How We Verify Return Policies

• We check store return policies ourselves before we write about them.
• We read each store's own written policy and check it against real receipts and help pages.
• Every guide is reviewed by Aman Singh and carries a “Last updated” date.
• We review every guide at least once every 12 months.

This method covers every store return policy guide on Retail Returns Policy: return windows, receipt and condition rules, refunds, fees and holiday changes at each store. It also covers our guides to your consumer rights when a return goes wrong.

We don't need products to check a policy. We don't accept anything from the stores we cover, and no store can pay to change what we say about its policy.

1. 1Find the current terms. Kajal Singh, our Editor, opens the store's live return policy page, help center and FAQs, not a cached or archived copy. For guides about your rights, we go to the law itself and to official guidance from state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission.
2. 2Check all eight points. Every rule on the eight-point checklist below is pulled from the store's own terms, with the exact wording kept for anything surprising. If the store doesn't publish one of them, the guide says so plainly.
3. 3Record the source. Each figure is logged with the page it came from and the date it was checked. Other websites' summaries, forum threads and social posts can tell us where to look, but they are never the evidence for a figure we publish.
4. 4Write it plainly. A short answer first, then the details, quoting the store where a rule could be read two ways.
5. 5Check the key figures again. Aman Singh re-opens the sources for the figures that matter most and signs off only when each one matches.
6. 6Review and publish. Aman Singh reviews the guide in a separate pass, then we publish it with its “Last updated” date.

The eight points in every store guide

• Return window

  How many days, and whether the clock starts at purchase, delivery or pickup.

• Category exceptions

  Shorter or longer windows for electronics, appliances, opened items and seasonal goods.

• Receipt rules

  What counts as proof of purchase, and what happens without one.

• Condition rules

  Tags, original packaging, opened, used or worn items, and final sale.

• Refund method and timing

  Back to your card, store credit or exchange, and how long it takes.

• Fees

  Restocking fees, return shipping and anything else taken off the refund.

• How to return

  In store, by mail, curbside or at a drop-off point, and whether online orders can go back in store.

• Holiday changes

  Extended windows for gifts and holiday purchases, with their dates.

When we can't confirm a detail with the store, we say so in the guide and rely on the sources in our Fact-Checking policy, in order.

We review every guide at least once every 12 months. If something changes in between, such as a product update, a recall, a price or policy change, or a reader report, we check the guide within 14 business days.

• We don't run a lab, and we don't claim lab results.
• We don't give star ratings or scores we can't explain.
• We don't say we tested something we didn't.

Questions about how we verify go through our contact page. Aman Singh, the founder, will reply.