Time to unload those unwanted gifts. Here's how to get stores to cooperate. Stores have tightened policies so returning is harder. It is the season to head back to the stores - to return that chartreuse sweater, or the Celine Dion compact disc you got in triplicate. But don't expect to breeze in and out of the mall.
Stores mark down items after the holidays.
Show up without a receipt on the second or third price cut and you may get only a fraction of what the giver paid. Keep the packaging. Sending back an item in the box in which it originally was shipped is the key to smooth mail-order and Internet returns. In some cases, no box means a missing-carton fee. CompUSA, for example, charges a 15 percent fee on any item returned without the box.