Returning an item you used a coupon for.....

[marshallandcartersmo]

How do you handle this?

Do you handle things differently for a BOGO coupon? A "free item" coupon? A $$$ off coupon?

Do we tell the cashiers "I used a coupon for that" at the return desk? Or does it automatically take the $$ off that we used a coupon for? I would hope it would, there's no way I can remember what I used a coupon for, there are times when I have 20+coupons in a shopping trip.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You mean without a receipt, right? Because with a receipt (well, really, any time) a manufacturer's coupon doesn't 'count'. The retailer will send the coupon to the clearing house and will be reimbursed - unless they are in the rare situation of being able to return the coupon to you, in which case they would refund the net price you paid. I've never heard of that happening after a transaction is complete, but you never know...

Without a receipt and returning a BOGO - it would be reasonable for the store to have a policy of refunding the most recent sale price (CVS does). That means, if you return one item you get nothing back but if you return both items you get refunded for the "buy one" price.

Note that while I use the word refund, it's equally likely the store would instead give a store credit - if they even accept returns without a receipt.

With a receipt, of course, you would be refunded what you paid - since you have absolute proof.

 

[stitchlovestink]

You mean without a receipt, right? Because with a receipt (well, really, any time) a manufacturer's coupon doesn't 'count'. The retailer will send the coupon to the clearing house and will be reimbursed - unless they are in the rare situation of being able to return the coupon to you, in which case they would refund the net price you paid. I've never heard of that happening after a transaction is complete, but you never know...

Without a receipt and returning a BOGO - it would be reasonable for the store to have a policy of refunding the most recent sale price (CVS does). That means, if you return one item you get nothing back but if you return both items you get refunded for the "buy one" price.

Note that while I use the word refund, it's equally likely the store would instead give a store credit - if they even accept returns without a receipt.

With a receipt, of course, you would be refunded what you paid - since you have absolute proof.

bolding is mine....
Glad I don't shop at your CVS. That is NOT the way our CVS handles returns at all. What would be the point in returning one item if you are getting nothing for it. Our CVS will return it at the current selling price. That is their store policy.
what gets my goat is the retailer makes out like a bandit when people return items purchased with coupons as the retailer still gets reimbursed for the coupon even though there was really is no longer a legitimate sale of said 'coupon item'. so they make money even after a return.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Glad I don't shop at your CVS. That is NOT the way our CVS handles returns at all. What would be the point in returning one item if you are getting nothing for it.

I'm confused. If you're returning both BOGO items and have the receipt, you would get refunded the amount of money you paid. If you returned one BOGO item, with or without a receipt, you would legitimately get no refund or credit. The items aren't priced at 50% off, they're pay full price for one get the second one free.

Why would anyone (NOT the OP) return just one of the items? In hopes of getting refunded the selling price - thereby getting only ONE of the item and getting it at no cost. Scams exist everywhere. Dishonest customers - again, NOT anyone in this thread or on the DIS - are part of why prices keep going up.

Coupons: That's logisitically difficult. Sure, the proper procedure would be for the store to not submit the coupon and to instead return it to the customer - but coupons are transacted and processed daily along with all other forms of payment. I'm not sure how reasonable it would be for the retailer to get the coupon back from whatever central point they'd been submitted, or from the coupon clearinghouse.

But I don't see where the store makes money from such a transaction, much less makes out like a bandit. They refund the customer the price paid, not the price paid minus the coupon.

I have one item to sell - a roll of paper towels. I charge $2 for it.
You buy it using a $1 coupon.
I now have no paper towels, one dollar, and one coupon.
You return the paper towels to me and ask for your money back.
I refund you $2 because that's what I charged you and that's what's on your receipt.
Now YOU have $2, while I have a roll of paper towels and a coupon. And I'm short a dollar.

WHO'S making out like a bandit, again?

 

[stitchlovestink]

I'm confused. If you're returning both BOGO items and have the receipt, you would get refunded the amount of money you paid. If you returned one BOGO item, with or without a receipt, you would legitimately get no refund or credit. The items aren't priced at 50% off, they're pay full price for one get the second one free.

Why would anyone (NOT the OP) return just one of the items? In hopes of getting refunded the selling price - thereby getting only ONE of the item and getting it at no cost. Scams exist everywhere. Dishonest customers - again, NOT anyone in this thread or on the DIS - are part of why prices keep going up.

Coupons: That's logisitically difficult. Sure, the proper procedure would be for the store to not submit the coupon and to instead return it to the customer - but coupons are transacted and processed daily along with all other forms of payment. I'm not sure how reasonable it would be for the retailer to get the coupon back from whatever central point they'd been submitted, or from the coupon clearinghouse.

But I don't see where the store makes money from such a transaction, much less makes out like a bandit. They refund the customer the price paid, not the price paid minus the coupon.

I have one item to sell - a roll of paper towels. I charge $2 for it.
You buy it using a $1 coupon.
I now have no paper towels, one dollar, and one coupon.
You return the paper towels to me and ask for your money back.
I refund you $2 because that's what I charged you and that's what's on your receipt.
Now YOU have $2, while I have a roll of paper towels and a coupon. And I'm short a dollar.

WHO'S making out like a bandit, again?

bolding is mine....
If you return something to Target and you used a coupon as part of your payment, you will only get the amount AFTER the coupon. So you would only be giving me $1 back, and you would still have the $1. coupon for submission and your $2 roll of paper towels. Who's coming out ahead? But, This is provided the coupon did not have to be over-ridden. If the coupon shows up as an immediate deduction directly under the item on the receipt, you will ONLY recieve the discounted amount back for the item. Target is making out like a bandit on refunds such as those I have mentioned.
For example, I bought DD a Mead 5star notebook and it was 10.99 and I used a $2 coupon. Well it was not the 'right' type of notebook. So when I returned it, I only got 8.99 back and I rebought the right type of notebook and lost the use of my $2 coupon. the $2 coupon was good on any mead 5star product. So target made $2 on my return. When I bought the 'correct' notebook, it was a mead 5star product, but did they give me the 'benefit' of my coupon? Of course not. If you don't believe me, try it. If it's not a perfectly even exchange of item for item, you will lose the value of your coupon. And Target will still collect the money for it. I know our CVS will give you the price you paid prior to the coupon, but they're not out any $$ because they will still get reimbursed for the value of the coupon.
There are some scammers here in our area that try to rip CVS off all the time. They own a local little convenience store and they buy tons of stuff from CVS and resell it at a huge mark up. By law, they are not suposed to be doing this. The other week, they came in and bought 5 (using multiple cards) diabetes meters and used coupons (so they really paid nothing in cash) and got ECBS back for their purchases. The following week once they were off sale, they tried to return them w/o a receipt and wanted a store credit for the full price. I know this because I have been there when they try to do this stuff. I'm also friends w/ one of the sales clerks. She says they do this all the time, but mgt doesn't want to do anything about it. They won't allow them to return anything w/o a receipt unless it is a CVS brand (this is actually CVS's policy) but corp allows the stores leeway to do as they see fit. They know that these people are trying to rip CVS off. But yet they 'basically' choose to do nothing. That is wrong. I just see a store like Target with the way that they set up their returns making out like a bandit. It is MO and I'm entitled to it. I also know that I am not required nor forced to shop at Target. It is my choice. I wouldn't be so disgusted though, if I got the benefit for buying the replacement item. That's what annoys me. Rant over.

 

[wmharley]

some stores won't give you the coupon price back..

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I wouldn't think it is the store's concern where the coupon was used. It would, imo, be up to the consumer to have the documentation for it. As someone said it isn't 50% off, it was buy one at full price and get one free.

Asking for anything back from the free one is out of line.

 

[jessica52877]

Wondering opinions on this situation:

I"ll use Home Depot as an example. We had a $5 off a $30 purchase coupon. Used it spending $80. Found out the door we got was the wrong size (cheap screen door cost $19). Went to exchange it but they didn't have the right size in stock therefore couldn't exchange and had to return. BUT they take a % off of each item vs the $5 off the bill at the end. So we didn't get our full amount of $ back yet still spent $50 on that transaction at Home Depot. Stores that do this really get me.

To me, it is easy enough to look and see that I still spent the amount of money. If I had not then the receipt would be less and I assume the computer would catch it (assuming it was taken off at the end). And honestly this was one distributed by coke for some reason so Home Depot did make $ off me! They came out ahead in the end.

 

[AntePrincess]

This is why I'll never be able to get into couponing. It's a promotion, invariably with a heap of caveats about terms changing and individual stores having zero obligation to honor them. Not seeing a coupon offer as an entitlement kind of kicks the legs out from under the hobby for me: I could plan an elaborate coupon scheme for a shopping trip and it will go up in smoke when the cashier, legitimately, does not accept the coupons.

That said, I just keep my receipts. We have a drawer of our filing cabinet all set up, it takes no time at the end of the day to put them in there. I do it when I work out my spending journal and pricebook. Having the receipts is convenient for tax purposes at the end of the tax year. Then, with rare exceptions, I chuck the bulk of them.

If I've lost a receipt and need to return an item, I tell them to the best of my remembering under what circumstances I bought it. I don't expect a real refund under those circumstances, anyway.

 

[seashoreCM]

In some cases the store must sell the item in order to get reimbursed by the manufacturer for accepting the coupon. Technically for this kind of transaction, if you return the item, the store is no longer entitled to get the amount of the coupon from the manufacturer.

Ideally the store should give you back the coupon as well as the actual amount you paid for the item, but in practice the coupon can no longer be found easily or may have expired. So the store sets its own policy.

It is common for the value of airline discounts and airline coupons to be forfeited if you so much as modify a reservation.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[TupperMom7]

If it was bogo free, then I would think if you only returned one, they would reimburse you for half the price of what you paid.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I'm still wondering why you should get anything back on an item you didn't pay for?

 

[Justsyd2]

If it was bogo free, then I would think if you only returned one, they would reimburse you for half the price of what you paid.

Here's an easy way to look at it...if YOU owned a store that offered a BOGO (a person buys something and you give them one free) and they return only ONE item and get a full refund, you're losing money on one full priced item.

They need to return BOTH items to get refunded for one. The promotion is Buy One Get One Free. It's not half price off two items.

 

[squirrlygirl]

On BOGO's it depends on the store's policy. Some stores treat these sales as the first item being full price and the second is free, whereas others treat them as each item costs half the price, but you must buy two to get that price. What you get back will depend on the policy. I thought I heard that toys r us treats a return as the free item, so be careful when giving a gift if you keep one and give one. The receiver of the gift can't return it for anything.

I once returned an item at Kroger that I had used a coupon for. They told me that theoretically they needed to return the actual cash price paid plus the coupon, but realistically it was cheaper to refund me the before-purchase price than to pay someone to locate the coupon.

DH tried to return some lightbulbs at meijer once (bought the wrong base) and they refused to take them back because a coupon had been used during that order (he had the receipt and it showed the deducted amount at the bottom). Now, the coupon was for formula, but they told him they didn't care because he couldn't prove it. I took the same lightbulbs up to the counter a few days later and they refunded me the full price without a problem.

 

[pixiewings71]

Just a quick note, I worked at Target for 6 years, now this was a while ago but while working there I worked the front end, cashier/guest service/supervisor/cash office, I did it all! LOL When someone made a purchase using a coupon they did not get the coupon back because it was already submitted to the mfr for payment.....so, if someone bought a
$2.00 roll of paper towels, used a $1.00 off coupon and then returned them Target would refund the purchaser $2.00 because they get the money back from the mfr whether the product is returned or not....now store coupons were different, those were discounts offered by Target so you would not get a refund of the full price IF you used a Target coupon.
And IME when I've had to return a BOGO item I've received half the price back. Most policies state that is how it is handled. And yes I have returned BOGO products, due to many reasons, defective product, reaction to a makeup/cleaner/face cream I was trying for the first time, something I thought the kids would eat but they didn't like it.....

 

[PghLybrt]

Here's an easy way to look at it...if YOU owned a store that offered a BOGO (a person buys something and you give them one free) and they return only ONE item and get a full refund, you're losing money on one full priced item.

They need to return BOTH items to get refunded for one. The promotion is Buy One Get One Free. It's not half price off two items.

That is how we treat it. You would also need your reciept and have returned it within our given time frame.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Just a quick note, I worked at Target for 6 years, now this was a while ago but while working there I worked the front end, cashier/guest service/supervisor/cash office, I did it all! LOL When someone made a purchase using a coupon they did not get the coupon back because it was already submitted to the mfr for payment.....so, if someone bought a
$2.00 roll of paper towels, used a $1.00 off coupon and then returned them Target would refund the purchaser $2.00 because they get the money back from the mfr whether the product is returned or not....now store coupons were different, those were discounts offered by Target so you would not get a refund of the full price IF you used a Target coupon.
And IME when I've had to return a BOGO item I've received half the price back. Most policies state that is how it is handled. And yes I have returned BOGO products, due to many reasons, defective product, reaction to a makeup/cleaner/face cream I was trying for the first time, something I thought the kids would eat but they didn't like it.....

bolding is mine...
Not sure if Target on the East coast is different than west coast BUT...
About a year or two ago, Target changed the way your receipt prints up. Cashier rings all items randomly. The receipt is printed showing categories. within those catergories, each item shows up. If the coupon scanned w/o 'beeping' the computer matches it up to exact item and it prints directly underneath of said item that a coupon was used and the amount credited for the coupon. So if I bought a roll of Bounty paper towels for $2. and I used a $1 off MANUFACTURER coupon, it would show that directly under the Bounty towels. Thus ALL the stores in this area will only refund you the $1 plus sales tax that you paid for said item. AND they still submit the coupon for reimbursement.
I realize that customers can make a game of this too. But most individual customers are not going to make very much $$ doing this, esp factoring in time and gas. Company wide a large box retailer like Target could make quite a bit of $$ by still submitting the coupons and only giving the customer back the post coupon amount. BTW, I thought according to the law, coupons were considered a form of payment? Why do stores such as Target get to keep both the customer's form of payment and the reimbursement monies? Just wondering?

 

[stitchlovestink]

I like the way Food Lion handles BOGOF sales. The average consumer thinks that they really need to buy 2, but in reality they only charge you 1/2 price for each item. So you can buy an odd # of the item and still get the full benefit of the sale. If it's buy 1 detergent for $5 get the 2nd free, the receipt will show each detergent for $2.50. The best part is if you only want one, you can get one for $2.50. Food Lion is the smart one here. If they can get you to buy the 2nd one, great more profit for them. But they don't lose the customer's sale who only wants one and won't pay the $5 full price for it because the store down the street has it on sale for $3.50 for one. And it might encourage you to buy a 3rd if you know it's only going to be $2.50. I know this because they sometimes run deli products on sale this way. I commented to the deli person that I wouldn't be able to use 2 lbs of ham before it would go bad. She informed how their pricing policy worked. I really paid attention to the receipt and tried it by buying just one. It did work the way she said. They've figured out the best system out there IMO.

 

[Ava]

^ I've always found that to be the norm in supermarkets. If you have to buy a certain number of the item to get the price, it will say on the sale sticker "Must Buy 2" or whatever. But in most cases, if an item is advertised as being on sale "2 for $5" it really means each one will ring up at $2.50. I don't know how my store (Stop 'n Shop) handles returns of BOGO items; I don't usually return things at the supermarket.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Our local Krogers, and Giant Eagles treat them differently. 10 for $10 you can buy as many as you like. BOGO means BOGO, though.