Banned from making too many returns? - Share your experiences!

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someone previously asked about sephora changing their return policy. i'm currently a rouge vib which means you spend over $1000 in a year (yes, it's gross, i know). I returned a few items that were all from one order and i no longer had the receipt. I got a warning from sephora which was printed on a separate receipt letting me know that i couldn't return anything for 90 days without a receipt.

it's fine because i have nothing else to return, but i am really pissed. A) getting the "extra" receipt and having the sales associate explain it to me was embarassing. B) i spent a lot amount of money there the past year and think it's BS that people who arent reselling or taking advantage get prohibited from returns.

I'm not saying I wont shop there anymore, but i'm more likely to go somewhere like nordstrom so i know that i wont get "a talking to" if i lose a receipt.
 
someone previously asked about sephora changing their return policy. i'm currently a rouge vib which means you spend over $1000 in a year (yes, it's gross, i know). I returned a few items that were all from one order and i no longer had the receipt. I got a warning from sephora which was printed on a separate receipt letting me know that i couldn't return anything for 90 days without a receipt.

it's fine because i have nothing else to return, but i am really pissed. A) getting the "extra" receipt and having the sales associate explain it to me was embarassing. B) i spent a lot amount of money there the past year and think it's BS that people who arent reselling or taking advantage get prohibited from returns.

I'm not saying I wont shop there anymore, but i'm more likely to go somewhere like nordstrom so i know that i wont get "a talking to" if i lose a receipt.



I'm a VIB rouge too and have done the same thing- did not get a second receipt or lecture but that's good to know for the future....
 
I am sure even with a receipt Sephora will start limiting the returns -- maybe not now but in the future. It's irritating especially now as there are more online orders than ever before (which also causes returns ).

I order online and return in store. I would love to browse but don't always have the time. If more stores start doing this I will be asking for large samples to TRY all the time before I make my purchase. I hope they understand that as well. But it's a corporation - all they see is the bottom line.
 
Not sure...that's a good question actually.

I dont believe so, they told me it's returns without receipt because thats the only way it's tracked (via your license). The receipt i got actually explained that they use your license and an agency that monitors fraud.

I was extremely offended because of it. It's not JUST sephora tracking me- it's an agency accusing me of possible fraud...

I'm sorry, maybe people commit fraud there, but I dont- I've spent a lot of money there and to be even put on a list with people who may do fraudulent things at sephora is offensive.
 
I dont believe so, they told me it's returns without receipt because thats the only way it's tracked (via your license). The receipt i got actually explained that they use your license and an agency that monitors fraud.

I was extremely offended because of it. It's not JUST sephora tracking me- it's an agency accusing me of possible fraud...

I'm sorry, maybe people commit fraud there, but I dont- I've spent a lot of money there and to be even put on a list with people who may do fraudulent things at sephora is offensive.

Did you tell them that? They probably have a comments and suggestions email address on their website. I'd let them know you're pissed.
 
I dont believe so, they told me it's returns without receipt because thats the only way it's tracked (via your license). The receipt i got actually explained that they use your license and an agency that monitors fraud.

I was extremely offended because of it. It's not JUST sephora tracking me- it's an agency accusing me of possible fraud...

I'm sorry, maybe people commit fraud there, but I dont- I've spent a lot of money there and to be even put on a list with people who may do fraudulent things at sephora is offensive.

Don't take it personally. They actually track both returns with and without receipt. They may not necessarily accuse you of fraudulent activities, just that Sephora decides that you may not make good business for them. The agency only monitors the returns, Sephora's the one that makes the decision.
 
Good for you.

Personally, for in-store purchases, i don't agree with the "buy this and decide whether to keep it later" theory. Be a decisive buyer, and check items before purchase. Saves everybody time and effort.


I tend to agree; especially makeup at places like sephora where you can see/touch items

If would only return things that cause an allergic reaction or that are broken/hard to use. I don't agree with the buy first and decide later theory either.
 
I heard from someone that ASOS are thinking of introducing that policy because of fraud reasons.

I can sympathise in a way; i know a lot of people who buy stuff from ASOS, wear it for a night out and
keep al the tags in and then return it after they're done with it.
 
The problem is that the TRE (The Retail Equation) system that a lot of companies use does not effectively track how much of your order you kept. The fact that you returned over a certain dollar amount, or returned too many times in a time period, is enough to get you banned.

And how much is too much completely depends on the retailer.

My friend made 3 returns in a 3 month period to Victoria's Secret. With tags, unworn. Total dollar amount of returns: about $150. Total amount purchased overall: $600

She was banned from returns for 90 days. She doesn't even usually shop there so she didn't have a history of anything. I introduced her to the joy that is the Semi-Annual sale and the Lacie panty, which is why she spent a bunch.

This scares me because I frequently order online. At minimum I keep 40% of the order, usually around 80%, and sometimes 100% if I get really lucky. There is nothing wrong with returning things that didn't fit or that you don't like. There is nothing wrong with preferring online shopping to store shopping.

I order online so much now because I live in a city that has a lot of college girls and young working professionals. I am pretty mainstream in my taste. This means that my size or the color I want as a woman in my twenties is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS sold out in stores. My husband thinks it's funny when he goes shopping with me. He says "pick out which shirt you want." Then he'll check to see if it is available in XS or S. And 9/10 times it's sold out.

Yet because of this flawed TRE system, I'm sure I'm close to being banned for say, ordering several shoes in 7 and 7.5 and naturally only keeping half of them. Yes, I return a lot, but also spend more than the average shopper. But TRE really does not understand the nature of online shopping and labels innocents as criminals. Its algorithm is not smart enough to understand the nuances of a good buyer vs. good online buyer vs. bad buyer.

Unless we complain often and loudly, these companies will have no idea how these systems punish good buyers. They just want to outsource their fraud problem to a third-party company and forget about it. Most of the MBAs running retail stores are not tech-savvy. They don't understand a whit about the technology their business uses. The technology is flawed, people. We need to be very vocal that TRE does not work.

May I simply suggest having LARGE tags on the front of clothing with very short strings? Such a simple change. I've seen some jeans do this, with a large tag and short string displayed prominently on the back pocket. There is no way to tuck that tag in. Similarly, you could easily do this to a strapless dress on the front. All this formal wear renting nonsense would stop if they would just change how and where they put their tags.
 
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