Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

Wow! Does that apply to all purchases? I suspect that biz is as bad as
it can get, and paying folks for putting stuff back on the shelf, rather
than selling it, would hurt. Not that I approve )

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

According to my local HD, the only restocking fee they will charge is a 15%
restocking fee on special order items. Other items purchased in the store
have no restocking fee.

Jon

Red wrote:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

I was under the impression they've been doing that for some time, I've seen
it on receipts before. I go to Hell Depot last, simply because it's so
difficult finding an employee who is capable of or interested in being
helpful. We have a terrific family-owned hardware store nearby (talk about
endangered species) and several independent or chain home-improvement stores
other than HD, so I can usually stay out of there for months on end. They
could easily get my business just by staffing the place with people who give
a damn, but they seem to have little interest in making shopping there a
pleasant experience. Oddly enough there is a new HD across town that is
full of helpful employees, maybe the management of some stores is a little
smarter.

On Oct 6, 12:12*pm, Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. *The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. *The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. *Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. *They've now lost my
business.

Red

Not that I know if this is relevant in this instance, but over the
last few years I've seen reports of retailers starting to track
customers with higher than usual return numbers. In some instances
they are then taking specific action to compensate for those
customers. Do you have a large amount of returns at HD? Could that be
it?

On Oct 6, 12:41 pm, "
wrote:

Wow! Does that apply to all purchases? I suspect that biz is as bad as
it can get, and paying folks for putting stuff back on the shelf, rather
than selling it, would hurt. Not that I approve )

Andy comments:

There's a trick to getting good advice from someone in HD, and I'll
share it
with you...

Stand close to the item you want help with, and wait till another
customer,
who is dressed WORSE than you are, starts looking in that area.. They
are
the people to ask, since they obviously have been working with their
hands
more than yourself, and certainly more than HD salespeople.
Furthermore,
they don't have cell phones that ring and send them on their way while
answering your question.

Sometimes, you just gotta think it thru...

Andy in Eureka, Texas

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

I find it simply incredible folks want the absolute rock-bottom cheapest
initial price and still think that owes them the "right" to take stuff
home, let it lay around a construction site for a month or two and then
take the culls back for full credit/refund. Often I even see folks take
tools for a weekend job, use them, then claim some "defect" and return
them...

But, as for HD policy,

Our Store Return Policy
Our Store Return Policy Basics

Returns within 90 days of purchase and with a valid sales receipt
will be exchanged, refunded in cash, credited to your account or
refunded via The Home Depot store credit.

Return and Product Exceptions

- Purchases made with store credit, gift certificates and gift cards
will be refunded as store credit. Store credits cannot be used to
purchase gift cards.
- Gasoline-powered equipment may be returned within 30 days of
purchase with a valid sales receipt. After 30 days, item may be sent out
for repair at the customer's expense, unless covered under warranty.

Sorry, Returns Not Available on the Following Products:
-Custom made products and custom tinted paint
-Gift cards, gift certificates and store credits
-Utility trailers

-Special Order returns are subject to 15% restocking fee.
Cancellations may be subject to 15% restocking fee.**

...

**See Special Services Desk at your local store for details.

Nothing about 10%; I'd suggest asking local store management about what
the deal is specifically if it's that bothersome but my real suggestion
is as above--you buy it; it's yours unless there is an actual defect.
Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???

--

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:22 -0500, against all advice, something
compelled dpb , to say:

Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???


I bought a garage door opener from them. On the box it said that
if my door was taller than some measure, I'd need a rail
extension. I didn't know the dimensions of my door, so I bought
the extension, figuring that if I didn't need it I'd bring it
back.

I didn't, and they accepted it with a refund and a smile.




--

Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will
have to ram it down their throats.
- Howard Aiken

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:12:06 -0700, Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Interesting. Is that just for a pure refund, or also applies for a store
credit / return when also buying something of equal or more value? Does it
apply to faulty items, or just ones bought by mistake?

I've just checked my latest HD receipt from last Sunday and there's no
refund value stated - just says there's a 90 day return policy and that
HD has the right to limit/deny returns. Maybe it's not in all stores yet,
or they're trying it out at a few stores to see how the public take it...

cheers

Jules

Steve Daniels wrote:
On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:22 -0500, against all advice, something
compelled dpb , to say:

Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???


I bought a garage door opener from them. On the box it said that
if my door was taller than some measure, I'd need a rail
extension. I didn't know the dimensions of my door, so I bought
the extension, figuring that if I didn't need it I'd bring it
back.

I didn't, and they accepted it with a refund and a smile.




When we began plans to remodel our kitchen, we went to HD. Selected
cabinets and counter tops, signed the paperwork for design. $100
deposit. The sub who does the measuring came out, measured the kitchen.
When we next went in to speak with the kitchen planner, she told us
there was a problem with the drawings. One wall went off on a wild
slant, obviously either an error in measuring or perhaps entering
figures in the computer. The room is rectangular and assumed 90o angles
at corners. She didn't suggest any solution, which really bothered
me...it would have taken a few to just contact whoever did the measuring
and get the plan corrected. Because she didn't suggest a resolution,
there was no way we would have proceeded...figured the $100 was a
cheaper way of finding out they did lousy work than to find out after
the full cost was incurred. We didn't ask for the deposit back. About
a month later, we were in the store for a small purchase, she saw us and
flagged us down - she wondered if we wanted our deposit back and
insisted we take it. Strange experience.

On Oct 6, 1:12*pm, Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. *The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. *The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. *Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. *They've now lost my
business.

Red

I think thats pretty normal... The local lumber yard here does the
same thing...
Imagine a couple of 2x4 studs sitting out all summer long before
finally warping to the point of no return and then being brought back
for full price.. Whats HD or any lumber yard to do with them?

and what are you doing buying wood at HD anyway? A lumberyard will
have better stock, more knowledgeable people, and get you out the door
for a fair price.

Zephyr wrote:

Imagine a couple of 2x4 studs sitting out all summer long before
finally warping to the point of no return and then being brought back
for full price.. Whats HD or any lumber yard to do with them?


All the 2x4's I've purchased at my local HD come pre-warped.
No need to stack them outdoors at the building site until they get just
the right twist...

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

I also noticed a deterioration in HD service. Someone recently said
it's the only store where clerks run and hide from you

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:41:40 -0400, Steve Stone wrote:
All the 2x4's I've purchased at my local HD come pre-warped.

I've not had a problem with the treated stuff, TBH. The untreated's a bit
of a nightmare though, half of what they have in the stack is junk - but
then I suppose at least they let you sort through it to get the good
ones. I think if I was buying untreated in any quantity I would just go
to a proper lumber yard.

cheers

Jules

Frank wrote:

I also noticed a deterioration in HD service. Someone recently said
it's the only store where clerks run and hide from you

One of the HDs here does the opposite - you can't get out of the store
without a dozen clueless "associates" trying to "help" you.

Whatever happened to asking for help when you need it, otherwise expecting
to be left alone?

Jon

Steve Stone wrote in -
september.org:

Zephyr wrote:

Imagine a couple of 2x4 studs sitting out all summer long before
finally warping to the point of no return and then being brought back
for full price.. Whats HD or any lumber yard to do with them?


All the 2x4's I've purchased at my local HD come pre-warped.
No need to stack them outdoors at the building site until they get just
the right twist...


Why would they accept a return on products after "all summer long" ??
AFAIK,most stores have a 30 day return policy.

and wood should fall into a special category.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.


*I've seen that whenever I use a discount card from them, but never when I
pay full price.

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday.

Interesting because all our local HD store has is motorcycles. :-)

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:31:31 -0400, wrote:

I was sitting on the floor at HD going through the boxes of mis-sorted
electrical connectors looking for the last one I needed when an
"associate" walked by and said (I swear) "That's why we call it a do
it yourself store. If you want to find something DO IT YOURSELF"
(South Ft Myers Fla)

Next time it happens, asked the "associate" whom Lee County was named
after!

If they get that correct ask if they know where the Confederate
memorial is located.

IGot2P wrote:
Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday.

Interesting because all our local HD store has is motorcycles. :-)

Groan.

wrote:
On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:22 -0500, dpb wrote:

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.
I find it simply incredible folks want the absolute rock-bottom cheapest
initial price and still think that owes them the "right" to take stuff
home, let it lay around a construction site for a month or two and then
take the culls back for full credit/refund. Often I even see folks take
tools for a weekend job, use them, then claim some "defect" and return
them...

But, as for HD policy,

Our Store Return Policy
Our Store Return Policy Basics

Returns within 90 days of purchase and with a valid sales receipt
will be exchanged, refunded in cash, credited to your account or
refunded via The Home Depot store credit.

Return and Product Exceptions

- Purchases made with store credit, gift certificates and gift cards
will be refunded as store credit. Store credits cannot be used to
purchase gift cards.
- Gasoline-powered equipment may be returned within 30 days of
purchase with a valid sales receipt. After 30 days, item may be sent out
for repair at the customer's expense, unless covered under warranty.

Sorry, Returns Not Available on the Following Products:
-Custom made products and custom tinted paint
-Gift cards, gift certificates and store credits
-Utility trailers

-Special Order returns are subject to 15% restocking fee.
Cancellations may be subject to 15% restocking fee.**
...
**See Special Services Desk at your local store for details.
Nothing about 10%; I'd suggest asking local store management about what
the deal is specifically if it's that bothersome but my real suggestion
is as above--you buy it; it's yours unless there is an actual defect.
Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???

The point is that when building something, it can be difficult to
estimate exactly how much of certain items you may need. An extra roll
of felt, an extra box of nails, 20 extra pavers, a couple of pipes and
fittings. It is a long standing custom with places that sell building
supplies that many jobs will have some returns at the end. It has
always been considered part of the deal, and not some kind of devious
behavior.



Closest thing I've seen to a correct answer in this thread. That is the
way it worked when I was a wee boy- for regular customers, raw stock in
resalable condition was taken back with no fee, and special order stuff
was a 10 or 15 per cent restock charge, which I have absolutely no
heartburn with. Makes me do my homework up front. IMHO, tools and such,
and 'decor' frou-frou, should only be returnable if defective. (My
sister proudly told me she buys BIL's clothes that way online- shotgun
purchase on styles and sizes, and returns half of it.) I dearly wish
there WAS a ma'n'pa traditional lumberyard near here. The only survivors
had to morph into boutique door and window shops, or custom trim mills.
Rest of them went belly up when the chains moved in.

--
aem sends...

My typical trips into the store average 3 or 4 MIHU
contacts. Many of the workers look like retirement age, and
actually know their trade.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jon Danniken" wrote in
message ...

One of the HDs here does the opposite - you can't get out of
the store
without a dozen clueless "associates" trying to "help" you.

Whatever happened to asking for help when you need it,
otherwise expecting
to be left alone?

Jon

On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 10:57:36 -0700, "DGDevin"
wrote:

We have a terrific family-owned hardware store nearby (talk about
endangered species)

We have one in Baltimore, too. Clark's Ace Harware in Ellicott City,
8 miles west of the beltway, but I live as far west as the beltway.
They have loads of stuff, and they repair window screens and do lots
of other things too.

I was impressed by how much they had, and I wanted to say so, so I
asked if the manager was around, and the floor clerk said "Mr. Clark
is over there." I think he is in his 70's and he comes to work every
day.

Sometimes their prices are as low as on-line, and they have loads of
stuff. I'm running out of PC-7 and HD and Lowes only sell little 4
oz. sizes. They have the two 4-oz cans I always buy, and two 8-oz
cans as well.

HD and Lowes didn't have a single square U-bolt. They had 11 sizes.
(to attach a window spanner to a ladder, for more stability.)

I wanted metal-clad 6 foot washing machine hoses and they had them,
two kinds, with bent end and straight end, and other lengths. HD only
had 4 foot long.

Other things they have had that HD doesn't sell.

I also needed a motion detector, light-detecting floodlight, and HD
had them, but Lowes only had the ones one level cheaper. I forget what
feature, that I needed, was missing. I ended up buying two of them at
a surplus/leftover store, Ollies, a brand I'd never heard of but it
was 15 dollars instead of 40, and includes a receiver for inside the
house that will buzz and/or turn on a lamp inside if the floodlight
goes on outside. We'll see if it works.


and several independent or chain home-improvement stores
other than HD, so I can usually stay out of there for months on end. They
could easily get my business just by staffing the place with people who give
a damn, but they seem to have little interest in making shopping there a
pleasant experience. Oddly enough there is a new HD across town that is
full of helpful employees, maybe the management of some stores is a little
smarter.

Red wrote in news:157580b8-3902-42f0-bcab-
:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

Checked a receipt for a single item from last Saturday the 3rd. Nothing
like that on it. Used a credit card.

"John Grabowski" wrote in
:


Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.


*I've seen that whenever I use a discount card from them, but never
when I pay full price.


Ditto. Been like that for quite a while.

Frank wrote:
Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

I also noticed a deterioration in HD service. Someone recently said
it's the only store where clerks run and hide from you

Been in a Kragen's auto store lately?
Two vapor trails to the back room.

--Winston

--

I'm still waiting for another sublime, transcendent flash of adequacy.

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.


From a legal perspective, the crap printed on the receipt has no force.

They offered to sell you something at a specified price. You accepted and
paid. The receipt is an "after the sale" condition. Presumably, if you walk
out of the store with the merchandise, you've agreed to the modification of
the original contract.

To be part of the "contract," they have to announce this policy as a
condition of the sale in advance and, absent any direction to the contrary,
you are allowed to rely on the customary terms of no-penalty returns.

The most common conditions I've seen are during hurricane season: "No
returns on generators!"

On Oct 6, 1:08*pm, MikeB wrote:
On Oct 6, 12:12*pm, Red wrote:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. *The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. *The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. *Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. *They've now lost my
business.

Red

Not that I know if this is relevant in this instance, but over the
last few years I've seen reports of retailers starting to track
customers with higher than usual return numbers. In some instances
they are then taking specific action to compensate for those
customers. Do you have a large amount of returns at HD? Could that be
it?

No. Two returns in the past 2 years and neither was a high dollar
item.

Red

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:26:41 -0400, wrote:


HD is one of those companies. They slammed a friend of mine with a
restocking charge but she actually took back more than she kept over a
6 month period. She would go buy 2 or 3 things, take them home and
look at them in her house and choose the one she liked best, taking
the others back.
Her name was on the abuser list.

When I was a boy, in the 50's, we lived in a small city of 50,000 in
western Pa. My mother usually had a car**, but still, when there was
a sale in the newspaper, like on purses, and she didn't want to go
shopping, she would call up the department store and tell them
approximately what kind of purse she wanted, and they would deliver
maybe 3 purses, with their own delivery truck. She would look at them
for a couple days and then call them to come and get the ones she
didn't want. If she didn't want any of them, that was okay too. My
mother grew up poor and didn't spend a lot of money on clothes, but
otoh, she never went out naked (she even wore clothes at home) and
there were only two department stores in town, maybe one, so whatever
she did spend, she spent with this store. And the driver probably got
paid bupkes (goat droppings).

Maybe your friend is the daughter, or granddaughter, of someone like
my mother.

I never had a problem but I return a very low percentage of what I
buy. That is one advantage of charging things tho. They know how good
a customer you are. If you pay cash for everything the only time they
know you is when you return something.

That's a good point. I pay cash in part because if I return something,
I feel obliged to watch my account to see if the return is credited,
yet I never do watch it. But if they ever give me a problem, I guess
I'll start charging everything.


**She had a car because my father almost always rode the bus to work,
or even walked I think. We lived in a nice pretty new n'hood but
downtown was only 1.5 miles away. In the evening he would wait for
the bus, but often a friend would drive by and give him a ride home or
at least up to our street, where it intersectw the main north-south
street. There was really only way to get to the north side. This was
in the days when the supermarket was only opend from 9 to 5 M-Sat.
Later it stayed open to 6. I don't know what my best friend's
mother, who lived across the street, did for a car during the day.
His father worked downtown too, and was 20 years younger than mine.
Maybe he walked too. I don't remember anyone having two cars, except
maybe one fairly rich family we knew, my mother's best friend. They
owned a dry goods store. They lived another 7 blocks north.

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:22 -0500, dpb wrote:

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

I find it simply incredible folks want the absolute rock-bottom cheapest
initial price and still think that owes them the "right" to take stuff
home,

They want it because the stores offer it. If someone offers
"service", someone will want to take advantage of it.***(towards the
bottom) If no store offered it anymore, people would get used to
that, but one store started, years ago, because they found they could
make more money that way, even allowing for the cost of taking things
back. If HD really changes it's policy, it will cost them,
especially if Lowes, Menaards, etc. don't change theirs, although it
still might be worth it. It's more likely they'll warn specific
customers that a new policy applies to them for 6 months or a year or
so.

Closely related: Did you know that [the famous department store I can
never remember the name of which started in Philadephia but had a
branch in DC**] was the first place in America to have fixed prices
for things. Around 1876 iirc. Prior to that. and their policy
catching on elsewhere, people dickered about everything they bought.

**I googled. John Wanamakers. Famous in the east and among people
who dress well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker's *** (towards
the bottom)

let it lay around a construction site for a month or two and then
take the culls back for full credit/refund. Often I even see folks take
tools for a weekend job, use them, then claim some "defect" and return
them...

That's outrageous and I won't do that. If a buyer can tell
something's been used, he'll pass on it and get one that's never been
used. The used one can sit in stock forever. Or he'll want a
discount, justifiably.

More below.

But, as for HD policy,

Our Store Return Policy
Our Store Return Policy Basics

Returns within 90 days of purchase and with a valid sales receipt
will be exchanged, refunded in cash, credited to your account or
refunded via The Home Depot store credit.

Return and Product Exceptions

- Purchases made with store credit, gift certificates and gift cards
will be refunded as store credit. Store credits cannot be used to
purchase gift cards.
- Gasoline-powered equipment may be returned within 30 days of
purchase with a valid sales receipt. After 30 days, item may be sent out
for repair at the customer's expense, unless covered under warranty.

Sorry, Returns Not Available on the Following Products:
-Custom made products and custom tinted paint
-Gift cards, gift certificates and store credits

All the rules so far are fair, though I can certainly see how someone
could sort of get trapped by no refunds on gift cards. Of course I've
solved the problem by not giving gift cards, even the ones that don't
expire!! Once for my mother and her husband I was going to give them
a gift certificate for an unusal ethnic restaurant near them.
Fortunately they didn't offer gift certificates (which is pretty
stupid. They shoudl have made one up when I called and asked) So I
gave my folks a 50 dollar bill taped to a piece of paper saying where
they shoudl spend it. Years went by, they never went, and the
restaurant went out of business. The gift certificate would have been
worthless, but the money I gave them was fine.

-Utility trailers

I guess that's something a lot of people wnat to use once and then
return.

Nothing about 10%; I'd suggest asking local store management about what
the deal is specifically if it's that bothersome but my real suggestion
is as above--you buy it; it's yours unless there is an actual defect.
Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???

They want to think about it, don't want to come back, want to see if
it will work, are afraid they'll sell out and they have to keep coming
back until it's finally in stock again, Etc.

***Enlightened retailing

Wanamaker first thought of how he would run a store on new principles
when, as a youth, a merchant refused his request to exchange a
purchase. A practicing Christian, he chose not to advertise on
Sundays. His faith also informed other business decisions, many of
which were innovative and before their time. Before he opened his
Grand Depot for retail business, he let evangelist Dwight L. Moody use
its facilities as a meeting place, while Wanamaker provided 300 ushers
from his store personnel. His retail advertisements—the first to be
copyrighted beginning in 1874—were factual, and promises made in them
were kept. Word of this increased Wanamaker's business and John
Wanamaker never lost the public's trust while he pioneered truth in
American advertising.

Wanamaker guaranteed the quality of his merchandise in print, allowed
his customers to return purchases for a cash refund and offered the
first restaurant to be located inside a department store. Wanamaker's
also innovated the price tag, because John Wanamaker believed if
everyone was equal before God, then everyone should be equal before
price. All of these concepts were seen as innovations in American
retailing at the time.

His employees were to be treated respectfully by management (including
not being scolded in public), and John Wanamaker & Company offered its
employees access to the John Wanamaker Commercial Institute, as well
as free medical care, recreational facilities, profit sharing plans,
and pensions—long before these types of benefits were considered
standard in corporate employment.
The famous logo

Innovation and "firsts" marked Wanamaker's. The store was the first
department store with electrical illumination (1878), first store with
a telephone (1879), and the first store to install pneumatic tubes to
transport cash and documents (1880).

Wanamaker's commissioned a Philadelphia/New Jersey artist, George
Washington Nicholson (1832-1912), to paint a large landscape mural,
"The Old Homestead," which was finished in March 1892. The 7x14-foot
mural was still owned by Wanamaker's in 1950, but its location is
currently unknown.

In 1910, Wanamaker replaced his famous Grand Depot in stages, and
constructed a brand-new, purpose-built structure on the same site in
Center City Philadelphia. The new store, lavishly built in the
Florentine style with granite walls by Chicago architect Daniel H.
Burnham, had 12 floors (9 for retail), numerous galleries and two
lower levels totaling nearly two-million square feet. The palatial
emporium featured the Wanamaker Organ, the former St. Louis World's
Fair pipe organ, at the time one of the world's largest organs. The
organ was installed in the store's marble-clad central atrium known as
the Grand Court. Another item from the St. Louis Fair in the Grand
Court is the large bronze eagle, which quickly became the symbol of
the store and a favorite meeting place for shoppers. The store was
dedicated by President William Howard Taft on December 30, 1911.

Despite its size, the organ was deemed insufficient to fill the Grand
Court with its music. Wanamaker's responded by assembling its own
staff of organ builders and expanding the organ several times over a
period of years. The organ still stands in place in the store today,
and is the largest operational pipe organ in the world, with some
28,000 pipes. It is famed for the delicate, orchestra-like beauty of
its tone as well as its incredible power. News of the Titanic's
sinking was transmitted to Wanamaker's wireless station in New York
City, and given to anxious crowds waiting outside—yet another first
for an American retail store. Public Christmas Caroling in the store's
Grand Court began in 1918.

Other innovations included employing buyers to travel overseas to
Europe each year for the latest fashions, the first White sale (1878)
and other themed sales such as the February "Opportunity Sales" to
keep prices as low as possible while keeping volume high. The store
also broadcast its organ concerts on the Wanamaker-owned radio station
WOO-AM beginning in 1922. Under the leadership of James Bayard
Woodford, Wanamaker's opened piano stores in Philadelphia and New York
that did a huge business with an innovative fixed-price system of
sales. Salons in period decor were used to sell the higher-price
items. Wanamaker also tried selling small organs built by the Austin
Organ Company for a time.

The famous advertising axiom "Half the money I spend on advertising is
wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half" is credited to John
Wanamaker.

Although disputed in some circles, John Wanamaker is credited as the
first to coin the "Retailer's Rule"…"The customer is always right."


--Of course some people seem to think this is literally true, when
it's only a policy of some stores, which even they suspend when the
customer makes ridiculous demands.

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:03:37 -0400, aemeijers
wrote:


Closest thing I've seen to a correct answer in this thread. That is the
way it worked when I was a wee boy- for regular customers, raw stock in
resalable condition was taken back with no fee, and special order stuff
was a 10 or 15 per cent restock charge, which I have absolutely no
heartburn with. Makes me do my homework up front. IMHO, tools and such,
and 'decor' frou-frou, should only be returnable if defective. (My
sister proudly told me she buys BIL's clothes that way online- shotgun
purchase on styles and sizes, and returns half of it.) I dearly wish
there WAS a ma'n'pa traditional lumberyard near here. The only survivors
had to morph into boutique door and window shops, or custom trim mills.
Rest of them went belly up when the chains moved in.

It's all related to the automobile, and also to the two-car family.
People got used to driving farther for things they want, and a store
with little service can be cheaper to run, lower prices are possible,
or at least a bigger selection of parts.

Although the ACE hardware I like is only a fifth the size of an HD.
Much space is saved because it doesn't have lumber or many building
matterials, it doesn't have home appliances, etc. just hardware and
things pretty close to that. (It does have phone, cable, and some
other electronic accessories.)

--
aem sends...

On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 12:18:41 -0700 (PDT), Zephyr
wrote:


Imagine a couple of 2x4 studs sitting out all summer long before
finally warping to the point of no return and then being brought back
for full price.. Whats HD or any lumber yard to do with them?

No, not even while charging a 10% restocking fee.

aemeijers wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:22 -0500, dpb wrote:

Red wrote:
Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

But, as for HD policy,
Our Store Return Policy
Our Store Return Policy Basics

Returns within 90 days of purchase and with a valid sales receipt
will be exchanged, refunded in cash, credited to your account or
refunded via The Home Depot store credit.

Return and Product Exceptions

- Purchases made with store credit, gift certificates and gift cards
will be refunded as store credit. Store credits cannot be used to
purchase gift cards.
- Gasoline-powered equipment may be returned within 30 days of
purchase with a valid sales receipt. After 30 days, item may be sent out
for repair at the customer's expense, unless covered under warranty.

Sorry, Returns Not Available on the Following Products:
-Custom made products and custom tinted paint
-Gift cards, gift certificates and store credits
-Utility trailers

-Special Order returns are subject to 15% restocking fee.
Cancellations may be subject to 15% restocking fee.**

**See Special Services Desk at your local store for details.

Nothing about 10%; I'd suggest asking local store management about what
the deal is specifically if it's that bothersome but my real suggestion
is as above--you buy it; it's yours unless there is an actual defect.
Don't buy stuff if the intent is to return it; what's the point anyway???

The point is that when building something, it can be difficult to
estimate exactly how much of certain items you may need. An extra roll
of felt, an extra box of nails, 20 extra pavers, a couple of pipes and
fittings. It is a long standing custom with places that sell building
supplies that many jobs will have some returns at the end. It has
always been considered part of the deal, and not some kind of devious
behavior.

Closest thing I've seen to a correct answer in this thread.

Except that it isn't an answer to the original question.

That is the
way it worked when I was a wee boy- for regular customers, raw stock in
resalable condition was taken back with no fee, and special order stuff
was a 10 or 15 per cent restock charge, which I have absolutely no
heartburn with. Makes me do my homework up front.

OK.

IMHO, tools and such,
and 'decor' frou-frou, should only be returnable if defective.

I have no idea what "'decor' frou-frou" is. Some new type of
electrical wall plate perhaps? Tools might not be defective but may
not explain on the literature, box, etc., exactly how it works and
allow you to assess the quality. For example, that huge adjustable
wrench for that once-in-a-lifetime clean out plug nut removal might
turn out to be just 1/16" shy of the right size. Or sometimes the tool
so violates the merchantability concept (i.e. does not do the job)
that used or not the retailer deserves to take it back and take a bath
on the returns (a water pre-filter for drywall sanding dust springs to
mind).

(My
sister proudly told me she buys BIL's clothes that way online- shotgun
purchase on styles and sizes, and returns half of it.)

Smart girl!

I dearly wish
there WAS a ma'n'pa traditional lumberyard near here. The only survivors
had to morph into boutique door and window shops, or custom trim mills.
Rest of them went belly up when the chains moved in.

Ignoring this whining... My version: the world would be a whole lot
better if contractors and other grunts would tug their forelocks when
I approach them. They should be very happy to work for a bowl of rice
a day, and keep quiet in the presence of their betters especially on
usenet! g

As to the original question. If HD are running a sale or some kind
(e.g. 10% off your next purchase) they will deduct the 10% from the
total and show all the individual items with a refund value of 10%
less than the actual retail shelf cost. When you return one of the
items you only get back the reduced price. Nothing wrong with that.
You only paid the reduced amount! Lowe's does the same thing. I
suspect this is what's happened with the OP. He needs to read the
receipt more carefully.

On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 10:12:06 -0700 (PDT), Red
wrote:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

That's bad alright. If I have to decide if I reallllly want
something, I'll buy fewer things. That's the reason for liberal
return policies in the first place, to encourage impulse buying, most
of which the person will be happy with and won't return.

Computers have substantially lessened the bookkeeping costs of
returns. I don't know what the restocking actually costs them (about
the same for a 1 dollar item as for a 100 dollar item I think)

I wonder if this is only on things that tend to get damaged when they
are out of the store (probably everything. I'll look), 30, 50 pound
paper bags of things seem like they would not last long.

I also returned a big thing for watering a planting for 2 weeks way
after summer was over. I got a full refund a year ago, but I knew
they woudlnt' sell it again until spring, and they'd have to sort of
keep track of it until then. (although that should be pretty easy if
they're organized.)

On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:54:19 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

My typical trips into the store average 3 or 4 MIHU
contacts. Many of the workers look like retirement age, and
actually know their trade.

The closest HD to my home seems to be staffed by folks who know their
stuff, and act as if they own the place. If they spot you scanning
shelves, they stop and ask if they can help you find something. If you
turn them down, they don't hover, but wait somewhere down the isle in
case you change your mind. I have often been literally chased across
the parking lot by employees who insist on helping me load stuff on
the roof of my SUV.

I never have to go looking for assistance, they come looking for me.

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:29:50 -0500, Red Green
wrote:

Red wrote in news:157580b8-3902-42f0-bcab-
:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. They've now lost my
business.

Red

Checked a receipt for a single item from last Saturday the 3rd. Nothing
like that on it. Used a credit card.

My guess is that HD's system has automagically flagged Red as a
customer who gets a "special" receipt for some reason.

They may not be upset that they have now lost him as a customer.

On Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:14:23 -0700 (PDT), Red
wrote:

On Oct 6, 1:08*pm, MikeB wrote:
On Oct 6, 12:12*pm, Red wrote:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. *The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. *The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. *Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. *They've now lost my
business.

Red

Not that I know if this is relevant in this instance, but over the
last few years I've seen reports of retailers starting to track
customers with higher than usual return numbers. In some instances
they are then taking specific action to compensate for those
customers. Do you have a large amount of returns at HD? Could that be
it?

No. Two returns in the past 2 years and neither was a high dollar
item.

Red

Returns anywhere else? When you use a credit card, your entire history
may be called into play. Target knows what you bought at Walmart.

mm wrote:

Computers have substantially lessened the bookkeeping costs of
returns. I don't know what the restocking actually costs them (about
the same for a 1 dollar item as for a 100 dollar item I think)


Sometimes not.

I returned two sets of hinges to Lowes and they gave me back more than I
spent!

Seems the price went up during the week I was warehousing their
merchandise...

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:25:40 -0400, mm wrote:
HD and Lowes didn't have a single square U-bolt. They had 11 sizes.
(to attach a window spanner to a ladder, for more stability.)

Yeah, we have one in town like that, too. Sort of place where you can load
up on big bags of nails, screws etc. from bins, weigh them and take them
to the checkout. For most things they're cheaper than the big-name places,
and the only place in town I know I can reliably just walk in and find
some random part for the lawn tractor etc.

I really hope places like that don't disappear (they always seem busy, so
hopefully they'll stick around)

I ended up buying two of them at a surplus/leftover store

We've got a good building recyclers / reclaim yard up here that does stuff
like that - sometimes they're really cheap, other times they approach new
prices for something that's used and comes with no warranty, so it pays to
know prices rather than just window-shop.

Oddly enough there is a new HD
across town that is full of helpful employees, maybe the management of
some stores is a little smarter.

I get the feeling that HD's vary a *lot* from store to store. Ours really
isn't bad - but then they've got competition from that independent store,
several lumber yards, a concrete place etc. (I'm not aware of a good
plumbing supply store though and HD's prices seem quite high there)

In areas where they're the only hardware store I suppose they can get away
with treating folk like crap.

cheers

Jules

On Oct 6, 2:08*pm, MikeB wrote:
On Oct 6, 12:12*pm, Red wrote:

Bought some construction material from HD yesterday. *The receipt
shows the cost of each item and the refund value of each item. *The
refund value is 10% less than the purchase price. *Guess they're now
charging a 10% restocking fee on returned items. *They've now lost my
business.

Red

Not that I know if this is relevant in this instance, but over the
last few years I've seen reports of retailers starting to track
customers with higher than usual return numbers. In some instances
they are then taking specific action to compensate for those
customers. Do you have a large amount of returns at HD? Could that be
it?

"I've seen reports of retailers starting to track customers with
higher than usual return numbers."

I return a fair amount of stuff to HD (and Lowes) sometimes with a
reciept, sometimes without. I'll buy extra fittings for plumbing or
electrical work or extra wood just so I don't have to go back in the
middle of a job. Been doing that for as long as I can remember. I
recently bought $250 worth of wood, had someone help me load it into
my trailer and then an hour later had someone one help me unload it so
I could return it!

I've only been flagged on a return once and it was because I returned
a bunch of plumbing fittings at one HD and then a couple of hours
later found a few more in the van and stopped at a different HD. When
I tried to return them, they had to get a manager's approval. When I
asked why, they asked me if I had just returned a bunch of stuff at
the other HD. I said yes but later found a few more that I didn't
need. The manager said "Fine" and processed the return. Bottom line is
that they are certainly doing some type of tracking.

My pet peeve is the fact that they always give me cash for returns
when I made the purchase with a debit card. I don't see why they can't
credit the debit card like just about every other store does. A couple
of dollars here and there is no big deal, but I didn't need $250
burning a hole in my pocket when I returned the wood mentioned
earlier.