Michala Karn wasn’t about to take any chances. Not on her dad.

As the McLouth resident scurried about Lawrence last week buying presents for friends and family – bouncing from Bath & Body Works to Hobbs, Borders, Signs of Life, The Buckle, Jock’s Nitch and Urban Outfitters – she refused to leave a checkout line without asking her most important question of the season:

What is your return policy?

“It’s different at each store,” said Karn, after bagging up a Jayhawk T-shirt – a large – for her father, who just may need a medium. “I just want to make sure I can return things. My dad’s not that big; he’s a runner. He’s not the average beer-belly guy.”

She wishes stores would make it simple for everyone and just print out an extra piece of return-enabling paper for each transaction.

“They should all have gift receipts,” said Karn, a freshman at Butler County Community College. “It’s just easier.”

Karn’s attention to detail could come in handy today, as her family and friends unwrap their gifts.

300 dpi 2 col x 7.5 in / 96x190 mm / 327x648 pixels Bob Helf color illustration of a holiday shopper with a re-gifted, messy package. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2004

KEYWORDS: holiday shopper regifting regift re^gift krtholiday holiday krtnational national krtworld world krtfeatures features krt comprar compras grabado illustration ilustracion mall navidad shop shopping christian krtreligion krtreligion krtxmas christmas xmas mw contributed coddington helf 2004 krt2004

Retail and consumer experts advise that folks holding unwanted, ill-fitting or otherwise certain-to-be-unused gifts should hurry and return them. That’s because many retailers are limiting the time frames for holiday returns, tightening restrictions for the condition of products being brought back and also outlining what can be returned for cash, store credit or exchange.

“Retailers have been adjusting their return policies on a semi-annual and annual basis just like their assortment of merchandise,” said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention at the National Retail Federation. “They don’t want to discourage business, but they need to control their assets (and limit abuse).”

‘It’s crazy’

At Jock’s Nitch, manager Ryan Owens said that his shop was relaxing its normal return policies, but emphasized that employees would be sticking to the rules, which are posted prominently on the checkout counter. People have until Jan. 8 – instead of the usual 14 days from date of purchase – to return holiday gifts for cash; after that, returns will bring only store credit.

All items must be returned with their original tags and cannot have been worn or used.

“It’s crazy right now, and we know that everybody’s as crazy as we are,” he said last week, during the height of the holiday shopping season. “But you have to have a return policy. You have to have rules.”

Best Buy also has extended its deadlines for returns. The retailer gives people until Jan. 24 to return items bought between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, relaxing its strict 30-day return period for many holiday shoppers. But the company remains stern on its 14-day return policy for computers and laptops.

“If you’re going to buy a laptop or computer, you want to buy it as close to Christmas as possible,” said Dawn Bryant, a spokeswomen for Best Buy.

Major retailers such as Costco, Nordstrom and Macy’s have more liberal return policies. They allow you to return any item any time, although Costco recently limited computer returns to six months. Catalog merchants such as L.L. Bean and Lands’ End require only that you have the original packaging slip, although you incur the cost of shipping the item back. (Lands’ End allows you to return merchandise to Sears stores.)

Dillard’s isn’t budging. The retailer requires that items be returned within 30 days of purchase in their original condition; people making returns must have the original receipt or a proof-of-purchase label.

Credit tightening

Some stores do permit returns without receipts, but such returns can be costly.

Without the original receipt, or a gift receipt, a shirt bought for $45 might be worth only $20 in store credit after Christmas. That’s because many stores make drastic markdowns on prices, and – without the paper to back them up – customers aren’t able to prove that their gift-giver paid full price.

Stores that do offer store credit without a receipt often give the customer credit for the lowest price the item has sold for during the season.

Target offers gift receipts with every sale, but a store clerk can look up most purchases made by credit card, debit card, Target GiftCard or check, in its system within 90 days of purchase. A customer without a receipt may exchange the merchandise only for a similar item in the same department.

Target clerks ask for identification when processing returns and limit people in the number of exchanges made without a receipt. Like Target, other big retailers now use software to track return behavior and reject people who seek refunds too often.

Packaging payoff

Customers tearing open gifts this morning also might want to stop short of opening the packaging and containers themselves. Some retailers refuse to accept returns on products whose wrappers have been removed. Others charge a restocking, usually about 15 percent, on certain products if the packaging is opened, unless the item is defective.

Online retailer Amazon.com has an online Returns Center to guide people through the returns process. Amazon offers only partial refunds for items opened or returned after Jan. 31; the customer also must cover postage, in most cases.

Gift cards come with their own complications for returns. Most stores decline taking back gift cards, although some are willing to refund a small amount, typically $5 or less.

The National Retail Federation notes that the rise in the popularity of gift cards also has lessened demands for returns. A federation survey released this month showed that 66 percent never made a return during the 2004 holiday season, a number LaRocca attributed, in part, to the proliferation of gift cards.

Count Hallie Watson among the nonreturnables. As she shopped with Karn, her friend and fellow McLouth resident, last week in Lawrence, she cringed when talk turned to exchanges and other potentially messy retail matters.

“I don’t return anything,” said Watson, a freshman at Kansas State University. “I don’t want anyone to feel bad.”

– Journal-World wire services contributed information for this story.