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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to attempt to swap a book at Waterstones with no receipt?

78 replies

WestleyAndButtockUp · 27/12/2011 07:57

I got two identical (new) books for Christmas. Will Waterstones take one of them and swap it for the next book in the series? All the same price.

Fairly sure both relatives got them from Amazon.

Is this unreasonable?

OP posts:

Pagwatch · 27/12/2011 08:02

Are you asking if it is ok to walk into a shop, lie to them and leave with an item that no one has paid for. Is that your question?

ThreeNine · 27/12/2011 08:04

It probably is unreasonable. I'd give it a go though They'd end up with a book of the same value I'd they did take it so they wouldn't be out of pocket.

Emmac50 · 27/12/2011 08:06

I wouldn't have balls to do it but you could give it a go.aybe first you could say to your relatives the situation and they could exchange it at amazon for you. It's not exactly a terrible situation and it's obviously better to tell the truth with karma on your side

Original poster

WestleyAndButtockUp · 27/12/2011 08:09

Well, not exactly Pagwatch.

I'm asking if I can give them a brand new (Vol One) book worth £14, and take from them a different book (Vol Two) worth £14.

They then sell Vol One for £14. So they will not have lost any money.

OP posts:

Original poster

WestleyAndButtockUp · 27/12/2011 08:10

Is it easy to exchange through Amazon?

OP posts:

Sirzy · 27/12/2011 08:22

Can you not just tell one of the people what has happened and ask them to exchange it for the next volume for you?

AmazingBouncingJesus · 27/12/2011 08:23

They will have lost money because they never sold that book in the first place.
I'd attempt exchange through Amazon if I were you.

This thread is very apt for me. I'm due in work in 2 hours. I just know after my shift I will be sick of saying "sorry can't exchange or refund without receipt" I may as well record myself saying it and just press a button to save my voice.

birdsofshoreandsea · 27/12/2011 08:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FellatioNelson · 27/12/2011 08:24

I think most shops will not exchange without a receipt unless it's stark staring obvious that it came from that shop, eg., M&S label in a jumper being taken back to M&S.

SantasNutellaFairy · 27/12/2011 08:30

ABJ- I feel for you, I really do. I'm luckily off until Thursday, but we will also be sick of saying the same thing. And if things have gone down in the sale, but they don't have a receipt- blimey, the amount of shitty comments about "Well, I know she paid full price for it" we'll get. Sorry love- no receipt, no exchange at full price, especially considering all the offers we had on before Christmas.

I hope your shift goes well and people aren't total arses. Make sure you have a nice bottle of wine chilling for you when you finish!

nikon1968 · 27/12/2011 08:35

I think smiths would be a doddle I have done it myself.

sashh · 27/12/2011 08:37

"sorry can't exchange or refund without receipt"

Er if you are repeating that you are breaking the law, the law says tere must be reasonable proof, that can be a bag, a sticker on the product, a product that is only availbale at one particular store such as marks and spencer's brand. But the law also says you can only exchange if it is faulty / not fit for purpose.

callmemrs · 27/12/2011 08:39

I imagine it's pretty difficult to exchange books- even if it had been bought in waterstones, they would probably assume you had just bought it, read it and were taking a chance on getting another book to read

sharenicely · 27/12/2011 08:42

I don't think it's unreasonable at all, like you say they won't be losing money. It's not like you're going in asking for your money back. I've exchanged books before at WH Smith without being sure where they were bought. Sometimes you end up spending more while you're in there .

biological · 27/12/2011 08:42

You should be fine as long as it's a fairly mainstream book that's sold in that particular branch recently & you say please & thankyou. Good customer service on their part in the (possibly vain) hope that you will buy the next book in the series from them.

SantasNutellaFairy · 27/12/2011 08:45

sashh- a shop does not have to accept anything for return unless it is faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose. Most places have a returns policy as goodwill which state a certain number of days, in the condition in which it was sold and with the receipt.

Pocket1 · 27/12/2011 08:49

Just do it - but with conviction otherwise you may fluff it or they'll may cotton on. Tell yourself....

whoever bought it for you did tell you it was from Waterstones Picadilly branch

The other ladies are right that it's not strictly honest but these stores factor this into their pricing.

Good kuck

ChocChipMisteltoeAndWine · 27/12/2011 08:53

I've done it, they were really nice and it was no problem, worth a try!

BellaVita · 27/12/2011 08:56

I bought a revision book for DS1 at Smiths and then realised I had bought the wrong one. Didn't have time to go back to town so went to our shopping precinct to Smiths. I just wanted to swap it for the correct one and the sales assistant said no because I could not locate the receipt, I tried to argue with her that I didn't not want any money, just an exchange.

She then looked on her system and said in the previous 2 weeks smiths had not sold one one of those revision books

So the week after I ventured back town and smiths there swapped it straight away. What was that all about?

You could try OP but I would just ring Amazon.

Santa11280 · 27/12/2011 08:59

I worked for Waterstone's (still have my Secret Santa name up!) and we would normally exchange or give a Waterstone's gift card for books without a receipt providing that it is in mint condition and it is a book that we have sold in the last 21 days.

HOWEVER without a receipt you will only get the lowest price they have been sold at, so if your book was on a half-price offer at any stage during Christmas you will only get that amount back in an exchange/gift card.

As I understand the Sale of Goods act we do NOT have to offer any refund/exchange UNLESS the goods are faulty/not fit for purpose, regardless of whether they were bought from us, or not. We offer exchanges/gift cards or refunds-with-receipts as a courtesy.

OP - I'll leave it to you to decide whether you should do this through Amazon or try your luck with us

Right - I'm off to get ready for the onslaught of refunds too

StewieGriffinsMom · 27/12/2011 09:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

eurochick · 27/12/2011 09:03

Just tell one of the people that bought it for you and return one copy to where it came from. If it was from Amazon, you can just return it to Amazon. In my view it would be dishonest to take it back to a store that it didn't come from.

Hulababy · 27/12/2011 09:07

Waterstones are fine. They will definitely swap anything they stock. They check the bar code and it they sell it, then will swap them, even if they know it wasn't bought from them but is in good, unread condition.

I have done it before and told them I wasnt sure where it came from as a gift and they have been perfectly happy. You don't even have to lie.

They just resell it so they don't lose out anyway.

Debs75 · 27/12/2011 09:08

I did this last year. Bought a book for dn who had got the same off his girlfriend. I took it to waterstones and told them it was am unwanted gift as dn had asked for it twice. They took it back no problem. I hadn't bought it from there but I got a gift card so bought something else from there.
Strictly not morally right to do so but I did it. They were really nice about it as well. Much nicer then Tescos were when I exchanged a dvd

Original poster

WestleyAndButtockUp · 27/12/2011 09:10

Anyone know the phone number for Amazon exchanges?

Turns out one of the books was bought through Amazon and one was bought in Waterstones. They are popular books, so would have been sold recently. But I'm sure there wouldn't have been any pre-Christmas offers on it.

I can't see I'm doing anything wrong/being unreasonable trying to do it in Waterstones. But thank you for the discussion - interesting to get all these perspectives.

OP posts:

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