Macy's Return Policy Offers Free (and Honestly, Easy!) Returns

Making sense of Macy’s return policy is a piece of cake. All you have to do is follow a few simple rules:

1. Always hold on to the original tags that come with your Macy’s purchase.
2. Know your Macy’s return window (30 days for some items, but as little as seven days for others — I’ll spell it out for you below).
3. Macy’s returns have to be unworn, unaltered, and in their original packaging.

That’s really it. If you know these three things, you’ll be able to make a pretty seamless Macy’s return. Honestly, you can still get store credit if you don’t have a receipt or another form of proof of purchase. Macy’s return policy is a friendly one, and it even allows for free return shipping (unlike Kohl’s).

Below I’ve outlined exactly what you need to know in order to make any Macy’s return as easy as possible.

Before you read on, don’t forget to download the KCL app if you love to shop at Macy’s. Our team of deal finders is posting sweet Macy’s deals all the livelong day.

 

1. Macy’s return policy gives you 30 days to make most returns — and you’ll need a receipt.

You have 30 days to return most Macy’s items, and while they used to accept returns without receipts, they recently made a policy change. Now, you’ll only get a complete refund if you have your original receipt or one of these other forms of proof of purchase:

• The credit card you used to make your purchase
• Your return label
• A packing slip

Another easy way to back up your purchases is to shop with your free Macy’s account, which always has your order history, email, and general info on file.

The 30-day return window applies to most items. But, of course, there are a few exceptions to Macy’s policy. Some items have shorter return windows, and others (like Macy’s Last Act purchases) can’t be returned at all.

I’ll dive deeper into the exceptions below, but know that tech watches, Apple products, dresses, jewelry, and Macy’s Beauty Box items have shorter return windows.

 

2. If you don’t have a receipt, you may be able to get Macy’s store credit.

Macy’s policy says that without proof of purchase, you may be able to get store credit for your return. However, you’ll only get credit for the item’s lowest-selling price in the last 90 days, which means you may still be facing a loss.

 

3. All your returns must be unworn, unaltered, and in their original packaging with all tags attached.

This is new to Macy’s policy, which used to accept “gently used” returns without tags. Now, you won’t be able to make a return if your items are worn, washed, or altered in any other way. Be sure to keep those tags on until you’re absolutely sure you love what you bought. And don’t forget to hold onto your original packaging (aka what the item came in when you bought it) because you’ll need that to make your Macy’s return, as well.

 

4. Expect your Macy’s return refund in the original form of payment.

Your Macy’s refund can be immediate (if you paid in cash) or take a few days as your bank processes the refund. Macy’s will send you an email once your return is received and processed on their end; refunds should go through 1 – 3 days after that.

 

5. You’ll get full store credit for Macy’s gift returns (as long as you have proof of purchase).

As long as you have your gift receipt, return label, or registry number, you can expect Macy’s store credit for the full amount of your gift return.

 

6. Ship your Macy’s online return back to them for free.

Returning your Macy’s online purchase back to Macy’s is pretty painless. All you have to do is start a return here, and Macy’s will give you a return shipping label you can attach to the original packaging.

The only info you need is the order number Macy’s emailed to you when you received your shipping confirmation.

It gets a little tricky, though, because that order number is different from the one that’ll appear on the shipping invoice (the one attached to your package).

Use the number from your email, not the package.

 

 

7. Drop your Macy’s online return off at UPS or at a Macy’s store.

You can ship your Macy’s online returns back via UPS using the free return label, or you can return them to the store, like a regular in-store purchase.

It doesn’t work in reverse, though. You must take store purchases back to the store to return them; you can’t mail back something you bought in the store.

 

8. Not all items get the full 30-day return period.

As I said above, there are some items that don’t get the full 30-day Macy’s return window.

For starters, Apple products and tech watches only get 14 days, and area rugs only get seven days. Macy’s policy also states that other departments may have shorter return windows where they are posted. So keep an eye out as you shop. It’ll help you know what you’re getting into before you make your purchase.

Find the full list of Macy’s return policy exceptions.

 

9. You can’t return Macy’s Last Act merchandise or mismatched garment sets.

Macy’s calls their final sale clearance items “Last Act” merchandise, which you can’t return after purchasing. Last Act items are sold “as is,” so no returns, exchanges, or price adjustments are allowed.

You also can’t return mismatched garment sets to Macy’s.

 

10. Macy’s return policy allows 120 days to make a mattress return.

Macy’s allows 120 days to let you figure out if a mattress is right for you. If it’s not, you can either return it or make a one-time-only reselection. But be warned: Macy’s won’t refund you for shipping fees, which can be in the hundreds of dollars for mattresses.

While we’re on the topic of heavy furniture, I’ll note that any furniture shipped directly from Macy’s or UPS may be returned within 30 days of delivery. Just contact Macy’s customer service at 888-822-6229 to start the process.

 

11. Macy’s exchange policy only lets you exchange items you bought in-store.

Macy’s limits exchanges to in-store purchases — and you also have to make your exchanges in the store.

The process isn’t clear on the Macy’s website, but when I talked to Macy’s employees, they said the process is pretty similar to making a return. You need the original tags, and your items must be unaltered, unworn, and with the original tags attached.

Do you have any other questions about Macy’s returns or exchanges? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!