Daquella Manera/flickr
I am a firm believer in returning products. If I get it home and find out that it doesn’t fit, work, or do what the advertising promised, I return it. However, I hate the time, effort, and gas it takes to make a return.
Most stores have very good return policies. However, it often costs more to return the item than its purchase price. For instance,
if I bought an under $10 item from a store 20 miles from me – which happens a lot in a big city like Los Angeles – then it will cost me almost that much in gas to return the item. Not to mention the time it takes to run the errand. Even items purchased online take time to return and sometimes you have to pay postage.
What’s a bargain hunter to do?
The key is to REALLY look at what you are trying to replace or buy BEFORE you go shopping. Check on size, shape, color, length and width. Comparison shop online and scan reviews. Take pictures and measurements. If you are bad with color (like I am) then bring a swatch you are trying to match, or the actual item.
Because we have a huge selection of just about everything that we can buy, we really need to narrow it down.
For instance, I just bought a home phone. I wanted a corded phone that didn’t plug into an electrical outlet and I was so excited when I found one. It was a great price. When I set it up, I realized it didn’t have an answering machine, a feature I absolutely wanted. In my excitement, I forgot to check if it had everything I needed.
I had to make a special trip to the store to return the phone and get another (more expensive) one.
Unfortunately, all of the information that you need when buying an item – especially electronics – is not on the outside of the box. Often the sales personnel is also pretty clueless, unless you insist on talking to a manager who knows the product. Some stores will search online for additional product info or you can do this on your smartphone.
Researching a product ahead of shopping will save you money. I know because at yard sales I have picked up brand new items from people who said they just never returned it. This is especially true if you buying an item that can’t be returned because it is a final sale or second-hand.
Are you a returner, a should-have-returner, or a can’t-returner?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
I would be interesting in knowing what corded phone you found that had an answering machine but did not plug into an electrical outlet.
@Bill – As it turns out, the phone (AT&T ML17939) is not all that I hoped it would be. It WILL work without being plugged in… but only until the batteries go dead. This means that I can temporarily unplug it to more it further from the wall, but not permanently. The other drawback to this phone is that the answering machine takes an “empty” message when someone calls and doesn’t leave a message – aughhh!
I’m a returner as well, like you, weighing the gas cost and time cost before returning an item.
But I also have to say – I’m also a writer. I write companies when their products are disappointing, and many times the company will offer to fix the problem or help me with a solution.
For example, a favorite energy bar of mine came out with a bar with almonds. I was expecting a bar with at least a few almonds in it! I got one that had one total almond in it.
Now, this is too inexpensive to return to the store without a special journey (under $5) so I wrote to the company and they not only apologized for the quality glitch but offered to replace the one I had bought.
When I got the package, I was delighted to find that the company sent me a selection of 12 bars, including some I had never had before.
So there’s more than one way to deal with a problem item! 😉
@Connie Great points! Writing a letter or email to a company you are unsatisfied with is a great way to deal with returns!
If it’s a large company, I will return. If it’s a mom & pop operation, I won’t. I will give it as a gift or make a charitable donation.
I try to buy as much as I can on Amazon because they have an excellent return policy as well as free shipping and no sales tax. Amazon stands behind everything they sell and protects the consumer.
Years ago when I was a stay at home mom, I returned things faithfully. I had a friend, let’s call her May, who did the same, but her sister did not, but would instead pass the stuff on May. May’s sister had a high paying job which took a lot of her free time. May and I were living at poverty level as stay at home mothers. We used to go on and on about how May’s sister was so wasteful to not return things to the store. Well, fast forward to now… I’m not wealthy, but my time is extremely limited. I have learned over the years to be more selective, as you say, but there are times when I come home with something that I end up not wanting, but I figure it’s not worth the $2.15 I’ll get back for the time I’ll have to spend in line at customer service to get my money back. So I can see both sides of the issue. Connie mentioned complaining to the manufacturer and like she experienced, some can be very accommodating, I had that happen a couple times. But then there were the other times that I spent my precious time contacting the manufacturer and they completely ignored me, which was frustrating! 🙂
@Mrs. Accountability – Experience certainly gives one an understanding of earlier not understood actions of others. As I age, I certainly have gained the ability to see things from someone elses point of view.
I STRUGGLE to be a returner. I HATE going back to stores after buying an item. I do believe that my adversity to this activity does restrain my spending though!
@Caron – I agree with you. The fact that I might have to return something to a store that is far away or inconvenient definitely keeps me from making certain purchases.
I was just reading an article the other day that says most stores are tracking “chronic returners” behavior and purchases through software. They have created a “return activity report” on most customers. You can even request a copy from the company that developed the software:
http://www.theretailequation.com/Consumers/Default.aspx
I’m thinking about getting mine just to see what information they have on me! 🙂
@Shawna – When you return an item, you have to fill out a slip that has your personal information on it and sign it. Most of the time one can’t even read the info, but now with reward cards, your purchases and returns ARE easier to track. I think that stores are trying to see if there are people who are buying and returning items on a daily basis, not those of us who return once in awhile. However, it would be interesting to see what kind of info is tracked. Thanks for the data.