The Early Show

Many Happier Returns

Brian Dakss

December 27, 2004 / 7:11 AM EST / CBS

Like day follows night, returns follow holiday gift giving. And you can improve the chances that the process will go smoothly if you stick to guidelines suggested on The Early Show.

Vice President Dan Butler offered advice on making your returns in stores, and AOL consumer adviser Regina Lewis gave tips on returning items you bought online.

Some basics for in-store transactions:

Know the retailer's return policy before you buy. Most retailers have return policies prominently displayed, especially at this time of year. Gift-givers should read and remember them.

Keep all receipts. Receipts are still the key to hassle-free returns. Many retailers will allow consumers to exchange merchandise without a receipt. However, without a receipt, a retailer may only provide merchandise credit for the lowest markdown-price at which the item was sold in the past 30 days.

Provide all original packaging and all parts (including all tags) when giving a gift. Some retailers won't accept returns unless the item is in its original package. If you plan to take back a gift when it is unwrapped, resist the urge to open it or play with it. No one wants to buy someone else's merchandise.

Ask for a gift receipt to make gift returns easier. Ask the retailer if they issue gift receipts. These receipts contain all the necessary information to prove the items were purchased, minus the price.

Online returns:

Returns are a part of shopping, no matter where you choose to shop. In addition to the other common sense rules of returns, here are a few things to find out before you purchase a gift online:

Know the process: Who pays for shipping the return, you or the merchant? Some merchants will pick up the delivery charges for exchanges, but not for returns.

Where to make returns: Does the retailer have a physical store, and can returns or exchanges be made there? Make sure you have the correct address if you need to mail returns back to the company. Some merchants have off-site service centers that handle returns that may be in a different location from where the merchandise is sent.

Don't delay: Consumers should plan to make returns as soon as possible after the holidays to take advantage of extended hours and extra help, and to get the best selection of merchandise for an alternate gift.

Lewis answered additional FAQs (frequently asked questions) about online returns:

A lot of the big retailers also have catalogs and Web sites. Should you expect their policies to be consistent across the board?

Yes, for the most part. These days, the big retailers are the big retailers, so you should expect their policies to be relatively consistent across the board. The biggest trend is ordering via catalog or online and returning in-store, but you can even do the reverse if facing the return line is more than you want to deal with. Also, be aware that retailers sometimes have e-commerce partners, in which case the policies may not be consistent. For instance, Toys R Us' online partner is Amazon. Returns made to Amazon by mailing them back are subject to Amazon's policies, but returns to Toys R Us stores are subject to Toys R Us policy.

In addition, in some cases, items that are catalog or online may not be eligible for returns in-store. What's more, electronics often have lots of restrictions and much tighter deadlines, and season items, such as ornaments, are often final sale.

Monogramming has been big this year. Are there more restrictions on that front?

It varies by retailer. Pottery Barn says no returns of monogrammed items. Brooks Brothers says it's OK, if it's their mistake. LL Bean says yes. It seems there's a reason there are tote bags with other people's names on them at outlets.

Do I have to have the receipt and are there any moves to make if I don't?

Some retailers (Sharper Image, for example) may be able to track the purchase for you if you know the name of the person who bought it or if you bought it. If you have a receipt, the time probably doesn't cost you. If you don't, it very well could cost you, since you won't be able to prove the purchase price. So you'll end up redeeming at just the current value of the item, which post-holiday almost always goes down, not up.

Without getting retailers too angry with me, I will say, once you mail it back and they receive it, odds are it's a lot more cost effective for them at that point to just process the return.

Exchanging may be easier, but -- and often people are surprised by this – they're also subject to restrictions. In some cases, you may only be able to exchange for equal or greater value and perhaps even only within the same department of the store.

Is it true some people are banned from returning all together?

Some people may find themselves the commerce equivalent of being blacklisted, both online and in-store.

If I have to mail it back, what's my best move and should I expect to pay for shipping?

Many retailers send a "SmartLabel" with your order that you can affix to your return package and either drop the package in the mailbox, give it to your postal carrier or take it to the post office. If you lose the label, you can often find and print it off the retailer's Web site. You pay nothing upfront, and when, for instance, Speigel receives the package, it will deduct the shipping charge from your merchandise credit or refund ($6.00 for packages that weigh less than five pounds, $8.50 for over five pounds).

On the exchange side, some retailers offer incentives to be quick. Old Navy and L.L. Bean, for example, offer a new express exchange service. You call an 800 number to order the new product, which they'll ship out for free the following day. You'll be charged for the new item, but they'll credit you for the returned product as soon as they receive it.

Let's talk deadlines. How much time do we have?

It frequently depends more on the item than the retailer. Expect electronics to have shorter windows and more restrictions. Time isn't on your side, particularly if you don't have a receipt, in which case you should expect to receive reimbursement or credit for the current cost of the item, which is only going down, not up.

For big online retailers the deadlines are fairly liberal, but worth checking. Either way, watch for ten and thirty day deadlines. Sometimes, that's from the time the order was placed or taken out of the store, so if you got a gift, the clock may have started even before you took the wrapping off. Having said that, most major retailers would make exceptions around the holiday and start the clock Dec. 26 with return periods lasting well into January 2004.

Most are within 30 days, but this year Amazon.com is extending its returns period for those who have done their online shopping early. All items shipped between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2004 can be returned until Jan. 31, 2005 for a full refund (subject to other restrictions -- used books, as well as CDs, DVDs, video games and software that have been opened will only get partial refunds).

Gift cards and gift certificates big sellers this year. What about redeeming them?

For the most part, you can use the gift certificates online or off. A great tip: You can get a lot of mileage out of them by scouring post-holiday sales.

What's the most common mistake?

Waiting, or not redeeming a gift certificate. But there's good news on that front: Now you can swap gift certificates or, frankly, raise some cash. See swapgift.com. There's a flat $3.99 fee. You get my Gap item, I get your Tiffany. Or, you give me $50 for the $75 gift certificate I got and am never going to use. That way, I'm up $50 and you got a deal.