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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Getting Rid of Stuff and Getting Your Money Back: Return Items Within the Rules

My late father, who studied market research, was interested in consumer behavior. And he loved stores that stood by their wares. So part of being a good consumer is to return things you don't want. I can't tell you how many items with tags I see at thrift stores. I enjoy getting such things, but think the purchaser should return--and maybe donate the full price to charity!

Miss Em and I just boxed up a few things and sent them back to our usual retail sites: Garnet Hill, LL Bean, and Nordstrom. We kept the good things and returned the rejects. We love that these shops have no-questions-asked returns and we are careful not to take advantage of their policies.

So far, we have donated a bunch to the Food Bank thrift, taken books to 2nd and Charles, sold 2 things on Tradesy, and returned mistakes to stores, But the biggest declutter....

5 comments:

Duchesse said...

What did you buy or receive from those stores that came to be designated "rejects"? And what made "the good things" so? It seems each item once made sense to buy, unless they were gifts.

Only by analyzing our buying can we improve our habits as consumers.

I record every personal purchase and review them every quarter or so. Since I've done that (4 yrs) I'm much less swayed by deals or impulse- but I can still screw up!

Frugal Scholar said...

@Duchesse-We bought all items online (none of these shops has a presence in our area). Rejects didn't fit. Miss Em bought two pairs of similar shoes and kept the more comfy. So we are not in the buy at the mall/return mode.

Anonymous said...

I would love to have seen before and after photos of all this decluttering. We are decluttering ourselves--in rounds. We are in Round 1...in preparation for a garage sale soon.

The suspense is killing me...

Shelley said...

Sounds like you are doing a marvelous job! Shops with easy return policies are few and far between here in Britain. I suspect abuse has caused this crack down.

The Frugal Shrink said...

You are really inspiring me to declutter! Rounded up another bag of clothing for the consignment store and will take it by today. :) Next up- arrange for the thrift store to come by to pick up donations!