Tips for holiday gift returns

the presents have all been opened but now the next holiday Rush begins and that's the rush to return those items that didn't quite work out I got bags in my car many people are heading back to the malls and shopping centers today to do some returns and take advantage of the discounts you're going to find today ABC's Morgan Norwood spoke with a shopping expert about what you should expect at the store let's face it sometimes Santa doesn't always get it right every year there's always that one gift that needs to go back though waiting through the post holiday crowds can be hectic Kristen McGrath with Retail Me Not says it might pay off right after Christmas is actually a very strategic time to do that yes the stores are going to be crowded um if you're returning in a store but retailers tend to offer really good after Christmas sales um to sell everything they didn't sell for the holidays and tempt people who are there returning their items and getting that store credit and if you can't make the return immediately after Christmas the good news for Holiday returns is that a lot of retailers offer long longer return Windows uh so even if an item was bought in say November um it can be returned sometimes through mid January so you do have a little bit of extra time beyond that usual uh 15 to 30day return window that a retailer might offer at a normal time online returns well those can be tricky so be sure to check the rules keep in mind you're going to have to follow the Retailer's rules for returning that package you might have to return a packing slip you're going to have to take it to whichever carrier delivered the it whether that's USPS UPS or FedEx but whether online or in person make sure you have the receipt we can have different policies when it comes to returning without a receipt a lot of times if you show up and it's an item from their store and you don't have a receipt sometimes they'll work with you give you a merchandise credit or um a Store gift card that you can turn around and use Morgan Norwood ABC News New York