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I don’t know about you, but I have issues holding onto paper receipts. Luckily, in our day and age I usually have a digital one on hand so I can still make returns.
But what if you don’t? You might be surprised to learn that a lot of the biggest retailers will accept returns without a receipt. Depending on the store, you may or may not get a full refund. But it’s worth doing the research to find out.
Before you check out some of the 20+ stores that offer returns with no receipt, be sure to download the KCL app to gain access to all the latest smart-shopping tips.
1. Costco’s membership model makes receiptless returns easy.
Costco has one of the best return policies around. There’s no time frame for returns, so you can make them literally years later. And the Costco return policy without receipt is no different.
One way Costco makes this possible is through membership. Because you typically need to be a member to shop with Costco, they can look up your past transactions under your membership number. They can also look up your transactions using your credit card number.
2. The nation’s largest retailer, Walmart offers returns without receipts.
When you make a receiptless return at Walmart, you won’t necessarily get all of your money back. They’ll either refund you the current selling price, or the lowest selling price over the past 90 days.
3. Home Depot can look up your receipt via your credit card.
Home Depot offers three different ways to make a return sans receipt:
- With your Home Depot account: If you provided the phone number associated with your Home Depot account at checkout, the store associate should be able to look up your purchase that way. Bear in mind that the Home Depot return policy with or without receipt gives you 90 days to return most items.
- With your credit card: Give the store associate the credit card you used to make your purchase. If your purchase was made in the past 30 days, they should be able to find it and issue your refund.
- None of the above: Don’t have a Home Depot account? Or the card you used to make your purchase? Home Depot will still issue you a refund, but it will only be for the lowest advertised price of the product over the past year. That’s a much longer lookback period than most of the other retailers.
4. Give Lowe’s your phone number to make receiptless returns.
Just like Home Depot, Lowe’s returns without receipt are possible and they have multiple ways to look up your past purchases:
- Your phone number (if you provided it at time of purchase.)
- Your MyLowe’s Loyalty Account.
- Your Lowe’s credit card.
- The credit or debit card you used to make your purchase.
If you don’t have any of those things, Lowe’s will still issue a return without a receipt. You’ll have to provide a photo ID, and you’ll only be refunded the current selling price of the item via store credit.
5. Kohl’s will give you the lowest selling price over the last 13 weeks.
You have two options for returns without receipt at Kohl’s. If you have a registered Kohl’s account and used it to make your purchase, the store associate should be able to look up your purchase in the system. As long as it was made in the past six months, you’ll get a full refund for most products.
If they cannot find your purchase this way, you can still get a refund via store credit. But it will only be for the lowest selling price of the item over the past 13 weeks.
6. Don’t sweat it. Target can probably find you, anyways.
Target also has several ways to look up your past orders. If you used one of the following to make your purchase, you won’t need a receipt to make your Target return:
- Target account.
- Target RedCard.
- Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover credit card.
- A check. (Bring a blank check from the same account to make your return.)
- Target gift card. (Bring the physical gift card with you to make your return.)
Bear in mind that most returns are subject to the 90-day Target return policy.
If you paid using another method, you can still get a refund without a receipt. But it will be issued via store credit.
TIP: Target has an explicit $100/year limit for receiptless returns.
7. Ulta has a pretty great return policy – even if you don’t have a receipt.
Like many other stores on our list, Ulta’s return policy when you don’t have a receipt is great. Ulta will issue a refund via store credit if you don’t have a receipt and can’t provide a way t111o look up your purchase.
But if you want a refund refund – one issued via the same method of payment you used to make the purchase – you will need to provide one of the following:
- Your Ultamate Rewards number – or an ID or phone number associated with your account.
- Your Ulta.com account email or phone number.
- A confirmation email from your online order.
- Your online order packing slip.
RELATED: Lost your receipt? It actually probably doesn’t matter.
8. Macy’s must be able to locate your purchase in their system.
Macy’s accepts returns without receipts as long as they can look up your purchase. They can do so using your Macy’s account number, the credit card you used to make the purchase, your registry number, or the packing slip or confirmation email for your online order.
Receiptless returns must be made within 90 days – just like most other returns under the Macy’s return policy.
9. Nordstrom will bend over backward to get you some kind of refund.
Nordstrom really tries to help you make that return – whether you have a receipt or not. They’ll try asking you if you have the credit card you used for the purchase so they can look it up that way. They may also be able to look up your order if you give them the month you purchased the product. Nordstrom return policy without receipt as as generous as anything out there.
If nothing else works, they may issue you a refund via store credit – but whether or not they do so without proof of purchase is a decision that’s made on a case-by-case basis. If they allow it, you will be required to provide a photo ID.
10. JCPenney refunds the lowest selling price over the past 45 days.
You can make returns at JCPenney without a receipt. Your refund will be issued in store credit, and you must present a valid ID at the time of return.
You will only be refunded the item’s lowest selling price over the past 45 days. So if you can hold onto that receipt, try to! Otherwise you might not get all your money back.
11. Have your ID ready for receiptless returns at Old Navy.
The Old Navy return policy allows for returns without a receipt. But you will need the debit or credit card you used to make your purchase, plus a photo ID.
12. Try not to lose your Dick’s Sporting Goods receipt.
You can return items at Dick’s Sporting Goods without a receipt, but your refund will only be issued via store credit.
There’s an extremely good chance you’ll lose money, too, as Dick’s only gives you the ‘lowest selling price’ for the product. They don’t explicitly say how long of a period they look over to determine the lowest selling price, so if you want all your money back, it’s in your own best interest to not lose your receipt.
13. Opt into REI email receipts.
The REI return policy allows for receiptless returns – but only if there’s another proof of purchase. If you’re an REI Co-op member, they will be able to easily look up your purchase.
If you’re not an REI Co-op member, it’s wise to opt-in to an email receipt when you’re making your purchase. That way you can just pull it up on your phone instead of worrying about keeping track of a tiny piece of paper.
RELATED: These Stores Have Ridiculously Long Return Windows
14. DSW refunds the current selling price without a receipt.
Have a DSW account? You’ll never need to worry about keeping track of your receipt. The sales associate should be able to use your account number to look up your purchase.
If you’re not a member, you can still make a return at DSW without a receipt. But your refund will be in store credit, and you’ll only be refunded the current selling price.
15. Get store credit for Hobby Lobby receiptless returns.
If you don’t have a receipt, Hobby Lobby return policy states the store will issue a refund via store credit. You will need a photo ID, and you’ll only be refunded the lowest selling price over the past 60 days.
16. Same at Michaels, but Hobby Lobby’s policy is better.
Michaels will try to look up your order by phone number or the credit card used to make the purchase. But if they can’t, the Michaels return policy does allow for returns without receipts.
It operates much like Hobby Lobby’s policy: You’ll need a photo ID for a refund issued via store credit. But they’ll look back even further for the lowest price – 90 days versus 60 days at Hobby Lobby.
17. Get Ross store credit for the current selling price.
You don’t need a receipt to make returns per the Ross return policy. But you will need a photo ID, and your refund will be issued via store credit. You may or may not lose money by returning without a receipt – your refund will be for the current selling price of the item.
18. TJMaxx treats you like you don’t have a receipt anyways after 30 days.
TJMaxx operates similarly to Ross when it comes to receiptless returns. You will need a photo ID to make your return, and it will be issued via store credit.
The TJMaxx return policy with or without receipt only gives you 30 days to make a return. After that, you’ll get the same terms as those who do receiptless returns.
19. There’s no reason not to return defective Victoria’s Secret items – even when you don’t have a receipt.
If you lost your receipt, Victoria’s Secret issues refunds via store credit for the item’s lowest selling price. You will need a photo ID, and receiptless returns are limited to $250 every 90 days.
There is a nice little carve out, though: Victoria’s Secret return policy without receipt states, if you’re returning an item because it was defective, it won’t count towards the $250 limit.
20. The Sam’s Club return policy shortens to two years if you don’t have your receipt.
via Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club would super prefer you to not lose your receipt.
But if you do, they’re a lot like Costco in that they can probably look up your purchase via your membership information.
Just like Costco, there are no time constraints on the general Sam’s Club return policy with or without receipt (though Sam’s Club does have way more exceptions.) But they can only look up past purchases through your membership for the past two years. So don’t dilly dally.
Have you ever made a receiptless return? Share your experience in the comments!
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