Dee Gillespie, head of stock at Reyers shoe store in the Eastwood Mall, places boxes of returned shoes on shelves in the store’s stock room Monday morning.
NILES — Ann Wittenauer of Niles said she doesn’t usually make returns the day after Christmas, but this year’s unusual circumstances brought her to Boscov’s on Monday morning to return a sweater.
“We postponed Christmas because of the snow,” Wittenauer said.
She said the family didn’t want her husband’s elderly mother out in the weekend’s bad weather.
When she was wrapping gifts, she noticed the sweater she bought for her daughter had a defect, and since the celebration was stalled, she had time to return it and look for another. Wittenauer seemed confident that she would find a replacement present at Boscov’s.
“It’s my fourth time in the store — it’s huge! They have a lot to choose from.”
While Monday was no Black Friday, as morning turned over to afternoon, the Eastwood Mall slowly filled up with day-after-Christmas shoppers and many seeking to make “happy returns.” Monday may have seen some extra traffic as people took advantage of the observed holiday and the mostly-clear roads.
“It was a day off, so we decided to spend it together,” said Kathleen Schrecengost of Fowler, who, with her husband, Gary, stopped at Boscov’s to exchange a coat with damage to its pocket for an identical one.
Melissa Scattino of Girard and her daughter, Alissa, also were at Boscov’s making returns — “Not for me,” Scattino said, “just for the kids and my mother.”
Scattino’s mother didn’t like the color of a piece of clothing she was gifted, she said. She was on her way to Boscov’s jewelry counter next and then to Dick’s Sporting Goods to sort out some gifts for her kids.
Like Schrecengost, Scattino said she doesn’t usually return gifts the day after the holiday, but it seemed like a good day to do it since she was off work.
“They made it very easy here,” Scattino said.
At Reyers, a few returns and exchanges had been done before noon, but the 136-year-old shoe retailer was expecting fewer returns compared to previous years, said owner Mark Jubelirer.
“Historically, Reyers has gotten close to 10 to 12 percent returns,” Jubelirer said. “We don’t think returns will be as high over this particular holiday because so many of the purchases were fur-lined slippers or warm-lined boots, which were in high demand and tend to fit correctly.”
Jubelirer said that as a retailer, it’s understood that a certain amount of holiday purchases will be returned. He said Reyers has a “liberal” return policy, which, for the most part, is if an item is returned unworn, the buyer is refunded in full. Unworn, current-styled shoes are placed back into the inventory to be resold, he said.
Most retailers allow unused items to be returned to the store or exchanged with a receipt within 30 to 90 days of purchase for a full refund. Common exceptions are gift cards, perishable foods, personalized items and face masks, which can’t be returned. Some stores also do not allow returns on significantly discounted items.
Returning items purchased online may come at a cost, though — a growing number of retailers are charging a shipping fee for items returned by mail. JCPenny charges an $8 return fee that is subtracted from the refund amount for online orders returned by mail, according to its return policy.
“UPS will ship your order back to JCPenny for the flat $8 fee. This has been significantly discounted and will cover your entire return from a single order,” reads the policy.
Dillards’ return policy notifies customers that they will be responsible for return shipping charges for online orders, and Foot Locker charges a $6.99 “smart label” fee for online orders returned by mail, except when merchandise is being returned because it was damaged.
Other retailers that require the customer to cover the cost of return shipping or pay a fee include Ulta, Kohl’s, Big Lots and PetSmart. Most retailers, however, do allow online purchases to be returned in store for free, and some major stores, like Target, still offer free shipping on returns.
The Eastwood Mall Target customer service desk was busy on Monday, with several shopping carts filled with returned items before 11 a.m. The carts labeled “toys” or “clothes” waited to be restocked as a steady stream of customers approached the desk to make returns or exchanges.