A customer returning something for a refund is a common sight at a Target store. And usually, you need to bring the original product you bought for this exchange to work. But recent reports suggest that Target is letting customers keep their refunded items. So, why is that?
Target allows customers to keep their returns if the processing cost for returning that item exceeds the item’s original price. This is a more economical strategy in the long run. Therefore, you cannot keep every item that you wish to return.
In this article, we take a deeper look at the return policy at Target and see how they handle returned goods. This will give you a better idea of whether or not you can get a refund and keep the original item as well.
Is Target Letting You Keep Your Return?
Most people living in a major city have had to make a trip down to a local store to return something. Typically, this could be due to a product defect or the product not giving you satisfactory results. Either way, you normally take the original product to the store and ask for a refund.
And most retail shops have their own return policies in place to deal with such occurrences, particularly if that store uses an online platform. This is a big way a store can improve its customer relationships and services. Target, Amazon, Walmart, etc. are well prepared in this case.
But recently, a variety of return policies is gaining increasing popularity. It is a policy where a customer gets full or partial reimbursement for the product they want to return and gets to keep the said product as well. This sort of return policy can be called a “returnless refund”.
Similar to other massive retailers, Target has also adopted this strategy for certain products. And the reasoning behind this is also strictly economic. Sometimes, letting the customer keep the refunded product is more cost-effective than actually taking it back and restocking it.
Of course, there are certain criteria that the product you wish to return has to fulfill. And this evaluation is done by the people working at Target. If they find that the product is eligible for a refund and is too expensive to return, they will encourage you to either keep it to yourself or donate it to someone else.
Why Does Target Let You Keep Your Returns?
People working in any sort of retail business know just how frustrating it can be to accept a return. Not only because of all the potential paperwork you have to go through, but also the added expense that comes along with it.
It is not as simple as taking back the product and refunding the customer. You need to inspect and then restock that item appropriately so that it can be sold once again. If the customer returns the product through shipping, the retail has to pay for that as well. Not to mention many items cannot be resold after a customer returns them.
When deciding on a return policy, retail ownership has to consider these additional costs. Because sometimes the money and effort it takes to accept a returned good far outweighs the actual value of that product.
In such instances, it is in the best interest of that retail to allow the customer to keep the returned goods after being refunded. This way the store does not have to spend too much on restocking that item. And this is the main reason why retail giants such as Target have adopted a returnless refund policy.
If Target decides that the product is too expensive to go through the return process, they will encourage customers to keep or donate the product.
This, of course, does not extend to every single product. Things such as kitchen appliances, heavy machinery, or construction tools are worth the cost most of the time. And in those cases, Target will require you to deposit their item at one of their local shops.
Another notable benefit of such a policy is that it improves customer relationships. Returning a product can also be stressful for the customer who bought it. So, having less friction in the refunding process only increases customer satisfaction.
How Do I Get a Refund and Keep Something at Target?
If you want a refund for your product, you need to send it to a target store within 90 days from the day of purchase. You can also mail the item via their online return center or send it via one of their return carriers.
Now, whether or not you can keep the product you want to refund is up to the people at Target. After you submit a refund request online or take the product to a physical store, Target will evaluate the whole process and figure out the cost. If the return cost exceeds the original value, then the target will let you keep the item or donate it.
Can You Get in Trouble for Too Many Returns at Target?
Some people can get in the habit of buying a specific thing, using it for a few days, and then returning it to the store for a refund. Most times this is not an issue. But occasionally one customer may be coming in for refunds a bit too frequently. But is there any consequence to such a tendency?
Target does not have any strict limitation on the number of times you can return items bought from them. In theory, you can return any number of items you have bought. But doing it too frequently may result in some sort of ban. Or at least, your returns will be inspected with more scrutiny than others.
Conclusion
Remember that the product you wish to refund has to meet certain criteria to be eligible for a refund. So, make sure you carefully read Target’s return policy before you decide to ask for a return.
