[dream2bemommy22]

HI ladies,

I just wanted to give all of you a bit of a warning about Target registries. I heard some horror stories before i registered for my shower, but decided to give Target the benifit of the doubt, since they are such a big chain store. I cant tell you what to do or whre to register for your showers, i just want you to be aware of the bad things that go on in a target store!

Well first off, i registered about a week before they changed their inventory, yet not one sales person told me this change was going to take place before i registered, so a week later, they had discontinued a lot of the merchandise i had on my registry so i had to redo a lot of it.
Next, when it comes to your items being taken off your registry, target is very slow about it, and theres nothing you can do to speed up the process. This happened to me for my shower, my aunt bought me a highchair, and a week later the product still had not come off, when she called midweek to see why it wsant being taken off, the lady assured her that the product would be taken off within 24 hours of the conversation, it still didnt happen. Even still, this product should be taken off immediately, what if more than one person purchase the item in that time frame, this is where duplicates happen. This also happened with a shower that i am attending this weekend, i bought a bath tub, and they didnt take off the product from the registry, so i called the customer service, they assured it to be off in 24 hours, and still did not come off. I had to actually call the mom of the girl a day or so later and have her physically take the item off the registry from their home computer. This to me is completely unnacceptable!
Lastly, their return policy is AWFUL!! If you dont recieve gift receipts and need to make an exchange or return, you are only allowed 2 returns a year without a gift receipt, and only if the itemis under $20.00. So if you receive more than one large item without a gift receipt, you are basically stuck with that item.

As youll see in the email response, basically their solution is to have the person who purchased the gift go through all the work of going back to the store and getting gift receipts, or even to bring the item back and return it themselves. This to me is completely unnacceptable and lazy of that store!!

I emailed Target yesteday with several complaints becuase i wanted to make my opinions and comments known. This is the email i sent:
:I would just like to say how disappointed and upset i am with Targets return policies. I have recently registered with Target's Baby registry, and received quite a bit of items off of it. Almost my whole registry was purchased. I have always liked that with registries, you can use this as your receipt if you end up getting duplicates or for whatever other reason you would need to return something. Well after my baby shower, on Feb. 25th i had a few things that i wanted to exchange for bigger sizes at the target store in New Lenox, IL. I didnt want money back, i didnt want store credit, i simply wanted to exchange my 4 packages of baby sleepers for a bigger size. In my opinion, this really isnt costing you store any money. Well i did not have my gift receipts, because people did not give them to me. So, i just assumed that you would be able to look up that they were purchased from my registry and i would be able to exchange the items. Well this was not the case, the girl in customer service told me i was only able to exchange 2 items a year without a gift receipt. I think this is completely unacceptable, and completely unnecessary when i could clearly prove they were purchased on my Baby registry from that store! I dont want to even know what would have happened had i had more expensive items to return without a gift receipt, i probably would have been stuck with those as well. As a large company, that in the past could look up purchases from credit cards or checks, i find it mind boggling that you cannot look up and use a persons registry as a gift receipt. It really makes me wonder why i even registered there to begin with, it really seems like a big hassle all around. Also, i think it is really horrible at how long it takes to have items removed from the registry, even after calling customer service to have items removed, they only tell you that the item will be removed within 24 hours of the phone call. Again this is completely unacceptable because in that 24 hour period, 5 other people could go and buy the same item becuase it hasnt been marked off yet. This happened to me, and it also happened with a gift i purchased. In the end i had to call the mother of the girl the shower was for and have her manually take it off the registry so that no one else would buy it. That is completely making having a registry useless. It is not our responsibility to take the items off manually, it is yours, and 24 hours, just really isnt good enough, especially with your horrible return policy. I really hope you look into this problem. I know that in the future i will steer my friends and family away from registering at Target stores, because of the hassle that it has become. I have had several registries at other stores in the last 2 years, 3 stores for my wedding and 2 for my baby, and by far, Target has been the biggest disapointment.

And this was my response back:
Thank you for choosing to register at Target and for taking the time to contact us about our return policy.

Target's Gift registry is designed to give your family and friends a guide for which items meet your tastes. The registry is a tool to help manage the gift giving process. It was not intended to replace the need for guests to give and keep receipts.

Since this is a gift you'll need to ask the gift giver for the gift receipt which we gave when it was purchased. If that's lost, don't worry there are still two options for making your return. If the gift giver has a copy of the original receipt, they can simply take it to the Guest Service desk and request a reprint of the gift receipt. If they don't have the original receipt, the gift giver will need to take the item with their card or check to our Guest Service desk and ask about receipt look up. Most purchases made by check, credit, debit or GiftCards can be located and returned with this process, within 90 days.

I'm sorry for any trouble you had with the gift registry updates. We know how important it is for our systems to work right all the time, so it's disappointing to hear that the systems weren't working properly. We regret the inconvenience.

We appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts and comments with us. Your feedback is helpful in our continual review of our return policy. We're always glad to hear from you, so if you have any further questions or comments, give us a call at (800) 888-9333. You can also check with a Guest Services Team Lead at your store, or visit us on Target.com. Any way you choose, we're here to help!

We hope to see you again soon at Target.

Sincerely,

Virve
Gift Registry Services

[SavannahMom]

Wow, that s*cks. So far I've only registered at BRU, but considered registering at Target as well (although I didn't find a lot of additional stuff there). But that's really silly with their return policy. I've never had problems returning things to Target, but this sounds like a mess. It seems tacky to tell everybody "make sure if you give me a gift that you get a gift receipt!"
So thanks for the heads up!

[Kelly]

what a brush off! I've always heard Target registries are bad, and their return policies stink.

[jennandbaby]

I didn't register at target specifically due to their return policy.

[NYCHICKEE]

I am registered at BRU and Target. I knew of the problems with them before hand but chose to register for a few items because they were the only place that had the bedding we wanted.

My sister registered for her housewarming party with target. She registered for 2 sets of their brand of dishes. Every store was sold out, she received 1 set of dishes and cash to get the other set when it came in stock. Target discontinued the dishes so she tried to return the 1st set, un opened box off her registry and they refused. She had to call the person who bought them and get her involved with her Credit card.

What a shame such a huge chain store treats customers this way. I hear great things about BRU.

[cbell]

<span style="font-family:Georgia">Oh NO! I didn't know any of this... I registered with them!!! I got 2 things off my registry so far (mailed to me) and I checked the registry and it was marked as fullfilled. I hate their return policy! I wish I knew about this before!!! So frustrating!!! </span>

Thanks for the heads up! There really aren't any Targets around our area, so I registered at BRU and Walmart. I have had NO problems with them at all - if anything the items are taken off IMMEDIATELY upon purchase. I personally think all registeries should run that way - why cause a new mother trouble with double gifts if it could have been stopped. I am sorry you had such a bad experience with them - I will remember not to register with them in the future!

[~*LauraFL*~]

I LITERALLY just got home from finishing my registry from Target.
Oh boy.

[*~Jen~*]

If you don't have the gift receipt, you can still EXCHANGE the item, but you can't RETURN it. At least that was my experience last time around. I don't think anything has changed in 2 years. I exchanged a TON of stuff without the receipts. The only issue with that is that if the item has been marked down, you get the current sale price of the item.

I had the same issue with them taking everything on my registry off the shelf. I had to go back and re-do it. That's why I always tell people if you register at Target, do it right before shower invitations go out and if you have more than 1 shower, check in store to make sure everything looks right before those invitations go out....

[bookboarder]

I took most stuff off of my Target registry after hearing about this. I kept a couple of things, because I know some people who will only shop at Target (not Walmart or BRU).

Can you return items for store credit? I figure if I get double of things, I could always just buy diapers, if I can at least get a gift card.

Target should really look into changing their registry policy, though, because this has been going around a lot of boards, and they're going to lose a lot of customers. I love Target, too, which sucks.

[Astrid]

Yes, this is a sad fact. I already have DH, my mom, my dad, & my MIL lined up to help w/ the returns. Thankfully I have only a couple of things I need to return there. Honestly, I don't really see the issue b/c if you are returning something in order to get something else, they are still getting the $. It is very frustrating.

[illinoismommy]

I warned and warn everyone not to register with Target, but people continue to register there anyway and pretty much blew me off in this very ddc when I said the same thing as the opening post. They will never fix the problems until people stop using their registries.

I don't think anything has changed in 2 years.[/b]

yes it has changed

Can you return items for store credit?[/b]

no they won't do it

Yes - their policy has changed in the last 2 years. The new policy went into effect in August 2007 actually. No - you cannot get store credit or do an exchange. You are just screwed. If the item costs less than 20.00 then they will allow you to do a return or exchange - but only 2 per year. If the item is over 20.00 they will allow you to do nothing. Seriously!

[NYCHICKEE]

If you don't have the gift receipt, you can still EXCHANGE the item, but you can't RETURN it. At least that was my experience last time around. I don't think anything has changed in 2 years. I exchanged a TON of stuff without the receipts. The only issue with that is that if the item has been marked down, you get the current sale price of the item.

I had the same issue with them taking everything on my registry off the shelf. I had to go back and re-do it. That's why I always tell people if you register at Target, do it right before shower invitations go out and if you have more than 1 shower, check in store to make sure everything looks right before those invitations go out....[/b]

I think there policy did change. My sister gladly would have accepted an exchange and they refused. Could be just in NY...who knows!

[ssweetsara]

I registered at Target and BRU. The only reason i registered at Target is because i know some people dont live close to a BRU and dont want to shop online either. But i only registered for nuteral stuff because my sister is having a baby in september and if i cant use it i am sure that she could. When i had my first 2 Target was so good about exchanges but now they are just about the all might dollar not the costumer satisfaction!

I'm registered at BRU. They take items off immediately, but there return policy I think is pretty bad if you don't have a gift reciept.

Honestly, most stores out there have some kind of issue! It's so frustrating!

[*~Jen~*]

I think there policy did change. My sister gladly would have accepted an exchange and they refused. Could be just in NY...who knows!
[/b]

Hmmm....interesting. I had to exchange a couple of boxes of diapers a few months ago (sent DH to buy them and he got the wrong size!) and they didn't say anything at all to me. They just gave me a gift card for the cost of the boxes and I went and bought the right size with the gift card.

Hmmm....interesting. I had to exchange a couple of boxes of diapers a few months ago (sent DH to buy them and he got the wrong size!) and they didn't say anything at all to me. They just gave me a gift card for the cost of the boxes and I went and bought the right size with the gift card. [/b]

That's because the items cost less than 20.00 - You can exchange a lot of ten dollar items... just can't exchange gifts that cost over 20.00 without a gift receipt.

[dream2bemommy22]

Yes, their policies have changed, and not in a good way! The big one is that you can no longer use your registry as your return receipt, when i registered for my wedding a year ago, you could use the registry to return stuff, but i didnt have to return anything back then.

The stuff i wanted to exchange were just a few packs of sleepers, all under 10.00, i had 4 packages that i just wanted diffeent sizes, not even store credit, but they would only let me do 2. Their registry took things off sometimes, but other times they wouldnt come off for a long time!

Babies R Us was much more efficiant, they did take items off very quickly. I will only be ddoing baby shopping at babies r us or walmart from now on.

Just be careful ladies!!

[*~Jen~*]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

Hmmm....interesting. I had to exchange a couple of boxes of diapers a few months ago (sent DH to buy them and he got the wrong size!) and they didn't say anything at all to me. They just gave me a gift card for the cost of the boxes and I went and bought the right size with the gift card. [/b]

That's because the items cost less than 20.00 - You can exchange a lot of ten dollar items... just can't exchange gifts that cost over 20.00 without a gift receipt.
[/b][/quote]

I wish a box of diapers was less than 20.00....

I dunno...maybe my Target's just nice...lol.