any idea on exchange item WITHOUT bill? (bestbuy)

I got a car stereo from a relative as a gift; but I really do not need it.

Any idea/chance I can do an exchange at Bestbuy without a bill?

All I have is the unopened product and a bestbuy bag...

I've done it once - so it's likely possible. Was very less than impressed with the process though. One store gave me alot of hassles and attitude, eventually turning me away saying they couldn't do it at all. The second store I tried didn't seem happy about doing it, gave me some hassles, but eventually did it anyway.

Without a receipt you should be able to get store credit. The hassle they gave me was the most ridiculous thing I've ever experienced from a chain store like BestBuy. Especially after calling the first store in advance, telling them my situation and was told it would be okay and that I'd only get store credit. Everyone else has that same policy - no questions asked. Yet they gave me attitude and chastised me as a customer.

Anyways... they will try to look up the purchase information before they are even willing to give you store credit. Asking you questions such as date of purchase (must be within 30 days), how you paid for it, the buyer's complete information, etc. Essentially, you have to try and 'prove' that it was bought from them in the first place. If they press you to ask the buyer to come back for the store credit, just tell them it was a going away present and they're not longer in the country. Basically it felt like I had to cut them off on every angle they tried to take so that they wouldn't have to give me store credit. Absolutely absurd.

Good Luck....

I've found that if is something shrinkwrapped, Bestbuy usually has no issues with giving store credit. Otherwise you may have issues as desribed above.

print out your credit card statement.

Originally Posted by Roninvancouver

I got a car stereo from a relative as a gift; but I really do not need it.

Any idea/chance I can do an exchange at Bestbuy without a bill?

All I have is the unopened product and a bestbuy bag...

I couldn't help you with that, sorry.

Originally Posted by andrewemilio

I couldn't help you with that, sorry.

lol, then why bother posting?

The item I was returning was unopened and factory sealed - yet I had my posted hassles.

Originally Posted by Kevinck

I've found that if is something shrinkwrapped, Bestbuy usually has no issues with giving store credit. Otherwise you may have issues as desribed above.

The Best Buy in Markham gives people a really hard time ... FYI

Edit ... BUT ... since you're not in Toronto ... you can disregard anything that I said

rofl, that's the same store that gave me hassles and turned me away when I tried to return my unopenned factory sealed item!!

Originally Posted by talktwo

The Best Buy in Markham gives people a really hard time ... FYI

Edit ... BUT ... since you're not in Toronto ... you can disregard anything that I said

well if you think about it, its pretty logical why they wont take returns/store credit without a reciept even with factory sealed boxes...

who's to say you didnt just grab one off the shelf, brought it to the counter, and said it didnt work out and you wanted store credit? or that you stole it from antoher store, and went to the store to return it for store credit?

Originally Posted by Cafe_333

rofl, that's the same store that gave me hassles and turned me away when I tried to return my unopenned factory sealed item!!

Hahaha what are the odds of that eh Cafe_333 hehe

Ya, I tried to return a camcorder that was in its box untouched, I just never got around to using it ... so on the 29th day, I went to return it ... they gave me a hard time about why I was returning it so late etc etc. I told them the reason, they said why don't I keep it for a couple days more ... I told them that it would be over their policy. Then they went into why don't I get another one, or why don't I return it, then buy it again. On top of that, they kept looking at each other, then giving me dirty looks.

You just gotta stand your ground and be firm.

sonick: Every other store policy I've seen gives store credit no questions asked when you don't have a receipt. No idea why bestbuy is that tight. In any case, I walked into the store with the box in hand and the guy at the front put a sticker on it when I told him it was for return - and still I got hassles. I don't know, maybe perhaps they won't give store credit if you didn't have one of those stickers. And there are store cameras to confirm anything. The onus is on them to prove if I did steal and tried scamming from them. Anyway, I think they should stick the returns counter right by the entrance like everyone else does.

talktwo: i think i did try to stand as much ground as I could, but they just kept telling me there's no way they can enter it into the system because it keeps asking them for a receipt number and I didn't have one for them to input, and that there's no way to bypass that part of the screen. What a load of crap, but from now on I'm only going to deal with the one at Scarbourgh Town; they gave me only a bit of hassle and eventually took the return.

Originally Posted by sonick

well if you think about it, its pretty logical why they wont take returns/store credit without a reciept even with factory sealed boxes...

who's to say you didnt just grab one off the shelf, brought it to the counter, and said it didnt work out and you wanted store credit? or that you stole it from antoher store, and went to the store to return it for store credit?

Lately I've noticed that the UPC code is not part of the box on a lot of electronics items. It's a sticker that also includes bar codes for the serial number which is also scanned at time of purchase. This prevents the theft you describe above where someone can grab one off the shelf and try to return it for store credit.

Of course not everything is going to get this kind of treatment but it helps with the big ticket items.

Originally Posted by talktwo

The Best Buy in Markham gives people a really hard time ... FYI

Yeah, not the easiest bunch to deal with.

Originally Posted by sonick

who's to say you didnt just grab one off the shelf, brought it to the counter, and said it didnt work out and you wanted store credit? or that you stole it from antoher store, and went to the store to return it for store credit?

Who's to say you can't do that with a valid receipt, effectively getting the item for free but easing your "refund"?

Originally Posted by Kevinck

Lately I've noticed that the UPC code is not part of the box on a lot of electronics items. It's a sticker that also includes bar codes for the serial number which is also scanned at time of purchase. This prevents the theft you describe above where someone can grab one off the shelf and try to return it for store credit.

Of course not everything is going to get this kind of treatment but it helps with the big ticket items.

Yep, but stores can still get nickel-and-dimed to death unless they plan on changing it for everything...

buy your stuff from walmart, they have the best return policy imho, too bad their electronics selection is kind of limited. btw, do they pricematch?