Why do stores throw away returns?

"If it costs more to process an item and get it to sell in another channel than it does to throw it away, then they throw it away," Optoro CEO Tobin Moore told Insider. Not all retailers are environmentally focused, "so things end up being thrown away because of the cost," he said.
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Do stores throw out returned items?

Yes, you read that right. When you return clothes, the manufacturers don't just dust them off and put them back up for sale. In far too many cases, apparel returns find their way to landfills.
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What happens to the stuff you return to stores?

“The vast majority of returns never make it back to the shelves – they end up at a liquidation sale, where you can buy a truckload of TVs for $2,000,” says Piller, “or they go to a landfill, where 40% of returns end up.”
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What do big stores do with returned items?

Because it's so time and labor-intensive to sift through returns, many retailers sell them to third-party sellers: liquidators. Everyone from publicly traded companies to individuals working out of their garages play the liquidation game. And the industry is growing beyond household names like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
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Does Target throw away returned items?

Major retailers like Target don't want to spend the man-hours or incur the costs associated with inspecting returned goods, restocking, and reselling them. Instead, they liquidate returned merchandise along with overstock in online liquidation auctions.
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What happens to the stuff you return to stores?

Does Walmart throw away returned items?

No, some items that are returned with package not opened or tampered with are returned to stock. All food products are destroyed. Undergarments are cut and destroyed unless the packaging is intact. All other returned items are sent to the Walmart Claims Dept and written off.
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Why do retail stores throw away merchandise?

Certain companies throw out items because of flaws anyone else would overlook—or just because overstocked items didn't sell. This means that a store's loss can be a dumpster diver's gain.
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What stores do not want returns?

In some cases, it doesn't make financial sense to process the return, especially for small purchases. Walmart, Target, and Amazon are some of the major brands that offer so-called returnless refunds.
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What is the most commonly returned item?

Apparel, footwear, and accessories

It likely comes as no surprise that apparel has the highest return rate among online purchases, with an average return rate of 26%, closely followed by bags & accessories (19%), shoes (18%), and other accessories (13%).
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Do stores track how much you return?

Yes, they do. It's part of the inventory system, and also part of the accounting system. Stores want to know what they have in stock and how much money was received or paid out. Databases make this easier, but it's not foolproof, which is why you'll see retail employees doing “inventory” every now and again.
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What is return abuse?

Refund abuse (aka. returns abuse) occurs when a customer uses the returns policy of a merchant so much that it becomes unprofitable. Returns are a financial strain for many retailers, costing them on average nearly 60% of the item's original sales price.
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Is it legal for a store not to accept returns?

No state or federal law requires retailers to refund your money if you change your mind about a product. Instead, many retailers voluntarily accept returns as part of their business practices.
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How much money do stores lose on returns?

Once seen as an unavoidable cost to the business, now they are viewed as an expense to be managed like any other. In the U.S. alone, retailers lost an estimated $816 billion in revenue as a result of consumers returning 16.5% of merchandise purchases, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
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Does Home Depot throw away returned items?

What does Home Depot do with returned items? Some goes back on the shelves, some get returned to the manufacturer, some get placed on the discount rack and the rest goes to the dumpster. You can find some interesting items in their dumpsters.
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Do clothing stores throw away returned clothes?

Most clothes, instead of just going back on the shelves, are simply thrown in the landfill. Companies have to determine whether the cost of repackaging, shipping and assessing the items is worth the potential profit. Additionally, many companies often do not have personnel dedicated to these specific jobs.
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Does Amazon lose money on returns?

The refund represents a direct financial loss for Amazon as they are returning the money to the customer. Return Shipping Costs: In some cases, Amazon may bear the cost of return shipping, especially if the return is due to a fault or error on their part.
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What is the least returned item?

Food and grocery items: Perishable items such as food and groceries generally have low return rates because they have a limited shelf life and cannot be resold.
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What items have the least returns?

There are some categories that see a low return rate on the whole. For example, book, games, music, and movies are not returned very often because buyers already know exactly what they are getting when they order these items. Some returns can happen due to the goods, like books, getting damaged during transport.
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What percentage of returned items are thrown away?

Experts estimate that retailers throw away about a quarter of their returns. Returns and resale company Optoro estimates that every year, U.S. returns create almost 6 billion pounds of landfill waste.
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What store has the most generous return policy?

Stores with some of the best return policies
  • Nordstrom. Nordstrom says it handles returns on a case-by-case basis "with the ultimate goal of making our customers happy." In other words, if you bought the item at Nordstrom, the high-end retailer probably will take it back and reimburse you. ...
  • Kohl's. ...
  • Walmart. ...
  • Home Depot. ...
  • Ikea.
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What items does Amazon not want returned?

Others
  • Any product missing the serial number or UPC.
  • Amazon Fresh and Grocery Products.
  • Items with special shipping restrictions.
  • Live insects.
  • Some jewelry orders.
  • Some health and personal care orders.
  • Customized products.
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What items Cannot be returned to Target?

The following items cannot be returned:
  • Trading cards & trading card accessories (e.g., Pokemon, Sport cards, trading card binders)
  • Open or defective collectibles (e.g., special edition Barbie dolls, porcelain dolls, action figures and die-cast cars)
  • Personalized items and digital downloads.
  • Opened/unsealed breast pumps.
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What does Marshalls do with unsold merchandise?

The stuff is unworn and in fine condition for purchase, especially shirts and trousers. Marshalls stores have donated unsold merchandise because they can write off the retail value as opposed to selling it at a loss to make space for new merchandise.
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Where do all the unsold clothes go?

Others will send the clothes to their own outlet stores. Or sometimes the fabric is recycled to make new clothes. Unfortunately, it's not all good. A lot of stores actually dispose. or destroy their unsold inventory, which means the clothes will get sent to landfills. or literally be burned.
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What does Walmart do with unsold merchandise?

Since we hate waste, we always look for the highest-value purpose for unsold goods. If they are usable, that usually means donating them for charitable purposes.
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