HOUSTON – Shipping companies are expecting so many return packages this week that UPS has deemed Tuesday National Returns Day.
A record number of people shopped online for the holidays, which means some recipients can't return the gift to the store. That's why UPS is expecting to ship more than 800,000 packages back to retailers and merchants.
Luckily, companies like Amazon have a very liberal return policy. If the recipient had the gift shipped straight to them, they can use the same order number to credit their account. Without the order number, customers can just use the name and address of the Amazon account used to purchase the present.
While consumers do have to mail the product back, in many cases Amazon will pay the freight to ship it. For example, if the recipient doesn't think the item was good quality or as advertised, Amazon will foot the bill for postage. But if the person just didn't want the gift, the e-commerce giant requires them to pay to send it back.
Amazon customers have until Jan. 31 to return any items delivered between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. Other companies aren't so lenient.
Apple offers free returns until Thursday. They also need the order number or the product serial number. Just let them know it was a gift and Apple will send the refund in the form of an electronic gift card.
Many retailers adopted liberal gift return policies this year to encourage consumers to shop with them. So don't just let a gift collect dust, check the company's return police to see if a refund is available.