Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tuesday's Rant: Target's book return policy


Most Tuesdays I take the opportunity to rant about something I do not like about Target… because although I love ‘em to death, they ain’t perfect. Today’s rant is about trying to return a book to Target. Let me just say that you’d better have your original receipt in hand, lest you get hassled at the Customer Service counter. Apparently Target has a new policy in place that states that without your original receipt, you cannot return a book there. The rationale is that A) they have no idea when you bought it (as bestsellers can often stay on the shelves for months, if not years) and B) they have no idea whether you actually bought it at Target or not. Now both counts made me laugh since I had bought the book with my Target card… so they could not only confirm that it was a Target purchase, but also look up in their computer exactly WHEN I bought it.

Now it seems to me that books should be treated just like any other merchandise you want to return without a receipt: if you have the original credit/debit card you used to pay for it, and you've purchased it within the last 90 days, plus the item visible looks unused/unworn, then you should be able to return it with no questions asked. Why should books be any different?

6 comments:

Marie said...

I appreciate your rant, because now I know that I should really think before buying a book at target- especially if it is a gift and I don't know if a friend has read it! Hmmmm.
I have stacks of books to get thru anyway and shouldn't buy more, but they are so tempting!

Tina said...

I understand their rule. It wouldn't be fair to them that someone buys a book, reads it then returns it. You know their are people out there that do that. Just because the book looks unused doesn't mean it was. All my books look brand new and I've read them a couple times. I've even bought used books from a used book store and they look new.

But they do take them back with a receipt? I think that's a fair policy and smart in their interest.

Boriqua said...

This makes me happy that I buy the majority of my books at a bookstore, vs. buying them at Target. Although I do buy plenty of other things at Target, and I've noticed that lately they've gotten much stricter about receipt-less returns. Sign of the times, I guess.

Anonymous said...

We consumers are spoiled. Numerous businesses are getting stricture on the return policies. Take responsibility for your items and assets and keep your proof of purchases. Stop adding fuel to the fire.

Faithfullsharon said...

This week i took my 84 yr old mom to bring back a few books w the receipt to target and they said they couldn't return 3 of them because they look like she read them. They looked impeccable. Just like any others on the shelf today too. At her age she cant keep track of books shes already had read before. She read 2 chapters and realized that she had this book. I told her to keep a list . She loses the list all the time. But for the first time in years they turned her down.

Unknown said...

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