Holiday Return Policies: Apple, Target, Macy's, Best Buy and More Retailers

Maybe you wound up with a Nordstrom’s stone wrapped in leather as your gift from the office grab bag. Some presents can easily be exchanged for something more to your taste than the picture frame or ugly Christmas sweater you receive in a holiday gift trade, even if you don’t have a receipt.

Holiday hours at Northern Virginia shopping centers:

• Pentagon City: Closed Christmas Day, open 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday
• Springfield Town Center: Closed Christmas Day, open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday
• Fair Oaks Mall: Closed Christmas Day, open 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday
• Tysons Corner Center: Closed Christmas Day, open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday
• Tysons Galleria: Closed Christmas Day, open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday

In many cases, there are ways to exchange gifts at the store, although a receipt makes the gift-return process much easier. And a warning: Don’t open the packaging for music, movies, video games or computer software if there’s a chance you will return it. Once it’s out of the packaging, the best you can hope for is an exchange for a similar item in the store.

Return policies vary widely among national retailers, from practically no limits at Nordstrom and Kohl’s, to stringent rules that allow only unopened DVDs and computer software to be returned at Best Buy, Toys R Us and other businesses.

Many shopping outlines extend their deadline for returns for the holiday season, including Amazon’s holiday policy, which gives you until Jan. 31 to return gifts that were purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. Among the stores known for their generous return policies are L.L. Bean, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Zappos, the online shoe and clothing seller, says Time.

Tell us: What is the worst Christmas present you ever received? Share your ideas in comments below.

Patch has checked the return policies of some of the country’s biggest retailers in case you find a present from Santa you’d rather swap out. Here’s hoping you can avoid the long lines at customer service on Dec. 26.

• Target: Most unopened items can be exchanged or returned for a refund within 90 days of purchase. Electronics and entertainment items — including laptops, eReaders, tablets, cameras, camcorders, digital audio players, GPS systems, video game hardware and personal DVD players — must be returned within 30 days for a refund or exchange. Drones must be returned within 14 days. If these items were purchased between Nov. 1 and Christmas Day, the 30-day refund period will start on Dec. 26. Open music, movies, video games and software cannot be returned but may be exchanged for the same title.
• Apple: Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between Nov. 10 and Dec. 25 may be returned through Jan. 8, 2017. All purchases made after Dec. 25 are subject to a 14-day return deadline. Items that may not be returned include: opened software, electronic software downloads, software upgrades and Apple Store gift cards.
• Bed Bath and Beyond: Returns with an original receipt can be made at any stores nationwide for an exchange or merchandise refund for the amount paid. If you don’t have a receipt, the store will exchange the gift for 20 percent less than the current selling price, give a merchandise credit for 20 percent less than the current selling price.
• Kohl’s: The chain has one of the most liberal return policies among national retailers; there are no time restrictions on returns. Whether a gift was purchased in store or online, take the item and your gift receipt to the Customer Service Desk of any Kohl’s store near you. If you don’t have a receipt, you can return your item for a merchandise credit based on the lowest 13-week sale price toward anything in the store.
• Walmart: For the holiday gift-buying season, Walmart has adjusted its return policy for items with a limited return/exchange period, such as TVs, cameras, computers, DVD and music players. For those purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, the limited return period of 15 or 30 days will begin Dec. 26. For all others, returns are accepted within 90 days after purchase. CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, audiotapes, videotapes and video games must be returned unopened.
• Macy’s: If you bring the receipt with your item, the store will issue a full refund in the original form of payment. If you do not have a receipt, you will receive a gift card for the item’s lowest sales price within the last 180 days.
• Toys R Us: Returns for many items in new condition, with original packaging, are made within 90 days of purchase. Gifts returned will issue a refund to the purchaser in the original form of payment used to purchase the item, if you have a receipt. To return something without a receipt you need a debit or credit card number, check number or driver’s license. Returns can only be made in 30 days for camcorders, cameras, DVD players, cell phones, video game consoles, drones, Segways, eReaders, laptops, netbooks and tablets.
• Victoria’s Secret: Within 90 days of purchase, customers receive credit back to the original payment method shown on a receipt. After 90 days, you will receive a merchandise credit. If you don’t have the receipt, the store will exchange merchandise or issue a merchandise credit, based on the lowest selling price of the item. The store will not accept items if the sewn-in garment tag has been cut or removed.
• Best Buy: Most items purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 can be returned through Jan. 15, although that doesn’t apply to cell phones and devices with a carrier contract. Opened computer software, movies, music or video games can only be exchanged for an identical item.
• Nordstrom: There is no firm policy, the upscale department store says on its website, and no time frame for returns and exchanges. A receipt will help with returns, but the company says it can find the transaction without it most times. “We handle returns on a case-by-case basis with the ultimate objective of making our customers happy,” Nordstrom says.
• Sears: Some items purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 will have extended return periods through Jan. 31. Items in their original packaging, with the original receipt, can be returned for a refund or exchange in many cases. Opened music, movies, computer software and video games can only be exchanged for an identical item.
• Burlington Coat Factory:An original receipt dated within 30 days of purchase is required for all returns or exchanges in stores. Merchandise must be in new condition, unused and unwashed and in its original packaging. Refunds will be issued in the original form of payment. Returns without a receipt and returns after 60 days require a photo ID (driver’s license, state issued non-driver ID, passport or military ID); the shopper will receive a gift card for the lowest selling price.
• JCPenney: If you have a receipt, your item will be exchanged or refunded for the purchase price on the original method of payment in most cases. A store gift card will be given for items that have a gift receipt, or an exchange can be made. Customers without a receipt can receive a refund at the lowest sales price within the past 45 days, or exchange the item.
• Old Navy/ The Gap/ Banana Republic: You have up to 45 days to return items purchased at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. Items that are unwashed and unworn or defective are eligible for returns or exchanges. The stores will exchange gifts or return them for a gift card for the original price paid.

The Better Business Bureau and Investopedia offer a few tips to help make the return process easier.

• Know the Return Deadlines: The time period allowed for returns varies by store, and even by item, with typically only a couple of weeks allowed for electronics. Some shops offer store credit, while others do exchanges or refunds.
• Get the Receipt: As a gift-giver, you should ask for a gift receipt and enclose it with the gift. There are ways to ask for a receipt – either the original or a gift receipt. Perhaps the size is off, or you already have the movie or book. Some stores may offer store credit on items brought back without a receipt and typically that is worth the store’s most recent price.
• Don’t Remove Tags: Opening packages or removing tags makes it more difficult, if not impossible, to return gifts, and you can be charged a restocking fee. Don’t take off tags until you’re sure you want to keep the gift.
• Keep Electronics/DVDs in Packaging: Don’t remove electronics or similar products from their boxes before wrapping. The original packaging may be required for a return. In some cases, such as DVDs or music CDs, the package must remain sealed.
• Beware Sale or Clearance Items: Some stores consider the sale of these items to be final, so ask before buying. If you are the gift recipient, do not assume you have the right to return or exchange an unwanted gift.
• Bring A Photo ID: Many stores will scan your driver’s license or other government ID to ensure that shoppers aren’t taking advantage of the system if they want to make a return without a receipt.
• Timing is Key: Return lines can be lengthy the day after Christmas, so pick a time when the store is unlikely to be crowded. Remember the customer service clerks likely have holiday fatigue, so be polite when talking to them. If you are a regular customer or have a store credit account, mention that as you discuss return options. Merchants are usually willing to accommodate loyal customers.

By Deb Belt (Patch Staff)

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