[quote name='io']Wait, you live somewhere that doesn't have a Walmart?? Rhodesia, perhaps?[/quote]
There are no Walmarts in NYC. Not just Manhattan either, none in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island.
[quote name='Trakan']Lies = Deception.
If you're returning an item to a Wal-Mart and you didn't buy it there, you're lying to them, which is fraud. Fraud is illegal.[/quote]
First of all, if you go to the return counter at walmart and say, "This item was purchased at another store, but I'd like to return it here" how is that lying?
Second of all, lying to the clueless Walmart clerk doesn't necessarily mean that you are defrauding Walmart. Defrauding requires that you lie in order to cheat. Lying in itself does not necessarily imply cheating and, since it is Walmarts policy to accept 3 returns without receipt per year per individual, regardless of where the items were purchased, Walmart is not being cheated.
Now, if you lied in order to make more than 3 returns (I know they check ID, but suppose they didn't check one time) you would be cheating Walmart, since Walmart only agreed to 3 times and no more. That would be fraud.
See TUBAPRO1's conversation with a Walmart manager on page 5 (I'll quote it at the end of this post so everyone can read it).
[quote name='Trakan'] Riiight. That's why they've recently limited no-receipt returns to 3 every six months/year. I mean, of course they would limit it, especially if they were profiting from it. Hell, I've tried returning something to Wal-Mart that actually was from Wal-Mart, but I didn't have the receipt, so I couldn't.
What do I know, though? You're the expert, having no Wal-Marts around you.[/quote]
Companies that offer rebates also limit the number of rebates per customer. That doesn't mean they aren't making money by offering rebates. Large retail is a complicated business; it's not as simple as just "buy low, sell high".
[quote name='TUBAPRO1']With the TRU deal recently, I've looked into both Walmart and TRU's return policy pretty extensively. I'll focus on Walmart's right here:
First off, I went and looked around the store, especially by the returns/exchange counter in my store, and nowhere does it say anything about the item having to come from Walmart. On the website, it says returns without a receipt FOR ITEMS BOUGHT ON WALMART.COM can be returned for a store credit, but in the store it doesn't specify. Also, on the receipt for TRU and Walmart, it makes no mention of this issue.
Secondly, I asked a manager at a Walmart a bunch of questions. I made it clear what was going on and how people (including myself) were doing this. He said that they accept any item that they carry in the store with no receipt for the price they're currently selling it at. I explicitally asked: "Is it items you carry or items purchased from Walmart" and he said that it was items they carry. He also told me (which I'm sure many of you know) that once you make three returns without a receipt your account is supposedly red-flagged and you cannot return anymore. I haven't heard of this actually happening with anyone (my mom and I frequently return things to Walmart simply because we can't find the receipt and we have no idea where they came from).
Also, Walmart has never once asked me "where did you buy this?" or "did you buy this at a Walmart?" If people are so insistent on this being illegal (which I'm honestly not sure if it is or not), then why does Walmart not simply put up signs that state their policy clearly or require employees to ask where the item was purchased?
Another thing many people have brought up is the intention of the return. Sure, flippers are doing it to make a profit on a giftcard. But legally, what separates flippers from people who are returning items that didn't come from Walmart? What distinguishes someone who purchased the game to do this from someone who received a gift without a receipt or is not sure where something came from? If it didn't come from Walmart, they're all breaking this law (if it exists).
The answer is simple. Walmart should simply stop taking unopened games, DVDs, etc. They're pretty much the only large chain that I know of that is still doing this (Target's caught on in recent years, Best Buy/CC are very YMMV, and all videogame stores have NEVER allowed it). And just because people do it here, doesn't mean there aren't people out there doing worse things. I'm sure people scam Walmart and other stores much worse than a few teenagers buying 3 or 4 games and selling them back to Walmart so they can get a different game for a cheaper price. Oh, and if I haven't made it obvious how I feel, flipping is fine with me, as long as you're not a hoarder and buy 20 copies of the same game so no one else can get what they want. I've never operated like that and never will.[/quote]