it. [More]
Why Does Best Buy Need My ID To Return A Purchase?
By 2.24.11
A number of readers have written to us expressing concern over Best Buy’s recently implemented policy to require a photo ID when returning all in-store purchases. The readers noted that the store wasn’t just glancing at their IDs to check against the receipt but that they were inputting data into their system. Curious what was going on, we decided to ask Best Buy about their new policy. [More]
REI Ate My $385.04 Store Credit Like So Much Trail Mix
By 2.2.11
REI, the outdoors equipment co-op, has a very generous return policy. Brandon returned something and received a store credit in return, but can’t actually exchange it for merchandise. Company representatives told him that the credit still exists, but is mysteriously “on hold” – but no one knows why, or what that means. [More]
Verizon Good At Overbilling, Not So Much The Other Stuff
By 1.12.11
Elliot has been to heck and back with Verizon. His Samsung Rogue refused to charge, so he got them to replace it with a refurbished one. The “new” phone began randomly shutting off by itself. Elliot got Verizon to give him a full replacement, but they mailed it to his old address. After more shipping woes, he finally got a working phone. Then his bill arrives, about $1,000 higher than it’s supposed to be. [More]
Holiday Cat's Big List Of Return Policies
By 12.28.10
Hey kids, Holiday Cat here. I’m taking a break from looking out the window and purring with my eyes shut as people fall down in the snow to start getting my holiday gift return strategy together. Yes, it seems that some people forgot that I hate catnip and love sardines. But before I rush out, I like to know everyone’s return policies to avoid any embarrassing situations at the cash register that might result in my back arched and hair standing on end. [More]
Is It Impolite To Return Or Exchange Gifts?
By 12.28.10
Returning gifts can be a tricky and sensitive proposition, especially if the gift is from a loved one who really thought they had found just the right thing for you. So to help you navigate this minefield, we turned to etiquette expert Anna Post of the Emily Post Institute for advice. [More]
Get A Gift From Target? Guard The Receipt Carefully
By 12.23.10
When giving or receiving gifts from Target, keep careful track of the gift receipt. If you don’t, the store’s policies might cause you to lose some money, then feel some rage. That’s what happened to Chris when he exchanged a set of sheets that were the wrong size. Even though he swapped them for a smaller (and thus cheaper) set, he had to pay Target extra for the privilege. [More]
Target Sold Returned Product With Free Bonus: Someone's Address
By 12.14.10
Dana bought a fake Christmas tree at Target and realized a UPS label bearing another woman’s address was still on the box. [More]
