Retailer Stars, Good Enoughs and Duds This Holiday Season

[maxiesmom]

But today they charged me real money for the "coupon" that I already used. I get it, but it still doesn't feel fair. I'll just consider it a lesson learned and spend my money elsewhere next time.

The only way you lose is if you make returns after you have spend the Kohls Cash, and you get to the point where you wouldn't have earned it. And it has to be done that way or you would have people spending $500 to get a boatload of Kohls Cash, spending the Kohls Cash, and then returning everything.

To me, if you know the rules a store has on anything (coupons, returns) and don't like them, don't shop there. Just as you are doing. I rarely shop at Target because I dislike their return policy. And how sometimes you get a discount on gift cards if you pay this way, but not every store, and maybe this discount will work but maybe not.

There is not a single store anyone HAS to shop at. We all have lots to choose from. Kohls Cash can be a bit of a pain, but I try and make sure I spend it on something I know I will keep. Like towels. Or socks. Or K-Cups.

 

[richkaryn]

Stud--Target. Shipped my items the next day, had them 2 days later.
Stud--several shops on Etsy. Items came quickly, packaged well, and were as described.
Stud--Kohls. All online mail orders came within 2 weeks; pick up in store online orders were in that day.

Dud---Amazon. DH bought an Xbox Elite controller. $149; Listed as brand new, fulfilled by Amazon; listed as brand new in email and invoice. Went out of stock right after we bought it, literally 10 minutes later. Waited 3 weeks, with a cycle of emails
"out of stock"
"in stock and shipping"
"out of stock"
etc.

Finally received it 27 days after ordering...and it had been opened. The batteries and USB cable were missing, along with the extra sets of paddles, and instructions. (All of which should have been in that particular model, as we had purchased one a couple months earlier).

Amazon says they don't have a new one in stock, and that all they could do was ship another used one. We declined, they got the warranty refunded, and gave us a $58 credit (what it will cost on Amazon to replace the missing items). Also, 1 month of free Prime. This took 4 days to get solved.

I've had multiple problems with them the last 2 years (let's just say, it's been more cost effective the last two years to pay monthly for Prime, and I'm just now hitting the cost of a full year over 24 months), and this just put me at the edge of being done with them for ordering anything other than digital goods. I'm not talking about shipping issues where it's FedEx or USPS or UPS fault. I'm talking items with 2 day shipping, guaranteed delivery date, not shipping until 3 days after the delivery date; incorrect items (size, color, totally wrong item altogether) being sent (at one point, I ordered a bag of cat food; I received a set of bamboo skewers, some plastic wiring and dog shampoo); things like that.

ETA: another dud: Lifetouch studios. I ordered DS's school pictures, in mid-October. (picture day was mid-September; the day I got the envelope is the day I ordered) Nov 23rd I contacted them, asking where the order was. Told it was shipped Nov 9th, and that if I didn't have it by Dec 1st, to contact them.

Contacted them Dec 1st. They hadn't even shipped them yet. It's now 7-10 business days, and if they aren't here by Dec 15th, to call them. Geez, it's not like I wanted to include them in Christmas cards or my Christmas packages or anything.

Check with the school and make sure it wasn't delivered there with everyone else's pictures. This has happened to me before is the only reason I suggest it.

 

[MomToOne]

I'm sorry, but only an idiot thinks it is really cash. Heaven forbid someone read it so they know and understand the rules.

The problem is that Kohl's doesn't "treat Kohl’s Cash as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer purchases, [but] they do treat it as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer returns”. That's where the problem can be under California law. You don't really get to play it both ways like that.

And frankly, it's next to impossible to "know and understand the rules" because Kohl's still doesn't fully disclose them. I recently went to return items from an order I paid for partially in Kohl's cash, and partially on my Kohl's charge. I couldn't for the life of me figure out beforehand what they were going to refund to Kohl's cash, and what they would refund to my card. Would they prorate the Kohl's cash across all my items, and then give me back that pro-rated amount for the items I was returning and refund the rest to my card? Would they try and claim that the full amount of Kohl's cash used on the order should be returned first, then just the amount past that go to my card? I scoured the Kohl's website, and the information provided there was incomplete. All they say is "If you are returning or receiving a price adjustment on merchandise paid for with Kohl's Cash, you'll receive Kohl's Cash back for the amount redeemed on the returned item(s)" but of course no where on your receipt will you see on a per-item basis how they originally applied the Kohl's Cash. And I'm pretty darn educated on the fact that Kohl's cash isn't cash.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Check with the school and make sure it wasn't delivered there with everyone else's pictures. This has happened to me before is the only reason I suggest it.

They didn't deliver any pictures to the school this year. They did online orders only, with shipping. Thanks, though!

 

[maxiesmom]

The problem is that Kohl's doesn't "treat Kohl’s Cash as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer purchases, [but] they do treat it as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer returns”. That's not really fair, and where the problem can be under California law.

And frankly, it's next to impossible to "know and understand the rules" because Kohl's still doesn't fully disclose them. I recently went to return items from an order I paid for partially in Kohl's cash, and partially on my Kohl's charge. I couldn't for the life of me figure out beforehand what they were going to refund to Kohl's cash, and what they would refund to my card. Would they prorate the Kohl's cash across all my items, and then give me back that pro-rated amount for the items I was returning and refund the rest to my card? Would they try and claim that the full amount of Kohl's cash used on the order should be returned first, then just the amount past that go to my card? I scoured the Kohl's website, and the information provided there was incomplete. All they say is "If you are returning or receiving a price adjustment on merchandise paid for with Kohl's Cash, you'll receive Kohl's Cash back for the amount redeemed on the returned item(s)" but of course no where on your receipt will you see on a per-item basis how they originally applied the Kohl's Cash. And I'm pretty darn educated on the fact that Kohl's cash isn't cash.

How your return works depends on if you have spent the Kohls Cash or not. And how everything shakes out depends not only on that but on how much you have spent and how much you return. No way to have that figured out on the receipt ahead of time.

Lets's say you spent $245 dollars and got $40 of Kohls Cash. And then spent that Kohls Cash. If you only make a $15 dollar return nothing happens. If you had spent $230 you would have still earned all your Kohls Cash. But if you returned $65 worth of stuff you get to where you wouldn't have earned $40 of Kohls Cash. So that means your return has to reflect that.

If you hadn't spent the Kohls Cash Kohls doesn't keep any of your return money. They reduce your Kohls Cash down to the amount reflected by the return. So instead of $40 of Kohls Cash you would have $30. They don't keep your money you spent.

No way to figure that out and have it on the receipt when you make the purchase.

I think I've posted before that I have had more than one family member work at Kohls at some point. Maybe that is why it seems to be easy for me to get.

 

[MomToOne]

How your return works depends on if you have spent the Kohls Cash or not. And how everything shakes out depends not only on that but on how much you have spent and how much you return. No way to have that figured out on the receipt ahead of time.

Lets's say you spent $245 dollars and got $40 of Kohls Cash. If you only make a $15 dollar return nothing happens. If you had spent $230 you would have still earned all your Kohls Cash. But if you returned $65 worth of stuff you get to where you wouldn't have earned $40 of Kohls Cash. So that means your return has to reflect that.

No way to figure that out and have it on the receipt when you make the purchase.

I think I've posted before that I have had more than one family member work at Kohls at some point. Maybe that is why it seems to be easy for me to get.

I get that that's what they do, but how they take the FULL face-value of Kohl's cash you spent off of your return but really you only got a partial value of it when you spent it is the problem. It's not fair to dock someone $10 on a return when the value they got from it was really only $7 (in the case of a 30% off coupon).

And if they can't figure out a way to make things clear on receipts, maybe that's a red flag that the whole thing is just a mess and they should do something different.

All of this is why I don't figure any Kohl's cash I am getting as part of a purchase when determining whether or not something is a good deal. And I won't ever use Kohl's cash that I received when buying a gift, or to pay for a gift with. I generally only ever have Kohl's cash because of YesToYou rewards, my anniversary award, etc.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I get that that's what they do, but how they take the FULL face-value of Kohl's cash you spent off of your return but really you only got a partial value of it when you spent it is the problem. It's not fair to dock someone $10 on a return when the value they got from it was really only $7 (in the case of a 30% off coupon).

And if they can't figure out a way to make things clear on receipts, maybe that's a red flag that the whole thing is just a mess and they should do something different.

All of this is why I don't figure any Kohl's cash I am getting as part of a purchase when determining whether or not something is a good deal. And I won't ever use Kohl's cash that I received when buying a gift, or to pay for a gift with. I generally only ever have Kohl's cash because of YesToYou rewards, my anniversary award, etc.

I also don't count Kohls cash as anything but a "bonus"...and I don't buy gifts for other than my family that I would earn it on (so Vet's Day, I placed 15 different orders, all with no Kohls cash earned)...but it does have its uses if it comes as "bonus" if you understand its rules...

But, I also have personal Kohls cash rules. 1st, I never buy someone else's gift with Kohls cash - it's always just for me. 2nd, I only buy what I know I'll keep with Kohls cash, so I never buy clothes or shoes with it - too much danger on fit (since I almost always shop online).

For example, I had Kohls cash I earned in rewards b/c of my November shopping and just spent it online on Food Network cutting boards (that I needed)...it doesn't matter what size or shape those are, I just needed reviewers to say they can cut on them, so I picked the best reviewed set...K-cups are another "use up reward cash" item I routinely get b/c I know what coffee I like, and I'm gonna keep drinking it!

 

[lovin'fl]

So Kohl's....I ordered several things on Nov 28. I got several packages over several days. Today was supposed to be last one with two items in it. I had shipping info. Bag arrived in my mailbox. Only had one item. Got an email saying the package with the two items was delivered. Called and was told they started a ticket and someone would call me back within 48 hours.

 

[maxiesmom]

I get that that's what they do, but how they take the FULL face-value of Kohl's cash you spent off of your return but really you only got a partial value of it when you spent it is the problem. It's not fair to dock someone $10 on a return when the value they got from it was really only $7 (in the case of a 30% off coupon).

And if they can't figure out a way to make things clear on receipts, maybe that's a red flag that the whole thing is just a mess and they should do something different.

All of this is why I don't figure any Kohl's cash I am getting as part of a purchase when determining whether or not something is a good deal. And I won't ever use Kohl's cash that I received when buying a gift, or to pay for a gift with. I generally only ever have Kohl's cash because of YesToYou rewards, my anniversary award, etc.

The percent off comes off after the Kohls Cash. All dollar amount discounts come off first, no matter what order they are rang up.

I also try not to use Kohls Cash on a gift, unless I'm positive it won't be returned.

I'm not sure why the Kohls Cash needs to be explained anywhere except on the Kohls Cash. You wouldn't go to a grocery store and expect your coupon for mayo to be explained on the receipt, just in case it was a bad bottle.

People don't want to read, that seems to be a lot of the problem. In bold lettering it explains that the Kohls Cash amount comes off before any percent, and the return policy is also explained in bold. I happen to have one in my purse, so I went and grabbed it.

 

[melanielll]

Dud - ShopDisney. Ordered something on Black Friday. It shipped yesterday. They are doomed later this month if they don't pick up the pace. Got an email this afternoon pushing the delivery date back a few days. So it's going to maybe be here 15 days after I ordered it. It will probably be here next week - which puts it in the 17-20 day range.

Star for me but extreme dud in general - the Shop Disney Parks app. I got all of the Christmas Dooney purses that I ordered within 8 days. I still tore into them in their online survey. Their treatment of customers has been abysmal.

 

[belle032]

Star: Amazon. I adore Amazon, I really do. All my packages have been on time and I live in a rural area. Returns have been super easy and refunds are processed the same day. (Might depend on the retailer, or just good luck, who knows). Prime is very worth it to me.

Star/Dud: Target. Another store I love. Most organized, well run store on Black Friday. Only thing that disappointed me was not being able to use my 20% off entire purchase or the $10 off a $50 purchase coupons on a GoPro for my DH's present. If I had known that, I would have gotten it on BF. Now I'm just waiting to see if the price drops again before Christmas.

Star/Dud: Old Navy. Great sales this season, but god their stores are so disorganized and cluttered. Maybe its just here. On BF weekend, I walked in, saw the chaos, and walked out. Got everything online instead. Only thing with them is shipping seems to take forever!

 

[MomToOne]

I'm not sure why the Kohls Cash needs to be explained anywhere except on the Kohls Cash. You wouldn't go to a grocery store and expect your coupon for mayo to be explained on the receipt, just in case it was a bad bottle.

Well, apparently a judge believes there is enough credibility to the argument that it violates California consumer law to allow the lawsuit to go forward.

(I had a long explanation about one section of law I thought they violated here originally, but I decided I might be wrong about that specific section so I deleted it. I still think that is the section in play, but I'm not positive)

 

[AmyAnne]

I'm not sure why the Kohls Cash needs to be explained anywhere except on the Kohls Cash. You wouldn't go to a grocery store and expect your coupon for mayo to be explained on the receipt, just in case it was a bad bottle.

People don't want to read, that seems to be a lot of the problem. In bold lettering it explains that the Kohls Cash amount comes off before any percent, and the return policy is also explained in bold. I happen to have one in my purse, so I went and grabbed it.

The problem with explaining Kohls Cash on the Kohls Cash is that by the time I get Kohls Cash I've already made the purchase.

And it's not like the grocery store coupon -- I wouldn't expect the value of the coupon back if I returned the mayo but I might expect to get back the full value of the purchase I made to get the coupon. Kohls Cash does not work like any other system. I'm not saying it's unfair -- I understand why they deduct the value of used Kohls Cash from the return of the original purchase. But I do see how the whole system does not match up with people's expectations.

 

[yoopermom]

Star: Amazon, over and over for me this year. We live in a rural area, and I order everything from paper products to gifts to dog food, and it's always delivered on time.
So-so: Duluth Trading Company, love their products, don't love that I have to wait for them to send me a physical gift card for DS. In this day and age I should be able to print it out or email it.

Terri

 

[TwoMisfits]

Oh, I should add random star deals...
Star: Red Robin $180 gift cards for $99 - got 2 and got 1st gift cards in seconds. You had to parcel them out ($15/month), but they never expire and can be gifted to others, so will save 2 months and use with a coupon for a free meal for us (and probably go every 3 months), and probably send my moms some of the other card values for her birthday, Mother's Day, etc...
Star: Amazon's Applebee's and Domino's Gift Cards - got my mom's Xmas gift at 23% off for Applebees and got myself the pizza one for 20% off...it's already stupid cheap for a dinner, and now it's stupid cheaper!

 

[colormegreen]

So, I know I said I was done, and while I don’t blame Macys for my late shipments, I do blame UPS. I live close enough to one of the fires where schools have been canceled and UPS had to close on Tuesday, and I know I should be grateful for my situation, but I only expect my shipments to be delayed a day. Now my new arrival dates are next week, it is ridiculous and it’s only my Macys shipments.

I ordered a birthday gift for a co-worker from Amazon. It should have been arriving yesterday. Again, they did not ship it right away and even if UPS was closed only on Tuesday, it should have arrived yesterday. Made a complain online and thought it was going to get rejected due to the fire situation, but apparently when they’ll looked into my order the my shipment was not shipped from my closest shipment warehouse fulfillment center. They extended my amazon prime by one month, so it isn’t bad. I just need this item before Wednesday.

 

[mercydisney]

So Glad you posted!

I have had Great experiences with Nordstroms, Amazon, Best Buys!!
The worst has been Lord And Taylor!!
They first shipped me, "USED" shoes. I returned them but had to wait 3 weeks to get a refund! I then reordered another pair and never got them!! Then they list items on their website that re on sale and never ship them!!! You patiently wait and see if you will get the items.

Target never received an item called 5 days in a row to wait over an hr to get through!


Rant over

 

[tasha99]

Best--James Allen. Several days after ordering our rings, we decided we wanted them engraved. They pulled them, did the engraving, and even though that was supposed to delay the shipping time, we got them FedEx before the original deadline. The rings came in lovely boxes that were themselves in lovely boxes (with a drawer for the paperwork, cleaning cloth, etc.)

Good-- LLBean, Lands End, Amazon

Pretty Good-- Kohls. They emailed me day after I ordered with an out of stock notice. Wish they'd given me the chance to choose a different color of comforter. At least I got to keep my Kohls cash. I had another comforter ordered, so I got one of two. If I'd only ordered one, or if I'd ordered 2 of the out of stock color, I'd have been kind of irritated since the deal was over by then

Worst--Kat Von D. Daughter ordered a bunch of makeup that was supposed to have a Black Friday bonus. She didn't get the bonus, so basically feels a bit scammed.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We've had good luck with our Amazon shipments, and I just had a great experience in-store at Best Buy. I returned an item, but the lady was also able to help me with an issue we are having with our rewards account.

Kohl's is on my naughty list though! They canceled a couple items (wish they would give you a chance to change your order before canceling... I'm not going to pay $8.95 shipping for an $8 shirt in a different color, when the first one had free shipping).

The biggest problem is that I returned an item that earned Kohls cash. So I only got a $10 refund for a $25 item, because I "unearned" the KC (which I already spent). Ok, that's fair. But I asked what would happen if I had to return an item I purchased using the KC. I should get the full refund in cash back, right? Because they just converted my Kohls cash to ACTUAL cash by keeping my $15. Nope, I won't get a full cash refund, because I paid with KC. And the employee acted like I was being so difficult or trying to pull one over on Kohls. I'm not trying to come out ahead, but if I return EVERYTHING I bought, I should recoup all the money I paid. Instead, at best, I'd get most of my money and some store credit (Kohls cash for a future purchase).

But today they charged me real money for the "coupon" that I already used. I get it, but it still doesn't feel fair. I'll just consider it a lesson learned and spend my money elsewhere next time.

The problem is that Kohl's doesn't "treat Kohl’s Cash as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer purchases, [but] they do treat it as actual cash when applying Kohl’s Cash to customer returns”. That's where the problem can be under California law. You don't really get to play it both ways like that.

And frankly, it's next to impossible to "know and understand the rules" because Kohl's still doesn't fully disclose them. I recently went to return items from an order I paid for partially in Kohl's cash, and partially on my Kohl's charge. I couldn't for the life of me figure out beforehand what they were going to refund to Kohl's cash, and what they would refund to my card. Would they prorate the Kohl's cash across all my items, and then give me back that pro-rated amount for the items I was returning and refund the rest to my card? Would they try and claim that the full amount of Kohl's cash used on the order should be returned first, then just the amount past that go to my card? I scoured the Kohl's website, and the information provided there was incomplete. All they say is "If you are returning or receiving a price adjustment on merchandise paid for with Kohl's Cash, you'll receive Kohl's Cash back for the amount redeemed on the returned item(s)" but of course no where on your receipt will you see on a per-item basis how they originally applied the Kohl's Cash. And I'm pretty darn educated on the fact that Kohl's cash isn't cash.

_____________________________________________________
FWIW not all store policies, etc need to be on receipts..there's not even enough room for this realistically. Khol's does however fully disclose their policies regarding Khol's cash.

On another thread a poster was asking about khol's cash.

I provided the following information which can be found on Khol's website:

Here is Khol's information on returns that have earned Khol's Cash:

Kohl's Cash and Returns

± Are you returning merchandise from a purchase that earned Kohl’s Cash?

When you return merchandise from a purchase that earned Kohl’s Cash®, you will get a refund in the form of your original payment, and it will decrease the value of your Kohl’s Cash®.

± Did you already spend your Kohl’s Cash?

If you have already used your Kohl’s Cash®, you will get a refund in the form of your original payment, and the amount of the Kohl’s Cash® will be deducted from your return amount.

± Are you returning merchandise that was purchased with Kohl’s Cash?

If you are returning or receiving a price adjustment on merchandise paid for with Kohl's Cash, you'll receive Kohl's Cash back for the amount redeemed on the returned item(s). You can redeem this Kohl's Cash anytime within 30 days.

(Edited: copied from their website so you can see the text without clicking on the attachment link and adjusted my quote so it shows up more easily on the thread)

ETA: Here's the link from Khol's website: https://cs.kohls.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/125/~/kohl’s-cash/rewards-and-returns

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

RMy strategy would be not to spend it unless you are certain you won’t return the original item(s) and use it on stuff coupons don’t apply to. But I’m sure a lot of people don’t do this.

This is how I treat all stores with all their programs. They all have pretty much the same idea..if you earn rewards they have the right to reduce said rewards if you returned items used to get said rewards. Also similar to how coupons work as well for most retailers.

That may mean I split up my purchases and use the reward or coupon on the item I'm less likely to return.