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WILKES-BARRE — Christmas Day came and went. Presents were passed around, ooh’d and ahh’d over and loved. Or not.
According to the National Retail Federation, 15 percent of the holiday presents will be returned. Whether it was the wrong size, shape and color, holiday returns have already been coming in. As customers milled around shops in the Wyoming Valley on Sunday, some were spending gift cards and holiday cash, others were returning that not-so-perfect Christmas present.
One such returner was Nicole Miller, of Dallas, who was returning items at the Bon-Ton in the Wyoming Valley Mall.
“I just don’t need them,” she said as the employee started the transaction. “We’ve returned stuff downstairs and at other places (Boscov’s) as well.”
It was easy for Miller and her husband to go shopping Sunday afternoon, instead of dealing with the crowds yesterday because they were down to watching only one child.
“Our daughter is at a sleepover,” she noted.
Some shoppers were reluctant to discuss their returns with a reporter because they didn’t want to hurt the feelings of their tender-hearted gift givers.
Other customers just returned gifts as part of the weekly honey-do list. Bruce and Gayle Huttenstine, of West Hazleton, were shopping together – sort of.
After returning some gifts he bought his wife, Bruce was relaxing in front of JCPenney Department Store at the Wyoming Valley Mall, while Gayle continued to shop.
“I returned two sweaters from me to her (Gayle),” Huttenstine said. “When I go shopping, I just get everything. Something’s going to eventually stick.”
Huttenstine recalled buying two sets of earrings, “which she loved,” and two pairs of brown pants, one that zipped up and one with a belt for his wife, when he went shopping on Christmas Eve. The zippered pants, unfortunately, were relegated to the shame of the return line.
Not Only Returns
Although returns seem more likely, exchanges also occurred at the register.
Miller’s husband handed her an Under Armor hat as an exchange for one he received on Christmas.
“He just didn’t like the color,” Miller said.
A local assistant store manager, who asked that her name not be published because she didn’t have permission to speak with the media on behalf of the store, said the number of exchanges has exceeded the number of returns so far this season.
“Maybe people just bought the perfect gift,” the assistant manager joked.
The perfect gift for Huttenstine was a pair of all-leather boots his wife bought during a sale Sunday. The boots, he explained, were marked down for an after-Christmas sale, and she saved even more with a coupon.
“Gotta keep the women happy,” he said with a laugh.