HOUSTON - The day after Christmas is almost as hectic as the mad dash to prepare for the holiday. People are busy making returns or exchanges on gifts received the day prior.
When shipping an item back to an online retailer, it's safest to drop the package at a U.S. Post Office or delivery service drop-off location. Most times you can't begin to track a package as it's being returned to the retailer until it's scanned for delivery. Leaving the package on your porch leaves its susceptible for theft.
"I returned some jeans," said John Williams who mailed the jeans back to a Polish retailer via the River Oaks U.S.P.S. location the morning after Christmas. "Easy peasy. No line."
Also, pay close attention to the return policy of the retailer. Target and Walmart have a 90-day return policy. Apple, which has a standard 14-day return policy, has extended holiday returns for purchases made between Nov.14 and Dec. 25 to Jan. 8, 2019.
Amazon extended its return policy for holiday purchases to Jan. 31, 2019.
"We typically don’t return anything in our house," said Jeffrey Melland.
Returns aren't as common for things like gift cards. You're encouraged to read the fine print for each card, too. Some incur fees that are pulled from your gift card balance if the card isn't used by a certain time. Others expire.
No matter what, have a receipt. Whether it be the original, a gift receipt or a photo of it, proof of a purchase at the store will at least help you get store credit for an item you don't want.
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