'I came out on top': Guy charged $30 to exchange Christmas gift, refuses on principle, challenges policy and makes the store pay up

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Dec 24, 2023 8:00 AM EST

It takes a special kind of person to interpret a store's return policy as a suggestion and not a rule. I myself do not possess this quality. If I'm told to pay up, even if it's ridiculous, I often put my goodie two shoes on and cough up the money. This is not a quality of which I am proud, especially over the Holiday season when there are a lot of scams out there. In times like these, I wish I knew someone like this Redditor so he could stand up to the store manager on my behalf.

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/pettyrevenge subreddit by u/JP_Renardine, who shared what happened after his girlfriend bought him an oversized shoe for Christmas. This shouldn't have been a problem at all given that the shoe store was right near where they live. However, despite the fact that OP was able to exchange this shoe for the same model (just a different color), the cashier at the store insisted that he had to pay. Perhaps a normal customer would have just paid the difference, but OP couldn't give in. Keep scrolling below to see how he managed to get them to pay an albeit small difference instead. For more stories like this, check out this post about a construction worker's petty revenge on an entitled parent.

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  • 01
    r/pettyrevenge. Posted by u/JP_Renardine 20 hours ago So you want $30 to exchange my X-mas gift shoes and have a no return policy? My SO gifted me for early Christmas a pair of sneakers, of a certain brand with a basset hound. She bought them online and the size was way too big, I didn't even try them on. But the store is one block from my home, so no big deal, we went to have them exchanged.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 02
    The saleswoman looked at my shoes and invoice, checked the computer and said they didn't have them in my size, but they had the same model in other colors. I said no problem, I'll try them in blue. So she brought them, I put them on, and everything was fine. I told her I'd keep them on and put my old shoes in the box. And that's the end of it, right?
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 03
    Well, not so fast. She said there was a price difference. Because they have this exchange policy where they give you credit for the price you paid, but then charge you for the arbitrary "full" price of the shoes in the store, without any "discounts" they had. Actually, they did apply any discount you originally had, but only to the difference between the old and new price. Makes any sense?
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 04
    So I said, it's the same shoe. You offered me the same model, they cost exactly the same, they have the same discount, but now that I'm wearing them and almost out the door, you want to charge me $30 to exchange them?
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 05
    To make things worse, they have a no returns policy. Normally, I'd be I. A normal person would probably pay up and get it over with. What are you going to do, look like a deadbeat cheapskate in front of your SO and everybody in the store?
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 06
    But I had one last card up my sleeve. Because we bought them online, and in my country you're entitled by law to return any online purchase in the first 5 days, for no reason, no questions asked.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 07
    So I told her, "This is absurd. I can ask for a refund, get my money back and purchase them again for the same price." But she insisted that's the way the system worked. I wouldn't budge, so she got a little frustrated, and even complained that the online store was her competition. She gestured to me, "get your dirty shoes out of the box".
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 08
    I took the shoes off and left, and sent an online claim for a refund. Today they replied that I could send the shoes back on the mail, or I could return them to one of their stores. So... Of course I went back to the same store.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 09
    The saleswoman didn't seem to remember me. I asked to make the return and she asked why. I shrugged and said, "because of law # XXXX". She asked if there was a problem with the product, or with customer service, she might be worried I'd raise a stink with corporate, but I said "I think it's not a good idea to buy shoes or clothes online, it's better to try them on." So everything went smoothly, she entered my claim, I got my money back, and that was it.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 10
    You might think, is that all? You only got even. At most you escaped from an expensive anti- consumer trap. But you see, when they processed my return, they paid for my shipping back. That means they lost $4.57. So I win, I came out on top. Just for today, the mighty puppy loses.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 11
    My SO liked the shoes, so my last question was, should I now come back with the money and buy them again, to give closure to the Kafkian process? Well, I checked the online store and it seems that today, by complete coincidence, they have raised the price of the shoes to $150 (they hadn't when I first went, I had checked).
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 12
    It seems that my petty victory came at a cost. The dog said, "So you returned your shoes? Now you can't have them."
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 13
    We'll see about that. Nobody's buying that cheap for $150. I'm patient, I can wait. Then, when I finally get my feet into those otherwise unremarkable sneakers, every time I wear them I'll remember the day I not only escaped the bite of the hound, but I cost it all of five bucks. Then my revenge will be complete.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 14
    UPDATE: I forgot I had 2 points of taxes off, because it was an electronic payment. So if they refund the whole thing, I might even come $1.85 ahead.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 15
    1-8 bellebives 21 hr. ago Why didn't you just ask for a manager or call customer service while in the store? 167 Reply Share
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 16
    JP_Renardine OP. 21 hr. ago She was the manager. I later wrote to customer service and they told me I could return them in the store.
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 17
    In the ticket she gave me, the exchanges policy is printed, which is exactly what she told me: "F) When merchandise is exchanged, the current in-store discounts apply to the difference to pay with the list price."
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 18
    So, all of their products are "discounted" and have a fictitious higher price and the real price. If you need to exchange it, you have to pay a premium or get stuck with a shoe that doesn't fit you. 170 Reply Share
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 19
    Camo Cross 22 21 hr. ago . "She asked if there was a problem with the product, or with customer service" Funny YOU should mention that..
    via u/JP_Renardine
  • 20
    Still With SteelBikes. 13 hr. ago Delete your web history/cookies, or go visit the site via private browsing----have a feeling the cheaper price will reappear.
    via u/JP_Renardine

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christmas petty-revenge-reddit FAIL petty revenge petty scam reddit thread Reddit holidays happy holidays
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