STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

laken1 · Hermes

How often do you return something?

kenzie · Chanel

I hardly ever return stuff. Probably b/c I don't buy a lot on impulse and I have a really good idea of what will and won't work in my wardrobe (usually if I picture an outfit it my head, it works when I try it on, too).

That, and after working in retail, I feel crappy returning stuff, especially first thing in the morning or close to the end of the day. DM's don't care if you missed your day by $100 b/c someone came in with a $200 return five minutes before closing. They just tell you how much you suck. So, I'm really paranoid about making some other retail manager's life hell b/c I returned. I think working in retail management has seriously damaged me! I should seek therapy! At least I have an office job now, so maybe the scars will heal.

-- Edited by NylaBelle at 17:09, 2005-09-14

Christine · Coach

I return things pretty often. It's almost never because I change my mind about an item -- it's usually because I ordered it online and when it arrives, it doesn't fit after all, or it doesn't look the same IRL as it did on the website. Sometimes, to save time, if I don't know what size I will be, I'll order 2 of the same item in the 2 sizes I think I might be, then I return the one that doesn't fit.

An article I read in Marie Claire a couple of months ago made me really nervous -- it said that people who return a lot are being tracked and that if they continue to return non-stop, their returning privileges will be revoked! (Although I'm not sure how they would be able to police that...?) That would make me never want to order anything online....it's like when JCrew has their big "final sale" and does not allow returns! Yikes!

halleybird · Hermes

I hate returning stuff. Like NB, I don't usually buy on impulse.

I usually only return if it falls apart, or if I bought it w/o trying on, which is rare.

Maddie · Coach

I never return because I don't buy on impulse unless I love something, and I'm usually just too lazy to get back to the store. Defintely too lazy to mail something back.

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

I'm like the rest, I hardly EVER return anything, UNLESS there's something wrong w/it, or it doesn't fit me right! LOL I still have TONS of clothes w/the price tags still on them, and I'm slowly but surely getting around to wearing them! LOL I brought a shirt last month, and when I got to the car, I noticed it had a SMALL HOLE in it, so..... I took it back, got my money back. But, for the most part, I'll say maybe once or twice a YEAR.....LOL

sfcaligirl · Dooney & Bourke

hmmm, i return things a lot. (now i'm worried that i'm going to have my returning privileges revoked if that marie claire article is true!) sometimes i'll go crazy when i shop- then i check my bank account and realize that i'm poor and if i want to eat, some things will need to go back! haha... this is why i always check the return policy before i buy- it sucks when you're as broke as i am and then you can't get your money back!

NCshopper · Hermes

I rarely return something. If I do, it's only because there's something wrong with it or I ordered it and it doesn't fit. As you all probably know from previous posts, I'm an avid list maker when it comes to my wardrobe (oh yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet and it's on a memory key that's on my keychain

), so I only buy something if it's on the list and it's been on the list for awhile. That way I hardly ever have to return something.

rocky · Coach

Christine wrote:

I return things pretty often. It's almost never because I change my mind about an item -- it's usually because I ordered it online and when it arrives, it doesn't fit after all, or it doesn't look the same IRL as it did on the website. Sometimes, to save time, if I don't know what size I will be, I'll order 2 of the same item in the 2 sizes I think I might be, then I return the one that doesn't fit. An article I read in Marie Claire a couple of months ago made me really nervous -- it said that people who return a lot are being tracked and that if they continue to return non-stop, their returning privileges will be revoked! (Although I'm not sure how they would be able to police that...?) That would make me never want to order anything online....it's like when JCrew has their big "final sale" and does not allow returns! Yikes!

I am the same way, I order lots of stuff online that can't be found where I live. About half the time they don't end up working out. But when they do its definitely worth it. How funny is that Marie Claire article! Sounds like something parents tell kids but I seriously doubt it would happen.

Becca · Kate Spade

I used to return stuff a lot, but after working in retail I know how badly it sucks to get returns. So now I try to be almost positive I want the item, because I feel bad returning it.

Christine - I did not read the article you are talking about, but I know stores do track items that are returned without a receipt by the person's driver license number. It's a way to catch/stop shoplifters. Also, like at Wal-Mart they won't let you make any more than 5 non receipt returns (in what period of time I don't know, I'm assuming a year?).

Sandy · Kate Spade

I rarely return things... I only ever do if an item is defective or I buy on impulse. I tend to be an impulse buyer when I'm in a bad mood, so I try to stay away from the mall when I am. I kind of feel bad about returning things, like I'm throwing the store's books off balance or something. The last time I returned something was a few months ago (I was shopping for an outfit for an event, and couldn't find anything, so I went to Macy's and bought a fairly expensive bag... when I got home I realized I didn't need it, so I brought it back... I had to build up a lot of nerve to do it, though)... and the time before that was last year. I noticed that stores are keeping track of returns, as well as exchanges (in my experience).

Andrea Julia · Coach

Rarely. The only way I return something is if it is defective in some way. It may just be laziness. Sometimes I will realize before I wear something that I don't like it all that much, but I will still keep it and think I will eventually want to wear it or will find something it looks perfect with.

honey · Gucci

not often, like others have said i don't do impulse buys. though i will admit sometimes i'll buy more than one of an item b/c i think i'll wear it a lot and then i don't wear it so i take it back. i never feel badly about it, as long as i comply with the store's policy. though i have heard about the tracking thing (particularly with express) so i usually don't buy stuff from there. and crazy as it sounds i actually make better purchases from stores that don't allow returns b/c i make sure to try the item on and if it doesn't work, i don't get it.

kenzie · Chanel

Christine wrote:

An article I read in Marie Claire a couple of months ago made me really nervous -- it said that people who return a lot are being tracked and that if they continue to return non-stop, their returning privileges will be revoked! (Although I'm not sure how they would be able to police that...?) That would make me never want to order anything online....it's like when JCrew has their big "final sale" and does not allow returns! Yikes!

I didn't read the article in Marie Claire, but this definitely happens. Like someone else said, they track by driver's license number and it's basically a response to the horrendous shoplifting that occurs in most stores.

Of course, there always are those people who buy armloads of stuff and then return it all the next day and they do this often, so they'll be tracked, too. We used to have a girl that did this all the time at my old job. She was probably the most annoying person on the face of the planet. She would literally be in the store for 2 hours and try on tons of stuff and monopolize our time by asking tons of questions, buy a bunch of crap and then return it all the next day citing her excuse as, 'my boyfriend didn't like it.' She did this at least once a week. It got so bad that we would all hide from her when she came in b/c we knew helping her was a futile effort.

Sorry, I hijacked the thread a bit. But I just had to share.

Renee · Kenneth Cole

I used to return stuff a lot when I wasn't mindful of what I buy. I bought a lot of cheap things that I wasn't sure I liked. Strangely enough I also felt like I had nothing to wear! Now I have completely reorganized the way I shop (I use spreadsheets to plan) and I return things very rarely, usually only if I buy on-line. I have recently decided I will not buy clothing on-line anymore, because of the hassle of returning stuff that does not work out. I now try to buy only items that I love (not like), and wait a day or two before getting them just to be sure I really want them- it works out so much better for me, and I am really excited to wear my clothes.

stylethread · Kenneth Cole

Well my excuse for returning things is that a lot of times I don't like the dressing rooms, or I don't feel like trying on. So I go home and try it on...and a lot of times the sizes were way off, and I have to go return it. I try to make a lot of things work by hemming them and stuff, but some things just have to be returned.

ico · Dooney & Bourke

NCshopper wrote:

(oh yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet and it's on a memory key that's on my keychain ), .

NC shopper,

you just gave me a new idea...

not sure if I should thank you, but it sounds really good

back on the topic, I very rarely return stuff: only if I didn't try it on, or if I check my bank account and become really guilty. I return more often the on-line purchases, tho.

-- Edited by ico at 09:44, 2005-09-15

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I'm ALWAYS returning things. I am always thinking I have to have something and then I don't want it once I get it home, or it doesn't seem to fit the same way it does in the store once I get it home.

Sometimes I feel guilty though because becuase I return so often, but I think that it's my privilege as a buyer to return something within the allotted time.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

sfcaligirl wrote:

hmmm, i return things a lot. (now i'm worried that i'm going to have my returning privileges revoked if that marie claire article is true!) sometimes i'll go crazy when i shop- then i check my bank account and realize that i'm poor and if i want to eat, some things will need to go back! haha... this is why i always check the return policy before i buy- it sucks when you're as broke as i am and then you can't get your money back!

This is me exactly! I return probably half the things I buy. It is out of control.

blink · Coach

Every once in a while, I am a pretty restrained purchaser these days, so if I shopped more I probably would return things more often. I usually exchange more often than just straight return.

I don't feel any guilt about any of it though, I do think too many people ruin it for the rest of us (a reason why retailers track returns now?) by unethically returning items, but I think as long as the item is still good and within return policy days, then they have the right.