How we verify return policies.
Every number on this site — a return window, a restocking fee, a holiday cutoff date — is a factual claim about a real store's rules, and getting one wrong could cost a reader a refund. This page explains exactly where our data comes from, what we track, and where the limits of that data are.
1. Where the data comes from
Each of the 20 retailers in our directory is researched from the retailer's own official policy page — never from third-party blogs, forums, or aggregators. Every store page on this site links to that official source, so you can always check the retailer's current wording yourself. When our data and a retailer's official page ever disagree, the retailer's page is right and ours needs updating — please tell us.
2. What we track for every store
Rather than paraphrasing policy pages, we break each policy into structured fields. The same fields power the store pages, the comparison tables, and the eligibility calculator, so a correction in one place propagates everywhere:
- Return window
- The standard number of days from purchase (or shipment) the store accepts returns, including "no deadline" satisfaction guarantees.
- Receipt rules
- Whether a receipt is strictly required, optional, or replaceable by a card or membership lookup.
- Condition rules
- Opened-item, packaging, and tag requirements — the fine print that most often sinks a return.
- Category exceptions
- Shorter windows and special conditions for electronics, appliances, beauty, apparel, furniture, and clearance items.
- Holiday extensions
- The exact purchase-date ranges and extended deadlines stores publish for the gift season.
- Fees and refund form
- Mail-return fees, restocking fees, membership extensions, and whether refunds arrive as cash, card credit, or store credit.
3. Verification cadence
Every store profile displays the date its policy was last checked against the official source; the most recent verification across the dataset was June 20, 2026. We re-check entries when retailers announce policy changes and periodically review the full dataset. We deliberately don't promise a fixed schedule we can't keep — the per-store date is the honest signal of freshness.
4. How the calculator works
The eligibility calculator is deterministic date math, not an estimate or an AI guess. It takes your purchase date and inputs (category, channel, condition, receipt, membership), applies the store's structured rules — window length, category carve-outs, holiday date ranges, membership extensions — and outputs the resulting deadline and eligibility. Two people entering the same facts always get the same answer, and that answer is only as good as the published policy behind it.
5. Corrections
Spotted a policy that's changed, or a number that doesn't match what a store told you at the counter? Email us via the contact page with the store name and, if possible, a link to the official policy text. Corrections are the fastest way this resource gets better.
6. Limitations
Retailers change policies without notice, individual stores and managers exercise discretion, and marketplace sellers on platforms like Amazon and Walmart can set their own terms that differ from the platform's. This site is a research aid, not a guarantee: the retailer's official policy page — linked from every store profile — is always the final word, and for high-stakes returns we recommend confirming with the retailer directly before making the trip.