Ross is one of the country’s best-loved off-price stores with a massive $16 billion turnover.
They stock various clothing and home furnishing products and have a good selection of fragrances for sale in-store.
If you’ve purchased a fragrance such as a perfume or Cologne from Ross but want to make a return; perhaps it’s an unwanted gift, you’ve changed your mind, or you simply don’t like the smell, then you’ll want to get up to speed with Ross’ return policy.
Like many stores, Ross has a limited return window to return items for a full refund so it’s essential that you make your return in good time.
To help you there, we’ve examined what Ross’ returns window is, how to make a return, when to expect a refund, and much more.
Let’s dive in…
What is Ross’ Return Policy on Fragrances? The Short Answer
In short, you must return a fragrance to Ross within 30 days of purchase for a full refund. If you return it after this time, you will only be eligible for an exchange or store credit to spend in-store.
You can return perfume or Cologne to Ross for all sorts of reasons such as:
- It being an unwanted gift
- If you’ve changed your mind
- You don’t like the smell
- If the product is defective (e.g. gone bad or damaged bottle)
- If you purchased it by mistake
Can You Return Used Fragrances to Ross?
Ross’ official policy is that the fragrance must be unused and unaltered.
However, you’ll probably be fine if you’ve only sprayed the bottle several times.
If you’ve used, say, one-third of the bottle, Ross will probably refuse your return unless you can show that it’s defective in some way. For example, if it’s gone bad quickly.
Our advice is to pack the bottle back into its box with the lid firmly closed before you make your return.
Do I Need a Receipt to Return Perfume or Cologne to Ross?
When you return anything to Ross, including fragrances, you should take along your receipt and a government-issued ID as Ross may need to check the return and ID on their “refund verification” system.
This is to make sure you’re not making repeated returns and abusing the system.
The ID should usually be a state photo ID, passport, military ID, or driver’s license.
If you don’t have a receipt, then simply take along your ID and Ross will run it on their system and, if approved, they will offer you either an exchange for the item’s current for-sale price or in-store credit to spend in-store.
How to Return a Fragrance to Ross?
Ross does not sell merchandise online or provide an online returns process for items purchased in-store.
Therefore, to return your fragrance, you should take it back to the store where you purchased it with your receipt and ID as we’ve covered above.
Your return will then be dealt with there and then and the refund issued to the card you paid on or provided in cash if you originally paid using cash.
If you paid using a check, the cash return will not be issued for 5 days.
In our experience, you should receive the money back in your account (if the refund is being issued to a credit card) within about 5 business days depending on your bank or card issuer.
How Does Ross’ Fragrance Return Policy Compare?
If you’re thinking of returning a fragrance to Ross and purchasing it elsewhere, it might be worth looking at how other stores’ returns policies compare.
We’ve pulled up the policies of 5 competitors to see what they offer:
| Store | Returns Window |
| Costco | 100% satisfaction guarantee (return any time) |
| Sephora | 30 days for a refund 31-60 days for an exchange or store credit |
| Walmart | 90 days |
| Amazon | 30 days |
| Nordstrom | 100% satisfaction guarantee (return any time) |
Final Thoughts
In summary, Ross’ 30-day full refund policy is fairly average and one of the shortest amongst the competition.
However, they do allow exchanges and a refund for in-store credit at any time which kind of makes up for their rather short full refund returns window.
Unfortunately, they don’t have an online store to purchase or to make returns from so any return needs to be made in-store which is not particularly convenient.
I bought a cologne for my son which he already had. The next day i went in and try to get a refund but was told that all fragrance sales are final. so which is it? 30 days unaltered or final sale?