When you buy things online, you sometimes have to make a return because they don’t fit or look the way you had hoped.

When there is a local store, you can return them in person for an exchange, or at least that is how it should be.

When the shopper in this story tried to swap her shoes for a different size, the salesperson wouldn’t do it without a fee, so she returned them and made the company pay the shipping.

Check it out.

So you want $30 to exchange my X-mas gift shoes and have a no return policy?

My SO gifted me for early Christmas a pair of sneakers, of a certain brand with a basset hound.

She bought them online and the size was way too big, I didn’t even try them on.

But the store is one block from my home, so no big deal, we went to have them exchanged.

The saleswoman looked at my shoes and invoice, checked the computer and said they didn’t have them in my size, but they had the same model in other colors.

I said no problem, I’ll try them in blue.

So she brought them, I put them on, and everything was fine.

I told her I’d keep them on and put my old shoes in the box.

And that’s the end of it, right?

What a stupid policy.

Well, not so fast.

She said there was a price difference.

Because they have this exchange policy where they give you credit for the price you paid, but then charge you for the arbitrary “full” price of the shoes in the store, without any “discounts” they had.

Actually, they did apply any discount you originally had, but only to the difference between the old and new price.

Makes any sense?

So I said, it’s the same shoe.

You offered me the same model, they cost exactly the same, they have the same discount, but now that I’m wearing them and almost out the door, you want to charge me $30 to exchange them?

To make things worse, they have a no returns policy.

Normally, I’d be out of luck.

A normal person would probably pay up and get it over with.

What are you going to do, look like a deadbeat cheapskate in front of your SO and everybody in the store?

That seems like a great law.

But I had one last card up my sleeve.

Because we bought them online, and in my country you’re entitled by law to return any online purchase in the first 5 days, for no reason, no questions asked.

So I told her, “This is absurd. I can ask for a refund, get my money back and purchase them again for the same price.”

But she insisted that’s the way the system worked.

I wouldn’t budge, so she got a little frustrated, and even complained that the online store was her competition.

She gestured to me, “get your dirty shoes out of the box”.

Of course, I would take them to the store too.

I took the shoes off and left, and sent an online claim for a refund.

Today they replied that I could send the shoes back on the mail, or I could return them to one of their stores.

So… Of course I went back to the same store.

The saleswoman didn’t seem to remember me.

I asked to make the return and she asked why.

I shrugged and said, “because of law # XXXX”.

She asked if there was a problem with the product, or with customer service, she might be worried I’d raise a stink with corporate, but I said “I think it’s not a good idea to buy shoes or clothes online, it’s better to try them on.”

So everything went smoothly, she entered my claim, I got my money back, and that was it.

Getting even is just the beginning.

You might think, is that all?

You only got even. At most you escaped from an expensive anti-consumer trap.

But you see, when they processed my return, they paid for my shipping back.

That means they lost $4.57.

So I win, I came out on top. Just for today, the mighty puppy loses.

My SO liked the shoes, so my last question was, should I now come back with the money and buy them again, to give closure to the Kafkian process?

Well, I checked the online store and it seems that today, by complete coincidence, they have raised the price of the shoes to $150 (they hadn’t when I first went, I had checked).

It seems that my petty victory came at a cost.

The dog said, “So you returned your shoes? Now you can’t have them.”

They will definitely go on sale again someday.

We’ll see about that. Nobody’s buying that cheap crap for $150.

I’m patient, I can wait.

Then, when I finally get my feet into those otherwise unremarkable sneakers, every time I wear them I’ll remember the day I not only escaped the bite of the hound, but I cost it all of five bucks.

Then my revenge will be complete.

Hey, a win is a win, no matter how small.

And it all could have been avoided with some simple customer service.

Read on to see what the people in the comments think about this story.

That is very generous.

This could cause problems.

I was wondering this as well.

This might have been the easier path.

Yeah, I would have definitely reminded her who I was.

A little customer service goes a long way.

Not only does it keep a customer happy so they will return, but it helps to avoid issues like this.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.