How do you deal with Target's Return Policy?

[kaytieeldr]

And they can't return ONE?

Notes to self: Keep receipts. Don't accept any more wedding invitations.

 

[npmommie]

There is no excuse for not having a receipt of any kind, except for laziness.

pretty harsh statement. You have never lost something, misplaced something, had your little one spill apple juice on something, your dog eat something.........I can go on and on.

 

[Lisa_M]

no,

ex- A guest goes on tuesday and buys a blender that is on the registry. Target does not update the couple's registry. On Friday a different guest buys the same blender because it shows up as avaliable on the registry. After the wedding, couple opens gifts and finds the same two blenders that were on their registry.

or as in our wedding registry:
guest buys coffee maker from Target, it does not come off the registry. Next guest buys same coffee maker from Target and it comes off the registry. So when I try to return one (didn't have a gift receipt for either one, but they can see one was purchased there), they say no receipt, no return. After a long hassle with talking to the manager I was able to exchange that day for another product in the "small appliance area" only. PITA and registering there is not worth it!

 

[rgf207]

pretty harsh statement. You have never lost something, misplaced something, had your little one spill apple juice on something, your dog eat something.........I can go on and on.

exactly.....or gotten a gift for your wedding registry and the givers didn't include the receipt because you had it on your registry but since Target didn't update your registry, you know have 2 blenders or Toaster ovens.

 

[taitai]

If it is a gift then you wouldn't have a receipt.

Actually, that is not true. I give a gift receipt with every single gift I give. Target is terrific about providing gift receipts. They print out when all I am going in for is milk!! It is not hard at all to get or provide a gift receipt. Having read all these replies it sounds like not many people do that and that is wrong. Help your friends and family out and provide a gift receipt!!!!

Taitai

 

[princesspwrhr]

Having never printed, had or shopped from a Target registry - can someone enlighten me on this?

What does a guest do with the registry? OK - they go to the kiosk and print the item off, decipher the code that is the registry, find their item, get in line, purchase said item and......?

Do they tell the clerk it's for a registry? The clerks don't ask - I know that. So excatly HOW does Target know to update the system?

As I said, I work at BRU. I know how our registries work.They print out with an individual bar code. All of our employees on registers ask each and every guest if any of the items are for a registry, just becuase of the nature of our guests. If they say yes, we scan the bar code or put in the registry # if they only have the #. The computer automatically updates the registry marking items as purchased and noting items not on the registry as bought for that person. So for us, the only way an item wouldn't show on the registry as purchased is if someone didn't have the registry, or as more frequently happens, they view the registry, then go purchase the item elsewhere, so the BRU registry isn't updated.

So how does the Target system know a purchase was made for a registry?

 

[NMW]

First, I should say that I returned one thing to Target in my life-wrong size curtain rod. Returned it the same day I bought it, with the reciept-gave me a gift card, I went and bought the correct size-done deal.

I can only think of one other thing I returned anywhere, at any store, in the last 5 years. The ipod my in-laws bought my son worked for one day and then stopped doing anything, even when charged. They bought it at Circuit City in another state. I went to my local Circuit City without a reciept. I gave them my in-laws name, phone number, and the city they bought it in. I also had their CC info if they needed it, but they looked up the purchase in about 5 seconds and asked me if I wanted to go get another one. I was out of there in 10 minutes.

I can't understand why so many people return things. AND, if you know you are the type of person to return things, then why don't you keep the reciepts? I don't get it. It's not even that I'm too lazy to return things, I just don't have anything to return! I shop all the time too, so it's not that.

Plus, is it me or does Target not give a gift reciept PLUS a regular reciept with every purchase?? I give a gift reciept with every gift I give, from any store I shop at. All my family members do the same thing with Christmas/birthday gifts. My friends do the same thing. If it's a kids birthday party and gifts are from kids, we usually don't get a gift reciept. If it's something my children already have we either just keep it or re-gift it. Not a big deal. I can understand the wedding registry thing and I do feel bad for those people. I don't know anyone who registered there, so I don't have any personal experience with that.

By the way, it's not just Target with a tougher return policy. I just bought a new Kenmore vacuum at Sears last week. The sales girl stressed several times that I need to keep my reciept otherwise I would not be able to return the vacuum. She said their store just started a really strict return policy. No reciept-no return-no exceptions.

 

[HopperFan]

While I love Target I don't love their policy. So our family buys NOTHING from their electronics, video games, cds, dvds etc department. I save all receipts for other items. I will not purchase any gifts from there. A gift receipt will not guarantee they will take the item back for the amount I paid for it.

Once I had to go to a baby shower and they registered at Target. I walked in and used the kiosk and printed out their list. I turned to walk out of the store and the security guard says "Don't you want to go buy something off the list" to which I replied....."with your poor return policy I would never buy someone a gift from here, thanks".

Even having a receipt they are not always good about their returns. Sister bought her girls some clothes. When they got home and tried them on, a couple items didn't fit properly. Wasn't a size issue but a design issue. It was Friday and she didn't get a chance to return the items until the next week. We are talking within a week. They told her the items had been put on clearance and they would only give her the sale price. She had a receipt and all. No go. Their response was "we can't sell it for what you paid, so we have to reduce your refund". Had she not bought them, and they were still sitting there for sale, then they still don't have the extra money she paid. She walked out with them and donated to charity.

I am all for tougher return policies, it shocks me what folks will return. BUT when I buy a DVD and it has jumps, skips etc and flaws (expected when they make millions for pennies), I also expect the store to stand behind their product and exchange it for a new copy. Yes, I opened it - it was defective - and I expect a new copy from the store. If you don't back your product line - you will lose my business.

 

[allison443]

BUT when I buy a DVD and it has jumps, skips etc and flaws (expected when they make millions for pennies), I also expect the store to stand behind their product and exchange it for a new copy. Yes, I opened it - it was defective - and I expect a new copy from the store. If you don't back your product line - you will lose my business.

Doesn't Target exchange an opened DVD for the same DVD? I thought the restriction was if the item was opened they will only give you the same movie, not a refund or credit. Maybe it has changed

 

[allison443]

Once I had to go to a baby shower and they registered at Target. I walked in and used the kiosk and printed out their list. I turned to walk out of the store and the security guard says "Don't you want to go buy something off the list" to which I replied....."with your poor return policy I would never buy someone a gift from here, thanks".

I understand your point, but I doubt the security guard relayed your comments to Target's corporate headquarters. (At my Target the security guards aren't even Target employees, they work for an outside security company). Why don't you send an email to Target's corporate offices if you want your feelings as a customer known?

Also, if you purchased something off the registry at a different store, Target wouldn't be able to update the registry, so another unsuspecting party guest might purchase the same item at Target! Then that leads to a return issue for the recipient!

I think we have learned from this thread that everyone should get and give gift receipts!!

 

[bluehen]

Okay, going a little askew...
I'm not getting the issue with Target's Wedding Registry, especially their refusal to accept some items as returns:
- Does "items not bought there off the registry" mean guests went to target or target.com, noted some of the items on the registry, then bought the item/s at some other store? If so, why would Target take those back? And why would Target be reasonably (or even unreasonably) expected to update the registry if the item was not purchased at Target?
- Ditto for "incorrect" items: Incorrect how? The wrong pattern? Wrong version? Wrong item? I'm not sure when etiquette changed, but aren't registries requests, or suggestions, for items the couple wants? When did it become required that a guest give a 'gift' the couple, well, frankly, demanded?

They were bought at a different Target. We had bought an item 2 weeks before the wedding shower. They scanned the barcode that should have removed this from the registry. At the shower My DIL received 3 of our present. We checked the registry and of course it still was on it as not bought yet. We live in Wilm. Del. and they tried to return the other two in Boston. They accepted ours as we did have the receipt but would not accept the second one. Kind of interesting since we showed them the receipt for one and it still was concidered available by targets registry. Both were of course unopened and fine. My DIL immediately brought down the registry as she still had 1 more shower and the wedding. This happened for a few items and if it hadn't been us (we know we took the barcode) we would have chalked it up to people not having the barcode.

 

[jessica52877]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I have shopped at Babies R Us several times because they were the only place that carried the item I needed and never once in 5 1/2 years have I been asked if it was for a gift or off a registry.

Interesting about printing off the target list and then purchasing elsewhere, I guess that is where issues come in with having too many of one item bought. I would have never thought to do that and now the havoc it would create.

The shoe story is just crazy! I can't imagine buying shoes, getting a picture taken and then returning them! I will say I bought nice shoes at walmart always when we had an issue like that, wore them for what I needed and was done with them.

 

[crisi]

Having never printed, had or shopped from a Target registry - can someone enlighten me on this?

What does a guest do with the registry? OK - they go to the kiosk and print the item off, decipher the code that is the registry, find their item, get in line, purchase said item and......?

Do they tell the clerk it's for a registry? The clerks don't ask - I know that. So excatly HOW does Target know to update the system?

As I said, I work at BRU. I know how our registries work.They print out with an individual bar code. All of our employees on registers ask each and every guest if any of the items are for a registry, just becuase of the nature of our guests. If they say yes, we scan the bar code or put in the registry # if they only have the #. The computer automatically updates the registry marking items as purchased and noting items not on the registry as bought for that person. So for us, the only way an item wouldn't show on the registry as purchased is if someone didn't have the registry, or as more frequently happens, they view the registry, then go purchase the item elsewhere, so the BRU registry isn't updated.

So how does the Target system know a purchase was made for a registry?

No BRU doesn't always ask - you may ask at your store, but I'll assure you as a former BRU customer, that isn't universal. If you are buying something from a registry, you need to let the clerk know to remove it from the registry - you can't depend on the clerk to ask or have ESP. And if you buy it from SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN THE PLACE THEY ARE REGISTERED, you are supposed to call Target (or Macys, or BRU, or whatever) and they will remove it from the registry even though you didn't buy it from them so no one else buys it.

I want to know how all these brides know their gifts were bought at Target and Target didn't remove it from the registry. Its possible that your guests bought the same brand off the internet for cheaper, shop at Wal-Mart, or didn't tell the clerk that the item was on the registry. Its even possible that the reason it was 'wrong' is that your blender was (gasp!) regifted. For a store like Target, taking Wal-Marts returns is a huge hit to their bottom line - yes, even when they carry the same products. Wal-Mart is getting the merchandising dollars and the volume discounts, Target spends the money getting that product returned and ties up money in inventory they didn't purchase.

Also, the idea of standing behind what you sell is only as good as the manufacturers behind the product. There are manufactuers who do stand behind their products, and there are ones that are burdens for Target to deal with. But we want our products cheap - many of us aren't willing to spend more for Sony when we can buy a cheaper DVD player from a company that doesn't stand behind their product - putting a discounter like Target into a very tight spot. To some extent Wal-Mart and Target and other big retailers are lucky - they can bully the manufacturers into paying for defective product - but even for Target, its a lot more difficult than you'd think it would be to do so.

 

[Lovin' Lorne]

For a store like Target, taking Wal-Marts returns is a huge hit to their bottom line - yes, even when they carry the same products. Wal-Mart is getting the merchandising dollars and the volume discounts, Target spends the money getting that product returned and ties up money in inventory they didn't purchase.

That was one thing that people could never seem to understand. They'd come in with an item that still had the other retailer's bar code on it, then get pissed off royaly when told we wouldn't take it back or exchange it. But you SELL it. Take it back. But you BOUGHT it at JC Penney's. People just don't seem to get it. You just wanted to ask "So we're supposed to take it back or give you an exchange when you didn't even give us the money for it in the first place? That's like giving you money for nothing or an item for free."