increase in returns

Joined: 21 Sep 2003 Posts: 590

Has anyone else noticed an increase in customers trying to return OLD stuff that they bought on a whim and never used/wore? I have seen it alot more lately in hardware......bought a table saw on sale/clrx. just because the price was so good and then found it in their garage years later? Gee...I never opened it or used it.....I'm taking it back.The ones that still have the receipt I can ALMOST understand,but most do not have a receipt and OMG...when you tell them that it is so old it is no longer in out inv. or that it is now 75% less then what they say they paid for it....they go nuts! I especially like to get called to SL when someone has cleaned out their closet and comes in with bags full of clothes and says "the tags are still on them" expecting to get the price on the tag,that they bought and never wore. Of course they are always a "gift" so no receipt.If something comes up zero the first thing I do is look at the tags.Either you can see where the clrx. sticker was taken off or some of the stuff in SL has a code on the tag as to when it was in the store(like F4 would be fall of either 2004 or 1994) and I love to let them scream and yell and then say "Gee...I'm sorry but this was carried in 2004...that's 4 years ago....we can't resell it,so therefore we can't take it back." Of course they all say "well that can't be....I just got it last week for my birthday".My reply is always "I can't help the fact that someone just GAVE this to you last week...I have to go by when it was SOLD.You need to contact the person that gave it to you." This has always been a problem in SL but lately it seems to have gotten ALOT worse.As for the increase in D9, I think the people are going to flea markets and garage sales and buying stuff thinking they can come to the store and get a full refund for it? Our LP apprehensions are also WAY up.....don't think it is going to get any better any time soon....sad,sad,sad.

Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 58

Times are tough in most areas of the country. You foks in the stores will see more of this as people try to put gas in the tank and food on the table.

Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 182

I always thought it was funny when someone would try to bring back a Tool for a Craftsman exchange and you can clearly see they gouged out the brand name of the tool or they'd cover it in grease hoping you wouldn't notice it's not Craftsman. Talk about customers getting pissed off when you tell them you're not exchanging it. The best would be when the bring in loads of those red and clear screwdrivers every single company makes and you tell them they're not Craftsman and they start flipping out saying they are. Then you show them that Craftsman engraves all of their hand tools.

Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Posts: 1292 Location: Brand Central

Joined: 08 Mar 2005 Posts: 92

I remember customers (especially older men whose wives have passed away and cleaning out everything) returning pantyhose still in the original packaging from 20 years ago..so old that the stretch in the elastic was literally non existant. That was in the day when we were able to tell them that the most we could give them was 49 or 99 cents apiece for them. Of course they say, well I just bought these last week, yesterday, etc...thinking that some of us were born yesterday or something..too funny!!

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