Receipt or Gift Receipt?
 

Which is it? I thought it was the same. I was returning some items to wal-mart with a gift receipt. Apparently, receipts are different then gift receipts. The girl at the return desk was going to put it on gift cards. I wanted cash. Had to get a CSM. Then a Manager. Then the Big Manager. I even pointed out their return policy, which says you can get a refund with a receipt. They didn't believe a gift receipt was the same as a receipt. I finally got my money. But I think the policy should be more specific.

Typically a gift receipt is given to the person who received the gift but did not purchase the item. It does not have the price of the original item. You would not expect to get cash back from a gift receipt since that person did not pay for the item.

Which is why I always give people the actual receipt. With the gift receipt, you generally only get store credit.

Gift receipt is almost always for store credit. They should have told you to pound sand.

Dude if people give you a gift receipt they don't want you to see what they spent, nor do they want you to get cash back for what they bought you.

Honestly I thought it was pretty clear to me a gift receipt is.

But surely they give you store credit for the amount spent which nulliifies that arguement somewhat? ... leaving it as a simple "I love store ZZZXXX and want you to only have a gift from there" as the only reason for giving such a receipt? (unless of course they might be hinding something else they bought which was on the receipt?).

I think the original point is that they assume (rightly or wrongly) that they are buying something you will like and it won't be returned. The gift receipt is given as a courtesy (maybe you already have product X).

Plus the receipt may have gifts for other people too so you can split the receipt by providing gift receipts.

Also, most stores give refunds only to method of purchase. So if it was bought on the giver's Visa, thee refund would be credited back to the giver's Visa....not doing the receiver much good. That is the main reason for gift receipts. If I buy you a $100 gift and pay for it with my credit card, and you return it for cash, the retailer has just handed the credit card company $3 and not made a dime (actually having lost money for the time, labor etc.) The point is to secure the transaction and not allow it to leave.

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Exactly. Or you buy a $100 gift with a credit card and return it for cash, you've just gotten $100 in cash without paying the credit card company's service fee and interest rate, which is usually higher for cash advances. If you have a credit card processing account, it's buried in the details that you cannot refund purchases on cards for cash or you will be penalized. Plus, returning merchandise for cash paid for by credit or check is a major fraud issue, which is why stores want to avoid giving cash returns without a receipt at all cost.

If I have a gift receipt and I need to return it, I assume I'm getting store credit.

gift receipts are given mostly as a way to say "if you already have this shirt or video game at least you're not stuck with something you can't use, you can take this receipt and exchange it for the correct size/different game". if someone didn't know what to get you they'd opt to just give you a visa gift card, they wouldn't go through the trouble of wasting time to pick something out for you only to put you through the trouble of having to use the gift receipt to exchange for something you really want.

also, tarcone must really be a stupid and fabulously annoying person that a manager decided to give him cash to just leave the store, even though everyone knows gift receipts means you only get store credit.

After you got your money back, you didn't by chance buy a celebratory burrito and throw it away did you?

If you did, you scared me.. I thought it was a baby at first.

:lol:

Lol. Yup

I had no clue gift receipts weren't any good for refunds. It's totally fucking stupid to offer refunds on "real" receipts but not the gift variety. I've always thought they were just so you could include them without having to give away what you spent on the item...

ever hear of money laundering? if so, that would be a great way to launder money. buy up tons of plasma tvs and appliances and give a gift receipt to some other criminal you owe money to, they bring back the products and hand in a gift receipt and get thousands back that can't be reported to the IRS.

If someone wanted to do that, couldn't they do it with a regular receipt?

i'm sure you have to show proof of id in order to get cash back. i could be mistaken.

anyway i know gift receipts means you get store credit. that's the important part.

I'd think there may be an easier way to launder money than stand in the return line at Wal-Mart.

But I agree with you that gift receipts means you get store credit.