Weapon X

Okay, I have posted time and again my 'issues' with return policy...

Now, once again, I am MAD.....at two or three things.

Keep in mind that neither of these first two really happened to ME, so that, of course, eases the pain...but I wanted to pass along some info.

The first tidbit...

A friend tried to return something to Wal-Mart..they declined, as she had 5 returns in the past year (OH NO!!!!)
BUT....

They told her to feel free to come back after Christmas as "We loosen the restrictions a bit..."

Okay...
So, what if you have a VALID ID that says it was just your birthday?
What about Hannukah gifts(Hope I spelled that right!) ..isn't that like a month earlier??
Ramadan?
So...only CHRISTMAS gifts get the A-OK???

BULLSH**!

What if I get an MLK gift next week?


The second, and most disturbing trend is this line..I trailed with a DIFFERENT friend as he went from store to store trying to return a gift of "Goonies"....

Best Buy, Borders, a local store, Wal-Mart and ESPECIALLY Sam Goody all said this:

"It cannot be returned here..it doesn't have our sticker on it!"

Huh?

When I buy someone a GIFT, I REMOVE the damn price tag....this 'sticker' thing got SO annoying that when Best Buy pulled it, I went back and grabbed four copies out of maybe 11, and the 4 had NO STICKERS on them.

Best Buy Clerk? NO idea why not....

After about three hours of hearing about stickers, and this poor brother just wanting to EXCHANGE a TRIPLE SEALED DVD, one store just pissed me off with a CSR's smug assertation that it "MUST HAVE OUR STICKER!" that I just agreed. I then went back, picked out a movie for myself , and bought it. She smiled at her 'victory'.
My friend was rejected and dejected.


Until we got to my car..and I GAVE HIM A DAMN STICKER I PULLED OFF A FRIGGING GOONIES DVD!!!
I returned the DVD the next day....and so did he.
Small victories.

Now, I don't consider myself a shoplifter...I quit that when I was 15 or so...but if this 'Sticker' sh** is gonna be the new rule, then I'll be swiping them left and right. I'd LOVE to stand trial for theft of a price tag!

This lame 'sticker standard' is gonna make things worse..not better.

Do I feel guilty?
No.
This store had no DISTINCTIVE sticker..I can dig when a store like Sam Goody, which has a horrid stickering then masking tape thing going on does it..I mean, look, you CAN tell when a DVD might have come from a Suncoast or Sam Goody..BUT...have you SEEN a Virgin Megastore pricetag? PLEASE!!!
They have NO SKU, usually..just a damn price.
And they peel right off.

I would honestly have NO idea if a DVD came from anywhere other than say, Sam Goody.

The LAST idiotic Return thing to report is the Barnes and Noble policy...
I LOVE Barnes and Noble, but man, are they whacked...
Try to return w/o a receipt...and they will give you a credit in the amount of the "BN.COM" price.
Okay,..but ask them why a new release or old release is MSRP..and they chime in with "BN.COM is a SEPERATE entity...not US..."

Hence, when I got Charade, I paid $40....no BN.Com price for me....

So far the worst 'Return Transgressor' I have met was a Borders manager....my GF returned four films...the snob manager gave her only $110.00 in store credit. When she approached me, I asked to see the receipt...

The Seige-$11.99
Shrek-$16.99
Godfather-$64.99
And some other...

I asked her how come she took so little, and she said the 'manager' claimed they were 'On Storewide Sale' for those prices.

I quickly did TWO things...told my GF to pick her films..and got out my cash...

I picked the EXACT titles and just went to the register and paid...
Guess what?
The Seige was...$22.99..ON SALE
Godfather was $74.99
Shrek-$19.99

I paid , and then walked to the corner...and my GF bought HER new titles...guess what? THey rang up 'regular'...no 'Store Sale' on the ones SHE bought.

At this point, I realizd I hadn't been noticed by this one manager and walked up to her and claimed to have a return..and showed her the films...the dimwit fell for it, even though she had JUST returned the SAME FILMS.....and she said Store Credit would NOT be an issue..(I claimed I didn't have a receipt...)..and I watched as she DIDN'T scan them, and went to her computer terminal...

And checked DVDpricesearch.com!!!!

What a B****!
She was trying to figure out what the LOWEST price was, so that you could NOT make any kind of 'profit' on a return.
Then, I whipped out my reciept, and got my cash back.

I called Borders, and they are sending my GF a GC for the 'right' DVD prices..apparently, this store manager was a 'Rogue' who thinks defending DVD prices is her duty...


Man, I HATE the employees, especially "Managers" that take the job SO Personally....
Has to be repressed sexuality.

I then picked up the SAME films

dvdirv

My favorite return experience came from Best Buy when I bought a second copy of a CD (lost the original CD, but found it later) and tried to exchange it for another CD without a receipt.

The customer service people said they could NOT exchange an item since I had no receipt (the CD did have the BB price sticker on it!). Since that didn't work I went to another BB store and said I received the CD as a gift and I wanted to exchange it for something else. they actually told me to go to the person who gave me the gift and ask for the receipt!

I finally went to a competitor who gladly made the exchange.

Best Buy's policies are crazy: have a receipt or don't bother us. They just need to loosen up and be more flexible on returns. Not everyone is a thief!

Movie_Man

The hard part is trying to figure out who the thieves are. Unfortunately, the rest of us suffer.

Mazinger

"Best Buy's policies are crazy: have a receipt or don't bother us. They just need to loosen up and be more flexible on returns. Not everyone is a thief!"

I really have no problem with this.

No receipt, no return.

I tend to keep receipts until I've watch the dvd and made sure nothing is wrong with it. I also keep them when giving dvds as presents. It's just plain common sense.

Now lost receipts are another story.

MrN

Also, at BB, if you paid with a credit card, they can pull up your receipt if you give them your card. So, a lost receipt is not a problem.

Weapon X

It is silly.
I buy maybe 5 things a day...5 seperate stores. I have about 14 receipts falling out of my wallet right NOW. I have 34 saved in my glovebox.

I'm sorry, I CANNOT KEEP THEM ALL.
And they are not cute and collectible like Pokemon.

Best Buy...I have mixed feelings....
I DO understand one thing....
Theft equals higher prices.....
Blech!

So...

I am all for them following me around undercover and all that. Yeah, I razz them hard, but glad they are doing he job, ya know?
I wave at the Black Domes.
I don't feel 'violated'.

I will surrender my personal rights to likeness on video and allow a 'tail' for the coolness of paying $16.99 for a NEW DVD.

Now, with ALL of the security they have, the return thing is inane...Open, no receipt..okay, I sorta understand...but back in the day...

(Here he goes...)

You could walk into nearly ANY store with an unopened item and exhange it with NO hassle.

Then, idiots ruined videogames by returning EMPTY BOXES!!!

Now, we have triple sided security...so what is the issue???
At least make it a ONE DVD per 4 weeks pokicy. That is fair.

POWERBOMB

I was actually going to start a thread on this subject about an experince I overheard at Target today, but since you have this one going:

IMHO, I'm okay with the No Receipt/No Return policies of the retailers. It's not their fault if a customer cannot or will not keep up with their paperwork. They are there to provide a service AND make a profit when possible. I think too many people have abused the return policies in years past and know that retailers are streamlining and ENFORCING their policies now more people are upset.

We have all heard about Best Buy and Wal-Mart, but now it seems that Target is enforcing a stricter policy on No Receipt/No Return. A guy in line in front of me was asked to leave because he had no receipt for his clothes, even though they had Target price tags on them, and since he claimed to have paid cash there was nothing Target could do.

So what's wrong with that? IMO, absolutly nothing. If you can't save your receipt for 30 - 90 days, don't come back to the store.
If you didn't pay with a credit card don't come back to the store. If you are planning on whining your way into some sort of deal for your return, don't come back to the store. If you are trying to cheat the retailers, don't come back to the store. These companies would probably want you to shop elsewhere anyways. God knows I do. Why shouldn't I be rewarded with a faster return line since I was capable to save my receipt? I'm not trying to swindle the retailers.

I really enjoy hearing these "customers" say they will take their business elsewhere. Good! That they have spent thousands of dollars in the store but they won't anymore. Great! We other customers don't want you to come back. I applaud the No Receipt/No Return policy. I think there should be even stronger enforcement. It keeps all the rift raft out of the stores and makes my shopping experience more pleasant.

Deke Rivers

i dont know..I hate Best Buy as much as the next eprson but I ahve never had a hassle returning anything there..if I dont have a reciept they always give me a straight exchange and if I do I usually get a refund..must be area related ..There are 3 that i go to regularly here and Ive never had a problem

travis_bickle

Great Post Weapon X. Sad thing is how amazingly loose Best Buy becomes around Xmas with their return policy compared to the rest of the year. I worked at a Best Buy last year as a clerk and I would say from about Jan1-31 is the best time for returns. I hate how Biased Best Buy can be.

During January I swear to you you can return to Best Buy a cd player open without a receipt, without a Best Buy sticker and without even a best buy Tracking barcode(thats what they look for on larger items instead of a price tag). I would have done the same thing as far as the "sticker stealing" Just don't let the Big companies bring you down. Remember, WE the people keep them in business

POWERBOMB

We customers do keep them in business. We also have a knack for abusing the system and forcing these retailers to go out of business.

I can see how the rules are lax during this holiday season. I guess the idea is that items returned during this time of year can be re-sold faster than any other time of year. So in this regards hopefully you can see why they are so "matter of fact" the rest of the year.

If you can't beleive that people are abusing the system, look at the first post of this thread I trailed with a DIFFERENT friend as he went from store to store trying to return a gift of "Goonies".... or this thread or this one. Three in a matter of a few days. Whatever happened to just returning something to where you bought it or selling it on Ebay or to a friend?

What irritates me is that when I follow the guidleines and I have my receipt, I almost always end up behind somebody who thinks that arguing or raising their voice is going to get them anything other than escorted out of the store. It's a waste of everyone's time. It should just be common courtesy to return it where you bought it. If you can't, find some other way to get rid of it rather than going to other stores or retailers.

RoQuEr

By accepting returns, they are taking a loss regardless if the item was actually purchased there. They choose to take returns. Legally, once the item is bought, it is your problem. They take returns to improve customer service. They give you a recipt for your benefit. You should either follow the rules or don't bother trying. They get a bad rep for being helpful, and those poor customer service girls have to put up with **** from irate customers all day long. Give them a break. You know these problems wouldn't exist if you weren't buying DVD's for $10 and returning them without recipts for $30+. I mean give me a break; who would need to return things to WAL-MART 5 times WITHOUT a recipt in a 12 MONTH time period. If you actually do lose your recipts that often, maybe them enforcing the rules will help you remember in the future. Remeber, Product returns are a priviledge, not a right.

Darth Kabong

Hold on a second pal - if you are going to slander me, then make sure you know the facts for christ sake.

But since I've been unfairly condemed, I might as well play the part and argue for the defense.

Whatever happened to a business that stood behind _quality_ products, instead of telling the user "tough sh it" when said product turns out to be defective? What ever happened to caring about the customer?

How is returning a broken, defective disc an abuse? Lets say the customer sent off the recipt for one of those Fox 'buy 4' deals - a deal that needs the orignal reciept with the proofs of purchases. So I get screwed because I sent off the paperwork?

I'll I'm asking is for is an direct exchange. One-for-one, the same item straight across. How am I screwing the company that way?

Guess what, spud - I'm not.

Except that doesnt hold water. Sales drop off like crazy after X-mas, so there is no fast turn-around on reselling product.

stevevt

Please note: below, I have made comments both as a moderator and as a forum member. The moderator comments are in italics.

As the moderator of this forum, I will tell you that not only have you not been slandered, but have over-personalized and internalized another member's comments.

In the future, try to take a step back before using such harsh language, even if you feel you've been wronged.

All companies have overhead expenses -- payroll, taxes, rent/lease, electric, etc. At the very least you are using up the store's resources while giving them nothing in exchange.


Again, I'll ask that you not turn this or any other thread into a character debate, flame-fest, or downward name-calling spiral.

Consider this a warning; further offences will result in the suspension of your posting privileges.

Thanks in advance.


Closing thread.

-stevevt