Return a dress that I did not purchase?

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pmoo

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Here is my question. I bought a dress from an ebay vendor. The dress is from a designer I like and I know which store that sells this designer’s clothes; however this particular style was not available at my local store, so I bought it from ebay.

Anyway, the dress from ebay arrived and it’s too large, but the ebay vendor does not accept returns. It has a tag on it and my local store is now selling this style. In fact, I’ve already purchased this same dress in the correct size.

Can I return the new ebay item to the local store for a refund? I know it came from this same store (a chain store across the country)?

I know the dress is new because of the tag and I know the name of the store that sells it. I just didn’t buy it from this store. The ebay vendor bought it and then doubled the price.

So, is this a sin if I take it to the store for a partial refund?
 
pmoo said:
Here is my question. I bought a dress from an ebay vendor. The dress is from a designer I like and I know which store that sells this designer’s clothes; however this particular style was not available at my local store, so I bought it from ebay.

Anyway, the dress from ebay arrived and it’s too large, but the ebay vendor does not accept returns. It has a tag on it and my local store is now selling this style. In fact, I’ve already purchased this same dress in the correct size.

Can I return the new ebay item to the local store for a refund? I know it came from this same store (a chain store across the country)?

I know the dress is new because of the tag and I know the name of the store that sells it. I just didn’t buy it from this store. The ebay vendor bought it and then doubled the price.

So, is this a sin if I take it to the store for a partial refund?
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No.
 
If you explain the situation to the local store, then it’s not a sin at all. If you lie to local store, either explicitly or by omission, then it would be a sin, as well as a criminal act.
 
If the store accepts returns without a receipt, then I’d say that’s perfectly legitimate.

I mean, the situation is no different than if you had been given the dress as a gift and wished to return it because it didn’t fit. 🤷 How you acquired the dress (as long as it wasn’t stolen) is irrelevant. I don’t think you’re even morally required to explain the situation–the reason you are returning the dress is because it doesn’t fit. The end.
 
Just_Lurking said:
If you explain the situation to the local store, then it’s not a sin at all. If you lie to local store, either explicitly or by omission, then it would be a sin, as well as a criminal act.
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This answer seems right. It’s not enough to say, “If the store accepts returns without a receipt . . .”, because it’s possible that the store is assuming that people will act on good faith and has chosen not to require receipts as a favor to people who have lost them, etc. Just call them up, say you have a question about a return, get transferred to the right person, and ask the question.

If they say they can do an exchange only, then tell them you already bought the other one, but you can show them the receipt for it. If they say no go, then return the other one, and exchange the one that’s too large for it.
 
Is it safe to assume the store you’d like to return the item to is a large department store starting with the letter “N”?

If so, your best bet would be to bring in both the eBay dress and the dress you purchased in the correct size. Explain the situation and ask if they would be willing to accept the return. If they salesperson says no, ask if you may return the dress you purchased at the store, and then exchange the too-big dress for the right-size dress in an “even exchange.”

I recommend working with someone other than the original person who sold you the right-size dress. Salespersons are allowed to use their best judgment in these decisions, but the original salesperson’s judgment will be colored by the commission he/she will lose in the transaction.

(I worked for this company from 2002 - 2003.)
 
MarkThompson said:
This answer seems right. It’s not enough to say, “If the store accepts returns without a receipt . . .”, because it’s possible that the store is assuming that people will act on good faith and has chosen not to require receipts as a favor to people who have lost them, etc. Just call them up, say you have a question about a return, get transferred to the right person, and ask the question.

If they say they can do an exchange only, then tell them you already bought the other one, but you can show them the receipt for it. If they say no go, then return the other one, and exchange the one that’s too large for it.
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That seems kind of unnecessarily redundant . . . is there a material difference here? If I were the salesperson, that would be even more work–a return AND an exchange vs. just a return. Boo.

But I guess it is better to be completely honest. 😊
 
Moscati said:
That seems kind of unnecessarily redundant . . . is there a material difference here? If I were the salesperson, that would be even more work–a return AND an exchange vs. just a return. Boo.

But I guess it is better to be completely honest. 😊
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Depending on store policy, this redundancy may be necessary. During my retail days, a polite attitude and honest explanation would have persuaded me to help out the original poster if she came into my store.
 
pmoo said:
I know the dress is new because of the tag and I know the name of the store that sells it. I just didn’t buy it from this store. The ebay vendor bought it and then doubled the price.

So, is this a sin if I take it to the store for a partial refund?
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simply bring the dress to the returns desk and tell them you did not buy it at that particular store, but would they please process the return. Same as if you bought it at their store in another mall.
 
The problem is that you bought and paid someone else for the dress. So taking it to the department store for a refund, and taking money from the store for an item you didn’t buy from them, is lying and stealing from the store. They didn’t sell you the dress, why should they give you money for the dress?

I would be up-front and honest about it, talk to a manager, and would have asked for an even exchange for the dress in the correct size. But I wouldn’t lie to them or omit information from them in order to give me money for the dress and stick them with the extra inventory that never belonged to them in the first place. Just MOHO.

Also, not sure where you shop, but where I shop, I have to sign the return receipt, which includes the bit about having bought the original item from that store. If you sign such a thing knowing that you bought the item from ebay instead, that’s fraud.
 
Rence said:
The problem is that you bought and paid someone else for the dress. So taking it to the department store for a refund, and taking money from the store for an item you didn’t buy from them, is lying and stealing from the store. They didn’t sell you the dress, why should they give you money for the dress?

I would be up-front and honest about it, talk to a manager, and would have asked for an even exchange for the dress in the correct size. But I wouldn’t lie to them or omit information from them in order to give me money for the dress and stick them with the extra inventory that never belonged to them in the first place. Just MOHO.

Also, not sure where you shop, but where I shop, I have to sign the return receipt, which includes the bit about having bought the original item from that store. If you sign such a thing knowing that you bought the item from ebay instead, that’s fraud.
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OP never suggested lying about where she got the dress. It would not be fraud as it is common practice for a chain store to accept at any of their locations returns of their merchandise purchased elsewhere. People return gifts all the time which they did not purchase, so receive money they did not spend, neither is that fraud
 
The store does accept returns without a receipt, but I agree with those who commented on being straight forward. The e-bay vendor did pay money to one of the stores, but I didn’t. I am going with the instinct that honesty is the best policy.

Thus, I will call the store, speak to a manager and see what he/she says; I will also tell him/her how often I shop at their particular store. If they don’t give me a store credit (which is what happens without a receipt) I will just donate it to charity, with its tag still attached. I can at least sleep well and receive the Eucharist in a clear conscience.

Thanks for all the suggestions/advice.👍
 
puzzleannie said:
OP never suggested lying about where she got the dress. It would not be fraud as it is common practice for a chain store to accept at any of their locations returns of their merchandise purchased elsewhere. People return gifts all the time which they did not purchase, so receive money they did not spend, neither is that fraud
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Yes, this store gladly accepts returns and exchanges purchased at any of its other stores and a receipt is not necessary. Case in point. I bought an adorable dress for my granddaughter for easter, but she just never wore it. I returned it a week ago for a store credit. It still had all tags and I’d purchased it at a store near me. I always tell which chain I bought it at and they still accept it.
 
A slight business spin here: goods in inventory have a cost attached to them and any business worthy of its name attempts to keep inventory at a minimum to reduce that cost.

It’s one thing to return an article purchased there because it doesn’t fit, is defective, etc. If it doesn’t fit, the inventory level just goes back up to what it was. If it’s defective, the store will get redress from the supplier.

But if you bought the article elsewhere and dupe the store into taking it back (I’m pretty sure if they accept things back without receipt, it’s on “good faith”), then you’re increasing the store’s inventory and inflicting a very real cost on them. True, this one-time event is probably trivial. But if enough people do it, it’s no longer a trivial cost. Perhaps they factored this into their goodwill/without receipt return policy and figured out that the impact of the good will generated outweighs the cost of fraudulent returns, but we can’t know that.

My advice would be to “suck it up”, take it as a lesson that ebay has its risks, and donate the dress to a Good Will clothes drop box.
 
Somewhere someone bought that dress from that store (a branch thereof) - right? Well, then taking it back shouldn’t cause the store any significant problem. Especially since you have already bought the appropriate size of that dress (I assume you did that prior to realizing this one didn’t fit?), their inventory is actually essentially going to remain the same. From an inventory stand-point most stores willingly take returns on items purchased online. That could have the inventory issue that a PP brought up, but its something they do on a regular basis. I do that all the time - actually I’m getting ready to do it again here shortly. Its completely legit & moral.
 
I will call the manager. Actually after receiving the ebay dress that was too large, I found the same dress in my size, so I bought that one second. It’s the too large one from ebay I wanted to return.

It is possible to sell anything on ebay, but since I never have before, I don’t have a sales record history, it would be difficult to find a buyer, particularly if I have only one item to sell:D
 
OraLabora said:
A slight business spin here: goods in inventory have a cost attached to them and any business worthy of its name attempts to keep inventory at a minimum to reduce that cost.

It’s one thing to return an article purchased there because it doesn’t fit, is defective, etc. If it doesn’t fit, the inventory level just goes back up to what it was. If it’s defective, the store will get redress from the supplier.

But if you bought the article elsewhere and dupe the store into taking it back (I’m pretty sure if they accept things back without receipt, it’s on “good faith”), then you’re increasing the store’s inventory and inflicting a very real cost on them. True, this one-time event is probably trivial. But if enough people do it, it’s no longer a trivial cost. Perhaps they factored this into their goodwill/without receipt return policy and figured out that the impact of the good will generated outweighs the cost of fraudulent returns, but we can’t know that.

My advice would be to “suck it up”, take it as a lesson that ebay has its risks, and donate the dress to a Good Will clothes drop box.
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agree
 
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