Confessions of a returnaholic: The extreme tactics one woman uses to get a refund after wearing her clothes once - no matter how old they are

  • An anonymous returner says that she purposely defects merchandise and covers tags in plastic in order to make them eligible for return

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 16:14 EST, 27 November 2013 | UPDATED: 16:15 EST, 27 November 2013


If you have ever bought something, worn it, and then guiltily returned it, you are not alone.

In an extensive interview with Refinery 29, one epic returnaholic has revealed the extreme lengths she will go to in order to guarantee a return, sharing her seeds of wisdom and expertise.

The anonymous sleuth even says that she is now plotting how to return the $620 prom dress that she wore one time, seven years ago.'

London's Oxford Street

Wardrobing: An anonymous returnaholic says she will go to great lengths to wear something once and return it

Recently, she successfully returned a pair of Coach boots that sat underneath her bed for two years, simply because she ‘didn’t want [the shoes] anymore.’

While she admits that ‘it’s kind of hard to go back to the store and say you changed your mind,’ the roadblocks ahead were nothing that a little white lie couldn’t fix.

 

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The returner says that she nailed a screw into the soles of the boots to make them seem defective because she has ‘worked in retail before, and if something is wrong with the merchandise, they will just take it back.’

She has even covered hang tags in plastic before in case she 'sweat[s] and it'll make the ink on the tag bleed. You can keep the plastic thing on the garment, and just pull off the paper tag to reattach it. I’ve done that before [too].’

Most confounding is how the returner says that she has ‘never really had an issue(delete comma),’ when bringing clothes back to the store  - an astounding achievement that she attributes to cataloging her purchases’ receipts and hang tags.

''l always leave the tags on, wear it to the event, and I’ll see if I really liked it or not, but nine times out of ten I’ll return it afterward'

She is now gearing up to return her prom dress by reattaching its original tag. ‘It’s seven years later, but was $620,’ she reasoned.

‘I have the proof of purchase so if they wanted to see how much I paid, I could show them. Nordstrom themselves can look up information from 10 years,’ she added.

The returner will typically buy and return something around the time of a special occasion, like a friend’s birthday, and always chooses an outfit that she ‘really loves.’

‘I’ll always leave the tags on, wear it to the event, and I’ll see if I really liked it or not,’ she explained of her process. ‘Nine times out of ten,’ she continued, ‘I’ll return it afterward.’

The return-crazed culprit says that she will dry-clean the clothes if necessary before returning them and that she has ‘never returned damaged stuff.’

According to the returner, the ease of returning depends on where you shop. She says that out of sheer competition, department stores are typically more than happy to accommodate return requests as not to upset a consumer and lose their business to a competitor.

‘I will say that I never buy and return at smaller boutiques. It doesn’t feel right,’ she said.

Stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, and Macy’s are among some of the more return-friendly shopping establishments, she says.

She even claims that she has seen some store associates get fired for not taking back merchandise and angering a client.

But according to the returner, clothes and shoes are the only kinds of items that she sends back.

She claims that she is not the kind of person to send back food at a restaurant and that she is ‘not pushy that way across the board. But if there is a problem with a product, I don’t mind making the effort to get my money’s worth.’

The returnaholic says that she justifies her behavior, which first began in college, because, ‘clothes lose its novelty after you wear it once, so afterward, you’re kind of like, “What do I do with it?”’

At first, her return habits were purely economical, but now they have spiraled into a full-blown lifestyle.

And she is not alone. A recent study says that one out of six women are knee-deep in similar returning antics, which has become so prolific it has even earned its own moniker: Wardrobing.

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This happened when I used to work in customer services in a high street shop all the time. Once a girl brought back a waistcoat from years ago, i could tell it was old due to the label on the inside but she had cleverley bought a new t-shirt taken the tag off and somehow attached it to the old waistcoat. I called my manager and I was so shocked that she said we will take it back and all because of good customer service! She was warned not to try it again though

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sigh

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Some nasty 2-legged rodents walking our streets.

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I think this is disgusting how can you return something that you have worn to store? This either leaves the next purchaser effectively paying a lot of money for second hand goods or leaves the store with a loss, either way it is not fair.

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What a small life to lead.

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I'm the opposite; buy something, don't like it, and put it in the bin. I can barely drag myself shopping I hate it so much so to take something back is just prolonging my agony.

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Don't most shops and stores have a time limit on returns, usually about 30 days? You also need to have the original dated receipt. I really don't see how she can get away with returning goods seven years later.

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Sorry DM but you've made a massive mistake publishing this 'article' full of 'helpful tips'. The comments from your readers, including myself, show that everyone is pretty much disgusted by this. And on the same page that you publish this rubbish, alongside are retail ads by some of your biggest advertisers. Whoever commissioned this article should be fired, and M&S; should think twice about advertising on your website if your going to publish trash like this.

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It's theft pure and simple.

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Delete comma

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