Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - The Shocking Item Costco Lets You Return and Other A+ Return Policies

Episode Date: January 26, 2023

If you prioritize shopping at stores that have stellar return policies, and skip the ones that don’t, you give yourself insurance on the purchases that give "Instagram versus Reality" vibes. Nicole breaks down the stores that ace their return policies and the ones that flunk. You can find the credit card perk Money Rehab episode Nicole references here: https://link.chtbl.com/gnFzyzt2

Money rehabbers, you get it. When you're trying to have it all, you end up doing a lot of juggling. You have to balance your work, your friends, and everything in between. So when it comes to your finances, the last thing you need is more juggling. That's where Bank of America steps in. With Bank of America, you can manage your banking, borrowing, and even investing all in one place. Their digital tools bring everything together under one roof, giving you a clear view of your finances whenever you need it. Plus, with Bank of America's wealth of expert guidance available at any time, you can feel confident that your

money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. So did you know that you can return your old couch? Well, sometimes. I learned this when I was moving from New York to LA and collected a bunch of moving hacks from my friends.

I got some really good tips and a lot of really wild stories. One of my favorites was from a girlfriend who told me about how her sister-in-law returned her couch. Like me, she was moving cross-country and she didn't want to bother moving the old couch she got from Costco. The couch was something like three years old, and during those three years, she had kids who wreaked havoc on the couch past the point of no return. But not actually, because she did go back to Costco and actually returned it. Costco looked at the couch, which my friend told me had like Cheerios between the cushions and other fossils of life with kids, and Costco took it back. Okay, so returning a used

couch is a unique example. Most of the time, reasons we need to return something are pretty standard, like furniture doesn't look exactly right, the sweater is a wrong size, the color looked different online, you know, boring, normal stuff. And it's the boring, normal stuff that can end up sneakily costing us big if we're not careful. So pro tip. Prioritizing shopping at stores that have the best return policies and skipping the ones that don't gives you insurance, essentially, for those sneaky life moments. And I can get you started on your hit and skip lists.

First, the hits. And obviously, we have to start with Costco. As you can probably tell from my friend's story, Costco has one of the most lenient return policies out there. It is so lenient that they don't even have a time limit on returning most items. There are some exceptions, but honestly, the bar is like on the floor. Costco spells out the fact, for instance, that they can't take returns on alcohol and cigarettes in some states. And that all seems more than fair. There are a few other limitations, like Costco will only take back electronics for 90 days after the purchase, which doesn't sound that generous, but it actually is the single best return policy on Apple's products anywhere. We'll

talk about Apple in just a minute, but spoiler alert, they're not on the hit list. But Walmart and Target are. Both retailers have pretty consumer-friendly return policies. Most products you can return for up to 90 days, including, oddly, food, items, and cosmetics. If you want a full refund, you're going to need to bring the receipt, but if you've lost the refund, you're going to need to bring the receipt. But if you've lost the slip, you can return a product for store credit without it. If you thought returning food was odd, here's another weird one. Walmart accepts trees and shrubs with the receipt for up to a year. I have a million questions about this one, but this could be the ultimate life hack for

all of us who score negative points on the green thumb scale. And don't ask me how you get the tree out of the ground and then back in the store, but if you can do it, Walmart has your back. There are some exceptions to the 90-day rule at Walmart and Target. Electronics, for example, must be returned within 30 days, and Apple products have an even shorter window of 15 days. Here is a hyper-specific one. Neither store will refund opened air mattresses. I guess people really are out there buying mattresses for when they have company and then returning them when the guests leave, and Target had to draw the line somewhere. But even then, opened air mattresses can be traded in for store credit. Of all of the

department stores, Nordstrom has the best return policy. Neiman Marcus and Saks give you 30 days, give you 30 days, Bloomy's gives you 90 days, but Nordstrom? Nordstrom gives you forever. Yeah, that dress you impulse bought three years ago and never had the nerve to wear or you didn't even take the tags off? You can return that. You don't necessarily need the receipt, but fair warning, it's at the store's discretion, so they may turn you down. But they will likely take it back. If you happen to live near a Nordstrom, you can drop off online returns in-store so you don't have to mess with shipping. However, Nordstrom apparently suffers from the fashion equivalent of the returned air mattress problem. They don't take returns on special occasion and designer clothes unless they are

in pristine condition with the tags. So no, you can't buy an $11,000 Gucci gown, wear it to a wedding and then return it. Fair enough, Nordstrom. Of all the beauty stores, Ulta has the best return policy. The crown used to belong to MAC, but at the end of last November, MAC ended their unlimited return policy, replacing it with a still generous 60-day policy. Now, Ulta also has a 60-day limit to get a full refund. Now, Ulta also has a 60-day limit to get a full refund. But if you've been running around for 62 days

with an eyeshadow palette that is all wrong for your beautiful eyes, but you keep forgetting to return it, Ulta will take back products for store credit anytime, so long as the products are only lightly used. So those are the brands who aced their return policies. Here are the companies that flunked. Yes, it is time to talk about Apple. Now, to be fair, tech companies in general don't have the best return policies. Apple, Samsung, Motorola all offer returns on phones for only 14 days and only on phones you buy directly through the brand. However, only Apple also limits returns to 14 days at other retailers. Costco, our old friend, is the exception and will allow you to

return Apple products for up to 90 days. Plus, when you're making a return at an Apple store, you don't just need the receipt, you also need all of the original packaging. There are plenty of good reasons to buy directly from the Apple Store. But the return policy isn't one of them. Best Buy also earns a spot on the naughty list. Best Buy allows a 14-day return window for phones and tax on just one extra day for a total of 15 days on all other purchases. And you better have that receipt or a return is just not happening. In many states, on more expensive purchases at Best Buy, you also might be subject to a 15% return fee. So you may not be able to get all of your money back on e-bikes, high-end cameras, and drones. This next one might surprise you, but Amazon also leaves something to be desired in the returns department.

On the one hand, the return policy is pretty easy. You generally get 30 days with some exceptions. But where you can get into some trouble is the fact that not everything sold on Amazon.com is directly from Amazon. There are a ton of third-party sellers. Now, technically, Amazon requires all third-party sellers to have the same return policy as Amazon corporate. But in practice, this doesn't always play out the way it should. To complicate things further, almost half of all third-party sellers on Amazon are based in China.

With the time frame and cost of delivery from and shipping to China, it can be very difficult to return a purchase to a Chinese manufacturer. The issue is common with marketplace sites like, yes, Amazon, and also Etsy, eBay, and Poshmark, for example, where again, the issue isn't corporate policy, but rather the random complications that can come with dealing with strangers on the internet. Not every vendor is going to be out to get you. I end up on Etsy more than I care to admit, but here we go, buying everything from custom MNN stickers for my note cards for interviews to a faux marble pee pad for my dog Penny. That is not a joke, although I kind of wish it was at this point. And I have

only ever had lovely, lovely experiences with my friends on Etsy. But things can go wrong, so if you're shopping on a marketplace site, be sure you're reviewing the return policy of the individual vendor and reading reviews. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. If you get stuck with an Amazon or Etsy vendor that won't allow you to make a return you were promised, your credit card company can step in. If you show that you've made every reasonable attempt to work with the vendor and return the product, but they still aren't willing to work with you, you can ask for a chargeback. Federal law favors the customer here. And in many cases, you can get a full refund from your credit card company.

I talked about this and other credit card perks on a recent Money Rehab episode called Lost and Paid, which I have linked in the show notes. called Lost and Paid, which I have linked in the show notes. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Levoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at moneynews and TikTok at moneynewsnetwork for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for

investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.