Gotta love a good return policy. It often makes it much easier to make a purchase if you know ahead of time that the store will take the product back if it doesn’t fulfill your expectations. With that in mind, here are the seven best return policies in the known world.
1. Kohl’s
The very liberal return policy at Kohl’s has undoubtedly helped it’s recent growth. Essentially, they’ll take back anything, at anytime, for any reason for a full refund or store credit. Not to shabby. The kicker is that even if you don’t have a receipt they can still give you a refund. Don’t abuse their return policy people or it’ll go away for sure!
2. Costco Wholesale
A couple years ago Costco would have been at the top of this list, hands down. But because people would abuse there very liberal return policy they had to tighten it up when it came to electronics. Essentially people would buy a huge HDTV for the Super Bowl and return it free of charge 6 months later claiming the picture wasn’t as sharp as it should be. Costco would always take it back, no questions asked. But seeing the fault in their policy they had to limit returns on electronics to 90 days from date of purchase. Still very reasonable. Any with all other consumer goods you can return them the next day or years from now. Another plus is you don’t need to keep your receipt as they have the items you have purchased in their database.
3. Zappos.com
By far the best return policy in the online world. If you decide within 1 year of purchase that your shoes just don’t fit right you can return them for free for a full refund or exchange. As a matter of fact, they will pay the shipping costs for delivery and returns. The receipt and original packaging is much appreciate but not necessary. Awesome.
4. Macy’s
Macy’s offers a very generous 6-month return policy good for a full refund or store credit. The nice thing about shopping at Macys.com is they allow you to take returns or exchanges into brick and mortar locations and thus avoid the cost of return shipping and packaging. Also, lets say you order a dress from the Macy’s website and it arrives with a hole in the box and a small tear in the dress, you can return it to any Macy’s store for a refund or exchange plus they will refund you the original shipping costs which is a nice bit of customer service.
5. REI
I’m not a big REI shopper as we don’t have a retail location where I live. Bit if you do, and you’re an outdoorsman, you will love their return policy. From their website, “If you’re ever dissatisfied with an item, you may return or exchange your REI.com or REI-OUTLET.com purchases at any REI store or through mail order.” So essentially they let you try out their stuff with no questions asked and then let you return it whenever you want. I may have to pick up a new kayak and give it a spin on the lake! Heck, I have nothing to lose.
6. Target
Target offers a pretty standard 90-day return window and 45-days on most electronics. So why did they make my list? It has to do with their in-store technology. If you pay with a credit or debit card, and lose your receipt, they have the ability to look up your purchase and issue you store credit. Pretty cool, huh? They one caveat is you can only do this for up to $70 of merchandise per year but I still thought it was worth mentioning.
7. L.L.Bean
They have the famous “Guaranteed to Last” policy which claims you can return anything for any reason if you’re not satisfied with the quality or fit. I’d be curious if a 10-year old pair of khaki shorts that are darn near in rags would qualify. I wouldn’t be surprised if they took it back. Not that I’d ever do that…
If you plan on taking advantage of one these great return policies maybe you can use one of the following coupons to make the deal even sweeter.
Barnes & Noble.com
Printable coupon – $5 off your $25+ purchase
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 8/31/13
See all coupons: Barnes and Noble
Kohl’s.com
Save 20% Off your entire online purchase
Coupon Code: CROWN
Expiration: 7/27/13
See all coupons: Kohls
Lands’ End.com
30% Off your Dorm Collection purchase + Free Shipping on $50+
Coupon Code: DORMS and PIN 1321
Expiration: 8/15/13
See all coupons: Lands’End.com
L.L Bean.com
Free Shipping on your entire purchase
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 8/31/13
See all coupons: L.L. Bean
Macy’s.com
20% Off select Sale & Clearance Clothing and Fine Jewelry
Coupon Code: WYWWIS
Expiration: 7/28/13
See all coupons: Macy’s.com
Office Max.com
Back-to-school coupon – 20% Off your purchase
Coupon Code: SAVE20
Expiration: 7/28/13
See all coupons: Office Max
REI.com
Outlet Sale – Up to 40% Off + Free Shipping on $50
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/16/13
See all coupons: REI.com
About the Author: Kyle James runs an online site called Rather Be Shopping.com that lists free shipping coupons, printable coupons, and online codes to over 800 stores.
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