Everyone hopes that the products they buy will work or be exactly what they need but there are times when things just don't work out. We would just love to go and return the product for our money back or exchange it for a working unit. This isn't always the easiest process because of the various return and exchange policies that the retailers create. They claim it is to improve customer service by providing better pricing but generally they are there to cover their costs.
Return Policies

Return policies are there for when a customer wishes to return a product for a refund or a different product. In general, there are three types of policies that a retailer will have when a customer wishes to return a product:

    * Full returns or exchanges within a set time frame
    * Returns or exchanges minus a restocking fee
    * No returns or exchanges

The most common type of system is the one that includes a restocking fee. This was first implemented by electronics retailers and is a growing trend in the retail business. As margins and prices become smaller for retailers and manufacturers though, the no return policy is becoming more common. The rarest of these is the full return policy.

So, why is it important to know the return policy when buying a product? Buying product from a retailer that has a poor return policy can result in a large cost to the consumer who wishes to return it, or even worse, being stuck with a product that they do not like or wish to own. This makes research into the product you buy very important as we