Bloomingdales, which is one of my favourite stores in the US, recently changed their return policy. The window for returning most unused items changed from 90 to 30 days from date of purchase. For some items it’s 14 days, and for others it’s final sale. 

At first I thought 30 days was drastic, and not customer-friendly. However, over time I have changed my mind. I think it’s a reasonable window for an in-store purchase and return, but a little tight for online orders (especially international ones). It can take up to two weeks for a package to arrive, and longer when something has happened to it or it’s over the holiday season. It takes a while to return items through the mail too. And you need a day or two to think about whether you want to keep an item. I’d prefer online orders to have a longer return window. Maybe that’s unreasonable, but it takes some of the stress off the purchase.

In the US, we have long return windows for items bought firsthand, even when they’re on sale. We are very spoiled with free shipping and lenient return policies. Items on very deep discount can be FINAL SALE, which seems fair. Secondhand items are often not returnable, although you can resell them.

Return policies are much more strict in other parts of the world. Sometimes there isn’t an option to return and get a refund. An exchange or gift receipt may be offered, or nothing at all. Comparatively, this makes Bloomingdales’s new return policy look stellar. It depends on what you’re used to, I guess.

Make sure you’re familiar with the retailer’s return policy when buying items that are deeply discounted. Prices can be too good to be true, especially when you think you can return the item. It’s frustrating when you didn’t realize your purchase was final sale, and the item did not work. I learned that the hard way.

Over to you. What are return policies like in your neck of the woods? Do you think that a 30 day return policy from date of purchase is fair?