Post Christmas gift return rush expected
Many people were able to open their Christmas presents, but for some, they may not have gotten the gifts they wanted. That means a trip to the store for returns.
“I remember socks for Christmas…I didn’t really want them,” Christopher Paolini of San Diego, said.
“She opened them and looked at me and was like ‘Melissa do you know me at all?’,” Melissa Perrin said referring to unwanted clogs she gave to her mother.
Stories like these are not uncommon in the days after Christmas, with people receiving gifts they don’t necessarily want. For Paolini, he was gifted certain clothes wasn’t on his wish list.
“Returning I’ve done if I received clothes that were the wrong size, and I can return as long as the tags are still on there,” he said.
He’s like many across the country looking to get a refund on a gift that missed it’s mark. According to Optoro, a firm specializing in returns, Americans returned nearly $90 billion worth of gifts. The busiest days for returns came in the two days after Christmas, and many big retailers are extending return policies over the holidays. Some locals say re-gifting is also an option.
“You can pass it on, if you can do it in a way that won’t offend the person that gave it to you, maybe over a passage of time,” Tom Clause of Palm Springs, said.
Making sure gift receipts are included aren’t bad ideas either.
“You’re hoping that the person is going to like what you give them, but that might not be the case always. So if you give the receipt, you give that person an option to return and get something they truly want,” Paolini said.
Ultimately, when making the return, it’s always good to show respect to the original gift-giver.
“It’s not really socially acceptable to show disdain for a gift that’s someone’s giving you, so you have to accept it no matter what,” Paolini said.
According to Optoro, 40 percent of all holiday returns happen between December 26th and December 31st.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
