Requesting a gift receipt in a shower invite... & Return policy isssues!
CMattus
member
My friend recently had a baby and did her entire registry through Babies r Us. She registered for a ton of newborn stuff (diapers, onesies, etc.), a breast pump and all breastfeeding accessories. She ended up having a large baby and none of the newborn stuff fit (except for maybe 2 weeks) and she was unable to breastfeed.
Even though everything was off her registry, she tried to return many items and was unable to! She was told over & over again that she had to have a receipt to make returns and also that returns have to be made within 90 days - so think about this timeline when planning a shower! You may want to make sure it is 2 or less months before your due date so if anything needs to returned post-partum, you can.
So... I would like to include a note in my shower invite to request gift receipts. I don't want to be rude, but it would be horrible if someone bought my expensive breast pump and I could never use nor return it! A waste of money!
Does anyone have ideas as to how I can (politely) ask for gift receipts? Maybe a poem?? haha...
Re: Requesting a gift receipt in a shower invite... & Return policy isssues!
Yes. My cousin left her baby shower with the gifts saying "Now I'll have enough money for the security deposit on my apartment." That's what I would think.
I would give something that could not be returned.
If you create a registry--think about what you may/may not use in a VARIETY of situations. Perhaps that MTB should not have registered for so many newborn things. (you can wear 0-3 mo onesies even if they are big...) Or waited on the breast pump, or whatever... Register for more things for the first year or two.
This! If I saw that I'd either decline the invitation or bring a gift that can't be returned (something hand made for example).
If she absolutely can't use the items or return them, and they're still in the packaging or unused you should suggest to your friend that she sell them through a consignment store or Craigslist. She won't get full value for the items but if there's no way she can use them and needs other things it's probably her best alternative.
Most of the time people will tell you, "If that doesn't work or you don't like it then let me know, and i'll give you the reciept." At least they did at my shower. And if they don't say that then just try to sell it on craigslist or something.
I agree with everyone else that there is no way to say that.
I just made a return to Toys R us with no receipt of any kind. They gave me a gift card good at Toys R Us or Babies R Us in the amount of the item. I am assuming that Babies R Us would do the same (as the gift card had the names of both stores on it.) If that is correct then I don't see a problem. You can return the item and get store credit. I think that when you have a newborn there has to be SOMETHING that you will need at Babies R Us. Diapers? Wipes? Crib sheets? I have long since stopped expecting cash back when returning a registry gift. I don't think any stores do that anymore.
There is no polite way to ask. If you're that concerned that some items may not be used in time, return them early, and re-purchase them later if you think you'll really need them. I ended up with some items I really didn't like (some dirty, new, unsafe looking stroller toys) with no gift receipt off-registry. Have yet to find a store to accept them. I'll just end up donating them. I still wrote the gift-giver a nice Thank You card, regardless.
Most people *do* include gift receipts, from my experience.
Also, some stores have longer return policies. Diapers.com accepts unopened items a full year after purchase!
BFP 4-19-11. Ezri Ana born on due date, Dec 30 2011!
My Ovulation Chart
There are lots of baby shower related requests that I've seen on here that I would never have made myself- books instead of cards, diaper raffles, wishing wells etc.- but I would still attend the shower with a gift.
If I received an invitation to a shower requesting gift receipts I would seriously be offended enough to not attend the shower, even for someone I'm close to. There is really no polite way to do this.
I think you're nuts. How the hell would there be a polite way to request gift receipts?? I'm shocked you're trying to rationalize this.
Why don't you just ask for gift cards so you won't have to deal with that potential hassle?
It is rude to ask/tell or in any way dictate what your guests get for you, or how they give it. It is a GIFT FFS. Say thank you and then make the best of the situation.
ETA: I agree 100% with the above PP. Your friend isn't telling you part of the story, because BRU gives store credit for things like that. My guess is that she was trying to get cash back.
Ya...I'm thinking your friend was trying to get cash back. They will do store credit even without a receipt and it wouldn't matter "how long" it took for her to return it. I think there is more to her story.
BTW...it is rude to ask for gift receipts. People will think you want to return things you haven't even gotten yet.
OP, that's your friend's fault for registering for tons of newborn stuff. Most babies are barely in newborn. Ours grew out of newborn sized within 2 weeks. We did not register for anything in newborn sizes, and were given maybe 3 newborn sized outfits.
As everyone else said, there is no polite way to ask for a gift receipt without looking very rude.
Moral of the store is don't put stuff on your registry that you're not absolutely sure that you'd want. We purchased our pump shortly before the baby was born, so that I could return it unopened within the return period if breastfeeding didn't work out for us.
It's your own responsibility to handle this kind of stuff.
Exactly. I never understand why people expect cash back for something they didn't buy themselves. Like PPs said, it's a GIFT.
Also, just because you can't use an item for this baby doesn't mean you can't use it for the next baby(s)- if you choose to have more. So, that is something to keep in mind. Just save it for the next. If you can't do that then either return them for gift cards, sell them, or donate them. Yet another option would be to re-gift the new/un-used items if you have a friend/family member having a baby (normally I am not a fan of re-gifting, but if it is new, unopened, and unused then I don't really see the problem).
Thanks ladies!!! I decicded that I'm deleting the breast pump and all other breastfeeding accessories and will seriously limit the newborn items. I guess if I end up having too much, I can always donate it!
I didn't even realize you could rent a breast pump... this sounds way better than purchasing one anyway!!!
I appreciate the input!
(and yeah, I think its rude to request a gift receipt too... I was just trying to avoid serious registry issues... problem solved.)
I made returns to Target and Babies R Us both with no receipts. If you didn't have a reciept, you got a gift card.
If there's something you need to return and you get hassled, call that person individually and explain why.
If you knew it was rude, then why did you ask us?
This times a 1000!!!!
Not everyone knows/remembers to bring the registry list to have the cashier scan it upon payment so many times it won't show up as purchased on your registry. Some registries, such as BRU and Target allow you to edit this part of your registry so you can check those off yourself once you recieve that item, which makes for eaiser exchanges later on. For other registries, you might be able to call customer service and have that done for you over the phone, but some won't do that if you don't have any type of proof of purchase. With that said, I feel for your friend, but you can't ask for gift reciepts on your invite b/c that's beyond tacky and will offend your guests. My only advice to you is to have fun at your shower and when that's said and done, go home, get some rest, and get to work the next day on checking your registry. See if what you got matches up w/the list of "purchased items" on your registry. If not, try what I said above, but hopefully you won't need to do that.
I agree with the others. Do not request this. Most people don't register for newborn stuff because the kid might be big. You want the kid to have something to wear right away, but you can get maybe 2 newborn outfits and then buy more online yourself if needed (our son was so small he wore those for like 2 mo...and he only had 3 or so outfits we bought all ourselves...everyone was afraid of getting him newborn stuff that he might grow out of.)
Almost everyone is able to breastfeed so it's not that big of a risk to get a pump. That being said, if you're worried about it, buy the pump yourself after the fact. That's what we did, but only because no one bought it for us off of the registry. It's probably the item that is least often bought by shower guests, because it's really expensive and it's not cute/fun like clothes. Plus a lot of people are skeeved out by breast-related stuff. So probably it won't be bought anyway.
You can always regift or donate things you can't use. You definitely should not request receipts. Also, people might include them anyway so it's not big deal. Most of my guests did (and we didn't return anything, even when two guests bought us the same outfit...we thought it was cute so we figured the more the merrier.)
I also see this as an issue...
When I got married Target's return policy on the registery said if it was on the registery it was the same as having a receipt. My first wedding shower I received 3 of the same blenders they all showed up on the registery it also showed I only registered for one. First off that is super embarrasing as they all checked the registery list and the software clearly didn't work. Target would only only refund up to $100 on my registery without a real receipt, even though it was clearly stated different on the wall behind the registery. There were also multiple other issues and I could not return other multiple duplicate items unless I had a receipt. I think going back and asking for a receipt, like Target recommend that I do, is way more tacky.
I know you may think it's tacky to ask for a gift receipt, but you may want to ask that the person throwing the shower for you to mention it to your guests. I would personally recommend to be VERY CAREFUL of the TARGET registery.
They have since changed their return policies and they are now posted stricter.