Macy’s is one of America’s most loved department stores with a massive stock of products, including clothing and cosmetics, toys, and furniture.
Macy’s is also a great place to purchase gifts for any occasion and they even provide a handy gift registry which is ideal for big events such as weddings, anniversaries, and important birthdays.
If you’ve purchased a gift for somebody else or you’ve received one yourself but are looking to make a return; perhaps the gift doesn’t fit, is the wrong color, or is defective, then you’ll want to read up on Macy’s return policy.
Macy’s provides only a limited window to make returns and if you miss it, you may be stuck with the product.
To help you there we’ve looked at what Macy’s gift return policy is including how long you’ll have to make a return, how you’ll be refunded, whether you need a receipt, and much more.
Let’s take a look…
What is Macy’s Gift Return Policy? The Short Answer
In short, you can return most gifts to Macy’s up to 30 days after purchase for a refund or exchange. This is extended to 30 days after the event if your gifts have been purchased as part of a gift registry (e.g. for a wedding).
There are some exceptions to the 30 days rule such as:
- Some tech items – the 30 days are reduced to 14 days
- Apple products – the 30 days are reduced to 14 days
- Furniture – different timeframes depending on how you ordered (see our separate article “Macy’s Furniture Return Policy“)
You can return gifts for all sorts of reasons such as:
- If the item is defective
- If it was ordered by mistake
- If you/the recipient doesn’t like the aesthetics
- If the item doesn’t fit
- Duplicate orders
- If the gift is unwanted
Pretty much any reason will do.
Do I Need a Receipt to Return a Gift to Macy’s?
If you don’t have proof of purchase at all then Macy’s stipulates that you may still be entitled to a refund but that this will be in the form of store credit to use in-store. The amount refunded in-store credit is the lowest price of the item in the previous 180 days.
If you return your gift with a gift receipt, return label, or bridal registry number then you’ll receive a store credit to spend in-store.
Therefore, if you want to receive a full refund in the form of cash or a refund to a credit card, the best thing to do is to return the item with the original receipt.
You may need to contact the person who gifted you the item if you’re the recipient of the gift and ask them to return it for you.
Obviously, this might not be the most tactful way around things after receiving a gift but that seems to be the only way of receiving a full cash refund (i.e. not just a store credit).
How to Return a Gift to Macy’s
You can return gifts to Macy’s either by returning them in-store (which can be done even if the item was purchased online).
Or by returning them using the online mail-in returns process which is reserved only for items purchased at Macys.com (i.e. you can’t return items purchased in-store using this method).
To return goods purchased online using the mail-in process you need to head along to the Easy Returns page and enter your order number (see order confirmation or invoice) and also the shipping address Zip code if it was a gift.
If you’re not returning a gift then you can provide your email or phone number to verify the order.
You will then be given the option to print a confirmation page and return shipping labels.
Once you’ve printed them you can then drop the item at any UPS location.
Does it Cost to Return Gifts to Macy’s?
Macy’s doesn’t require you to pay a restocking fee and returns shipping is provided free with UPS.
However, you will not be refunded the original shipping fees that you paid when ordering the item. These are non-refundable.
Related Article:
Macy’s Jewelry Return Policy
How Long Until Macy’s Issues a Refund?
Macy’s says to allow them about 10 business days to process the return, which gives them time to check the item and to issue the refund.
We’d therefore allow between 14-21 days to account for return shipping times.
The fastest way to secure a refund/exchange is to return the item to a Macy’s brick-and-mortar store and the return will be processed there and then.
How Other Stores Compare to Macy’s
We’ve taken a look at some of the returns policies for other stores to see how their returns policies hold up.
Here’s what we found:
| Store | Return Window |
| Amazon | 30 days |
| Nordstrom | Return any time for most items |
| Costco | Return any time for most items |
| Walmart | 90 days for most items |
| Ulta | 60 days |
Final Thoughts
Macy’s offers a rather short 30-day return window which has been reduced from 90 days in the last few months.
Remember that for gift registry items, the 30 days starts from the date of the event unless the event was before the purchase date.
While Macy’s does offer free returns for gift items, you will usually only be entitled to an in-store credit, rather than a cash refund so you may need to ask the original purchaser to return it if you’d rather receive a cash refund so you can shop elsewhere.
