Amazon has extended the window during which one can return something to Amazon in consideration of the havoc wreaked by the Coronovirus. In normal times, Amazon’s return policy allows you to return items within 30 days of the date that they were delivered.
(Read our other Coronavirus related stories here)
Amazon’s regular return policy states that orders that are shipped from Amazon.com (including from an Amazon warehouse) can be returned within thirty days of receipt of the order. Amazon notes that “It can take up to 25 days for an item to reach us once you return it. Once the item is received at our fulfillment center, it takes 2 business days for the refund to be processed and 3-5 business days for the refund amount to show up in your account.”
However, today Amazon announced, via email to customers and also on their website, that they were extending the time to return anything that was ordered from Amazon (subject to the exceptions, which we list below) between the dates of March 1st and April 30th, so that now you have until May 31st to return those items. Of course, that’s not a big deal if you order the item at the end of April, as that still gives you 30 days. However, if you ordered something at the beginning of March, and thought that now that it’s well into April you have missed the window to return it, you get a reprieve with this extension.
Email from Amazon Announcing Extended Return Policy
Hello,
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Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve. To that end, we’re temporarily extending the return window to give you more time to get items back to us. Most items ordered from Amazon or our Seller partners between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 can now be returned until May 31, 2020.
Stay safe,
The Amazon.com team
That said, there are still items that cannot be returned at all; Amazon has not changed that policy. Here, according to Amazon is a list of items that you cannot return to Amazon.
List of Things That You Cannot Return to Amazon
- Items classified as hazardous materials or use flammable liquids or gases
- Any product missing the serial number or UPC
- Downloadable software products
- Online subscriptions after they have been accessed
- Gift cards (unless required by law)
- Pay As You Go (or prepaid) phone cards
- Prepaid game cards
- Some jewelry orders
- Some health and personal care items
- Grocery products
- Prime Pantry products
- Fresh flowers and live indoor plants
- Open software
- Items with special shipping restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation
- Items fulfilled by third-party sellers (the seller determines the return
- Live insects
policy)
Assuming that the above is the complete list, apparently you can return a goat that you got from Amazon.
However, according to Kiplinger, you also cannot return customized and handmade products (absent a defect in the item), digital music, pet food, wine, and theme park tickets.
What You Can Return to Amazon
Anything not excluded above can be returned to Amazon, although of course they retain the right to refuse to let you return something for whatever reason because, hey, they’re Amazon.
Also, in theory, some of the items on the ‘do not return’ list, while not returnable, are refundable, meaning that they will refund your purchase price but will have you keep or destroy the item instead of returning it.
You can initiate a return either from your Amazon order history, or from the Amazon online return center.
Will this extended return policy help you in some way? Got any crazy Amazon return stories? Let us know!
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