The season of returning

BOWLING GREEN, Ky-After a week of gift-giving, retailers are getting ready for some days of gift-returning. If you’re one of those customers needing to return something you found in your stocking, make sure you do your homework to make the process as easy as possible.

Having a receipt and at least the bar-code on the item you’re needing to return makes for the smoothest process. Many retailers require a receipt in order to receive cash. And even with the receipt, if the item was originally bought with a credit card, you may receive a store credit for the value of that item if you don’t have the credit card with you.

Without a receipt, retailers usually give a refund valued at the lowest selling price of that item in the last few weeks.

At J.C. Penney, returning an item without a receipt means you usually get the value of the lowest selling price for the item from the past 45 days. At Kohl’s, not having a receipt means you’ll receive a refund for the lowest price of that item from the past 13 weeks.

Many stores post their return and refund policies on their websites and if you think you have a special case, making a phone call before you head out to the stores can save a wasted trip.