7 Ways to Return Anything

Learn how to make even the hardest returns hassle-free.

Swipe It or Type It 

If there’s even a slight chance you might return an item, don’t pay for it in cash. “Use a credit or debit card. It creates an electronic record of a payment, and it may make it possible to track your purchase if you lose the receipt,” says Omar Jackson, a department manager for Lowe’s in Garden City, New York. For e-commerce payments, PayPal offers similar protection, according to Constance White, style director for eBay. Some retailers can also track purchases with various computerized customer-profile systems by using a customer’s name and address or scanning tickets on the merchandise.