Some Stores Are Telling People To ‘Just Keep’ Their Returns And It Seems To Be The New Thing

I was taken aback when I went to return a pair of pants to Target that I bought online.

“Just keep the pants. Here’s your money.”

Um — What?!?

There looks to be a new trend in retail, and it could mean good things for the consumer.

It seems that retail stores are being hit with an excess of inventory — and they are passing their misfortune on to the people buying the stuff.

Stores Have Too Much Inventory.

According to CNN, stores like Walmart, Target, American Eagle Outfitters, and Gap have entirely too much inventory, and it is actually costing them money.

Thanks, in part, to that dang supply-chain crisis — I think we can call it a ‘crisis’ at this point — and gas being so-incredibly-expensive, retailers are inundated with inventory that is just sitting.

With this inventory not budging, the retail establishments are having to store it all, which is costing them money.

Things like big toys, furniture, clothes that are out of season, and ALL THE RETURNS that are coming into the stores are just taking up space.

Because they are stuck with so much inventory, some stores have made the decision to just let the customer keep the things they are trying to return.

It will cost these retail establishments more to store it than to just give the person back their money, and let them keep the item.

What Happens When You Return An Item To The Store?

When you return something to a store, those returns are handled in several ways.

First, the store may just trash the item. I have worked for about eleventy hundred retail establishments, and that’s USUALLY what we did with returns. Damage them beyond use and throw them away.

Retailers sometimes also take back the returns, ship them all back to HQ, who then turns around and sells the damaged goods to liquidators.

BUT, with gas prices so ridiculously high right now, sending the items back is actually costing them money. So, that’s not really an option right now.

‘Just Keep It’ Is Now Becoming The Motto Of Some Stores.

The ‘just keep it’ mentality of stores is now becoming a thing.

Now, the problem with this, stores have to be crazy vigilant to make sure they aren’t getting scammed.

When people KNOW that the ‘just keep it’ mentality exists, there are some that will inevitably take advantage.

BUT, sometimes the stores realize that the MAJORITY of returns are legit. There is not much at all to be made on the returns, so they are just washing their hands of the inventory.

Don’t Rely On The ‘Just Keep It’ Philosophy.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE that you are not guaranteed access to this ‘just keep it’ trend. Don’t go out and buy a bunch of stuff expecting to return it and then keep it.

It is totally up to the store and the situation.

BUT, you may just get lucky with your return, and be sent home with the products AND the money.