What To Do With Unwanted Gifts

So you have all of these gifts you don't want. What should you do with them? Try to return them as soon as possible, says Smart Money's Vera Gibbons.

Many stores have cracked down on returns, and now have much stricter return policies. Here are a few examples, she says:

• Target: Requires receipt
  
• JC Penney: 60-day limit on receipts
  
• Barnes & Noble: 14-day limit on returns
  
• Best Buy: 15 percent re-stocking fee

The latest Smart Money magazine features some advice on how to unload unwanted merchandise with ease. A lot of people have a lot of gifts they don't know what to do with. Many re-wrap them and give them to other people; others just graciously accept unwanted gifts. (After all, it's the thought that counts.) But for those who want to exchange them, here are some suggestions of what to do if you face the following situations:

You Don't Have A Receipt

Generally speaking, with most stores, if you don't have a receipt, the best you can get is store credit, and sometimes at the lowest sale price available.

However, if you don't have your original receipt, the magazine did find that some stores will accept a credit or debit card statement instead. In fact, Smart Money returned a $34 turtleneck at the Gap and got a full refund with presentation of a credit card receipt.

Now, if you don't have that statement, some stores may actually be willing to look up the transaction if you can give them the exact date and time you made the purchase. It will take them a few days to do this, but they may do this for you if you ask politely.

You Are Bringing The Item Back Late

First, you need to find out whether the item you want to return is still on the shelves, and whether it's still offered at full price. If it is, you have a good chance of getting a full refund. If not, you might stand a better chance of returning your item to another store - or chain - that still carries the product. The bottom line is that most stores don't really care how long you've kept an item, so long as they can sell it and they're not overstocked.

So, here's what you do: Speak to the manager (politely), and say something to the effect of, "I know you don't normally do this, but..." - that's how the magazine phrased it when returning a calendar one day past the return date at Barnes & Noble. At Circuit City, when a needle was returned for a turntable three months late, the magazine rep said something like, "This is late, but I know your store is known for great customer service," and got a full refund for both products.

You Don't Know Where The Gift Came From

If the store carries the item in question, they'll usually take it back. Clothing is a little bit tricky. Here, you may have better luck with books and CDs. In fact, when three hardcover books and a CD were returned at Borders - stuff that was not originally purchased there – the magazine got a gift card for the sale price of each item.

You Lost The Original Packaging

You may get a full store credit at Toys R Us; when a Barbie was returned without the box they still received it. This is much trickier with CDs and DVDs because the main fear, of course, is that you bought and copied it.

If you're a regular customer and haven't been able to make your case with a store manager, but legitimately feel you have a case, then that would be the time to make an appeal to the corporate office. Generally speaking, the bigwigs in the corporate office tend to side with the customer.

And keep in mind that there are still plenty of bargains out there.