Many retailers' holiday return windows are closing at the end of January. Electronics and entertainment items at Target (excluding Apple® products), for example, need to be returned by January 24 and most items at Walmart and Amazon have a January 31 return deadline.
If you don't make it to the store in time, or ship your purchase back by those deadlines, two options are to regift or resell. There are a growing number of online marketplaces where you can post your product (new or used) and make some of your cash back including Poshmark, thredUP, mpb.com, eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Rakuten, and Bonanza.
But shopping experts also recommend seeing if the company has what's called a "quality promise" where you can return products that don't perform as expected.
"If you have an item and you liked it, but it doesn't perform well, take a look at the FAQs on the retailer's site and get a sense of whether they will give you an adjustment, a refund, or a replacement," said shopping expert Trae Bodge.
"I do find that sometimes those policies are becoming a little less open," she added.
Bodge says you can always see if a retailer will be flexible and make an exception for your merchandise return.
"I would recommend doing this in person at the customer service window. And be very kind, as you should anyway."
"You explain maybe a situation, you've been very busy and you haven't been able to make it or you lost your gift receipt. Sometimes, you can find some flexibility."
Click the store below to read its return policy.
