Did you get what you wanted for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever holidays you and yours celebrated this month? No? Oh no! Welcome to the world of post-holiday returns.

Actually, with a little knowledge, which your Guru is willing and able to provide here, your journey into the land of the customer service desk doesn’t have to be an “Oh no!”

ConsumerWorld.org says this year, 83% of retailers are maintaining their current return policies, and 13% are tightening them. “If shoppers follow the rules, they should have many happy returns,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World®.

And those rules do vary. In fact, online return policies are likely to be very different than the same store’s brick-and-mortar location. Be sure that you’re looking at the return policies where you purchased the item, whether in-store or on the web.

There’s a lot to keep up with here, though fortunately most of us aren’t going to need to return several items to several vendors. However, be aware of the policies that will affect you and your post-holiday return journeys. Some stores are dropping restocking fees, and others are changing policies on items like electronics from 90 to 45-day returns only. Most stores will have different rules for different products, such as cameras and computers. Amazon has more than 30 different return policies…wow.

Here are a few more tips to help your returns be happy, whether or not they happen to be many.

Wait a week, or at least a few days. Of course, don’t wait too long, but if you’re out there right after Christmas, you’re in the company of millions doing the same thing.

If you are returning a defective item, some states (Massachusetts is one) requires the store to give consumers either repair, refund, or replacement, regardless of store policy.

Have a problem with a return? While some managers may practice the anti-friendly eyeroll, most are actually concerned about customer satisfaction and will work with you to resolve your issue. If that fails, and you still feel the need for some form of justice, a call can be made to a corporate headquarters or a complaint filed with your state’s Attorney General’s office.

Whether you’re in Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, Avondale, or Finneytown, we’re close by and ready to serve you with free estimates, answers to questions about auto body repair, or anything we can do for you or your car. Give Nate or Jason a call at 513-631-2406 or email us at cccollision@gmail.com.