Musings of the Day: Returns!
FloridaSweety is back with a brand new video about the best way to return items at a store! I posted one of her videos previously and it got a great response as I think everyone enjoyed her as much as I did. She's always a great inspiration to get a good conversation flowing so this morning's Musings is all about returns!
So how do you feel about returning makeup? Do you return it or just give it to friends if you can't use it?
The Muse isn't as assertive as FloridaSweety sadly so most times anything I hate ends up in the bottom of my closet in the beauty graveyard. I'm also really bad with receipts and keeping them, I throw them to the bottom of my purse and end up losing them etc....Sometimes I feel comfortable returning at Sephora but most times I don't as everyone is terribly snotty about returns. Did you every notice what a hissy fit people have at counters and Sephora when you have to do a return? Even with a receipt they get all evil and snotty! Or is that me? This is one reason I absolutely adore shopping on Sephora's website as it's free return postage back and no one questions you about what was wrong with the product or gives you an attitude problem about returning it.
I really never could understand why employees get so upset about returns. It's always a rather big deal whenever I return something and five different people have to come over and look at the item, the receipt, etc....
How about you?
Are you a "return queen"?
Do you avoid returning items?
Tell the Muse!
Labels: Musings of the Day, Sephora
posted by the Muse @ 9:23 AM
26 Comments:
We can't even return stuff over here :( Even when I'm allergic to the product. I usually just sell it off or give it to my friends
I can't return here...I usually just give it to others and if they are nice, they would pay half of the price...
I guess the assistants are just bitchy because they depend on their customers for their income.
I first saw FloridaSweety on your blog and has been a follower of her videos ever since. I have watched this video and she is really fun and definitely more experienced :D
aww that stinks Connie. It would drive me crazy to live in the UK or anywhere else that had a no return policy eep :(
aw xisa that stinks. We are spoiled here as returns are never a prob :-D
well sephora assistants just get a hourly wage and aren't working on commission so really no reason to be cocky however I can def understand counter workers being a bit peeved about it.
lol isn't she a hoot?!
I.Love.Her!!! The Queen of returns! And a great married woman with her priorities in order. Hee hee.
umm, I try to screen things very carefully. If it is high end, back it goes. If it is cheap and I just don't like it, it usually gets thrown. If it is low end and it SUCKED, I write the company.
There is a returns policy in the UK, it's just a bit rubbish. If you go into boots and buy a drugstore brand you can't return it for hygiene reasons, but if you buy higher end make up from a counter you can easily return things. I've done it at several counters (Estee Lauder, Dior, MAC, etc), and I've only had trouble with a YSL counter. Apparently it was against their policy, but as a 'good will gesture' they exchanged it for something of equal value which I sold on ebay, so it was all good!
hi pavlina!
LOL I never wrote the company but that's a good one :-D should try it lol!
hi kirsty whenever I am in the UK I never buy makeup for that reason! The return policy is a pain :(
but it's great they don't give you a prob with high end items at least :-D
LOL bora.
she's a gem that's for sure!
I only really return stuff at Sephora, and it's usually perfume. Sephora stores don't carry a lot of fragrances and I'm just lucky that the ones I want are usually not stocked. Yes, I can read fragrance blogs and although I recognize ingredients, I can't conjure up what they smell like. "Musky, seductive, sultry, oriental woodsy?" It's like defining a genre by bands--totally ambiguous and unsatisfying.
Yes. I return stuff at Sephora. Lately I've been returning so many items that I recognize the staff and it's awkward so I go to other locations and waste gas money. Not anymore.
I've always wondered what they do with the returned items. Throw them out? That seems like such a terrible waste and never fails to make me sad :(
Hmm, I work in retail and know that most retail stores require sales associates to meet an hourly target - employees that consistently fail to meet these goals get canned. That's probably why they're grumpy about returns - they cut into the store's target for that day, which in turn affects that employee. Personally I don't mind because my position doesn't require a target, but my associates do get pissed every time they have to process one. Returns are probably worst for makeup stores, because they're not able to put that item back on the shelf like clothing shops are. Basically goes in the trash. Personally, I think they'd save a lot of money if they gave clean samples of all products, instead of making people try the (questionable) open containers in the store. Who wants to try on something that's been on hundreds of other people's faces? But hey, their loss. I return practically everything I can that I don't like. Tip for people who are squeamish about returns: if you do them often and feel weird about always returning to the same employees, just go to an alternate store. They'll take it if they carry the product.
I am def a return queen! I am actually going to Ulta today to exchange some nail polish. I seem to return things at Ulta a lot or at least have to go back because they always charge me incorrectly.
hi crotchfairy!
LOL I hear you hun, I hear you! :-D Are you a fan of BPAL by chance? If you like something unique you should try :-D I have a basic how to for BPAL here :-D as you sound like a fragrance addict!
Aw I know and the staff are always terribly grumpy about returns so if they get to know you they'll be twice as bad :P
hi witchy!
I think they send them back to the company and the company gives them credit and the company probably sells them off to warehouses or something!? As I always see ebay sales for "tester" items.
hi Anonymous!
I didn't realize that. I've never worked retail and didn't know a sales associate needed to meet a requirement. How do they keep track of that in places like Sephora?!
I didn't think they trashed it I figured they sent it back to the company got refunded and the company in turn probably sold it as a wholesale item.
Interesting hearing all these tidbits :-D
Agreed, testers would be SOOO helpful!
And great tip! :-D I normally go to my regular haunts and get shy about returns!
hi nes!
LOL :-D go girl! I rarely shop Ulta so I haven't really returned anything to them. How are they about returns? As good as sephora?!
I've worked the cosmetics counter at high end department stores in both sales and as a makeup artist, so I've had plenty of experience with makeup returns. While you're never obligated to keep something, there is etiquette for returns. I understand if you've tried a product and dislike it or it irritates your skin, but do not try to return a half empty product. You can't imagine how many times this has happened! It's like going out to dinner, finishing the meal and then refusing to pay. That said, if you return things within a reasonable amount of time and adhere to the return policy you shouldn't have to put up with any nonsense.
They track sales via employee PINS that have to be entered in order to process sales on the register (and have to be reentered for each transaction), that's also how they clock in/out.
when i did work experiance in boots i was told that either the shop throws them out or they get sent back to the company which then throws them out
they told me they had to smash 100s of bottles of perfumes last year
i was horrified lol
I screen m/u carefully. The one that will never fit with me, I will go to store and return it with confidence!!
hi anonymous!
lord I've never ever done that. Almost everything I return about 99.9 percent of the time is brand new!
I normally don't have my receipt as I toss it to the bottom of my bag and lose it, toss it, etc...aside from this I think I'm reasonable about my returns :-D
hi anonymous!
ahhhh! interesting! thanks for clarifying for us!
hi Anonymous
aww that's sad :(
that's a whole lot of perfume and makeup! Hells I'd cry!
hi kathy!
I wish I was confident about returns :) I'm always very shy to return stuff!
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