Product return

[1] Some retailers charge a restocking fee for non-defective returned merchandise, but typically only if the packaging has been opened.

These include a change of one's mind (buyer's remorse), quality of the merchandise, personal dissatisfaction, or a mistaken purchase of the wrong product.

[5] US shoppers returned $396 billion worth of purchases in 2018 – brick-and-mortar and online, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

[8] In the United States, various abuses using the return process allegedly cost retailers more than $9 billion annually.

Examples include an article of clothing worn for a single occasion, or a book that is returned after it has been read.

Many stores also refuse to refund certain items like reading materials, inflatable airbeds (Target and Walmart), and even portable heaters (Dollar General).

In the process, they essentially receive the item for free, and may be charged with shoplifting or another similar crime if caught.

Scanning the receipt's barcode at the cash register links legitimate returns to a database that validates the original purchase.