(WHTM) — A caution before you do your holiday shopping online: a growing number of retailers have quietly started charging money for returns as a result of the high price of shipping.
For years, online shoppers have become used to the words “free shipping” and “free returns.” But as shipping costs soar, many stores this year are dropping that second offer and now charging a fee to return merchandise.
According to GOBankingRates, you will now find return fees at:
- Abercombie: $7
- Dillards: $9
- DSW Shoes: $8
- JCPenney: $8
- J. Crew: $7
H&M is testing return fees, the report says. One way to avoid them is to bring your returns to a local store where you won’t have to pay any fee. Stores love that because you usually buy something else while you are in the store.
But from the doesn’t that stink file: How many returns are costing retailers and the rest of us? Business Insider says a return can cost a company $20…as much as the cost of the returned item. Returns are costing stores hundreds of millions of dollars a year, costs that are often passed along to shoppers through higher prices. And that stinks.
So if you are someone who orders things in multiple sizes, planning to return several of them, check for return fees so you don’t waste your money.
