Many Happy Returns
Hard to believe people would “trade in” some of their Christmas gifts but, every year, many do just that. I find it somehow sad. Oh, I understand exchanging a size medium for a size large, but trading a gift that a friend or relative put thought into selecting seems, well, just wrong.
Yet the lines at department store gift return counters remain long as people trade in toasters for barbecues and barbecues for toasters. But what will they tell Aunt Tilly when she asks why they never wear that lovely wool sweater she gave them? You know, the one with the reindeer on the front?
Remember your Shakespeare? “What a wicked web we weave…”
Doug
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I am afraid I am one of those. It is because my wife's family lives a thousand miles from us and have only photos of our kids and so they guess on sizes and always misjudge. And some of the things they send us are just weird. If they came from a national chain, we have to exchange.
It is a necessary evil I am afraid. I have done it myself and hated it. It calls for more crowds and more lines and more trouble. Fortunately, my family and friends know me well and pay attention to things they know I would like.
That's me. Not the tires, and I would never return anything from my husband, but I always get something I have to return, usually something I already have, so I don't feel bad about it and the gift giver isn't any the wiser.
I agree that there are exceptions. Perhaps I over generalized. Certainly, if you already have something, exchanging a duplicate gift for something else makes perfect sense. And if your friends don't know you well enough to shop for you, they will make mistakes...
Okay, I did over generalize.
Doug
Any guy who gives his wife snow tires for Christmas deserves whatever he gets.
(I know it is a joke for crissake!)
There are exceptions of course, but I think what is being referred to here is just what I saw today. I was exchanging a toy that my son had received for Christmas. It unfortunately was defective. So I took it back to the store and exchanged it for a new one. While I was waiting in line, I saw a man in the next line over. He handed a waffle iron over to the store representative and said "it wasn't opened, there is nothing wrong with it, I'm just returning it". And I believe he got cash back. If the item is paid for by cash or debit then a cash return can happen. He could have just exchanged it for something he did want, but instead opted for the cash. It was the biggest Target I have ever seen in my entire life. Surely there was SOMETHING there he could have used! But I do have to add that I guess there is the possibility that he didn't get it for Christmas...maybe he purchased it in the days before and then changed his mind. Ahhhhh I doubt it.
I think it's OK to return something you got as a gift. As long as it is exchanged for something you do like. There is no sense letting something just sit there unused because the money that went into it is just wasted.