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

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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.

 

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’ 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.

The comments below have not been moderated.

I did this once with a catalog suit. I was young and needed a suit for a relatives wedding. I wore it once and returned it. I wouldn't do it now. I wear tailored clothes now.

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I see nothing wrong with this.

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I don't buy anything from Argos anymore having bought a Dyson vacuum from them and, on opening the box, found it had been used; the clear plastic dust collector was filthy. When I took it back they accused me of using it and returning it. It took me about an hour of arguing to get a refund even after I pointed out the time of sale on the receipt was 30 minutes before I'd returned to the store.

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"Wardrobing"?? No: THEFT.

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What a disgusting low-life. I work in retail as a part-time job and trust me, sales assistants know when people pull this trick on them. It's so obvious but most of the time, we don't argue back because we're forced to accept these clothes as a goodwill gesture and give them the refund. I seriously hate people like this, ugh.

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My daughter bought a coat. It had a used tissue in the pocket. Disgusting.

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Once I bought a dress online from a department store. I was shocked to find out the condition of the new dress-it looks like somebody has worn it and washed it. I called them up right away. Of course they let me return it. I was really surprise they shipped this junk to me at the first place. Talk about quality control.

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Marks and Spencer once made me buy a plastic bag for putting my shopping in. So I returned it the next day and said "It's not really me" Got my five pence back!

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So essentially the next person to come along and pay full price for your returned garment is getting second-hand. Thanks a bunch.

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How can you return something from 7yrs ago? Most stores have a returns deadline and if you don't meet it you can only exchange. Has she not heard of ebay if she doesn't want her old clothes?

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