The holidays can be a time for giving and receiving, but some gifts may not appeal to everyone, as Washington Heights resident Juana Estela did, so gift giving is all but inevitable during this time.
– What are you going to do at the shop today with these gifts?
“To return them because I didn’t like them and they didn’t fit me,” says Estela.
And it is that According to the National Federation of Merchants, they end up returning $158 billion of merchandise sold this holiday.
Other Upper Manhattan residents, like Lucia Pimentel, were lucky to get what they asked for from Santa, and they have no plans to return the presents for these reasons:
“…Because it’s a gift and people put so much care into buying a detail and sometimes it’s difficult for them. And then after… Oh, he doesn’t like it and that, but you try to do something with that gift, you have to appreciate it, you have to have some affection.”
Carmen Pérez will not return them either: “Yes, of course they gave me many things, two wines, this hat I’m wearing, if it went well, thank God.”
The National Federation of Merchants added that 60% of businesses said they plan to change their exchange and return policies for the 2022 holiday shopping season this year due to inflation.
If you’re one of those folks who’ve received a gift that you think you’ll want to return, Consumer Reports has a few tips to help make the process easier and smoother:
Do not open the box
· Keep your receipts
· Make sure you know the store’s return policy.
· If you go to a store in person to return the gift, bring identification with you.
· And if the purchase was made online, try to find out if you can return it to a store to avoid shipping costs.
For last, if it is returned ASAP and you only get store credit, look for sale or clearance items to pick it up
Most stores allow 14 days to a month to return an item, so you still have time, but if for some reason you can’t, consider donating your items instead of throwing them away.
