I have a teen girl who has a hard time finding clothes that fit and while she often orders online she takes stuff back to the store for this reason.

She said the stores do put the stuff on the rack to resell.

I have personally seen this occur when I have returned to Loft and Ann Taylor

I think the above poster is right about the cheap Amazon returns but the major retailers I know definitely recirculate returns. I've seen the difference in packaging when they mail it out and sometimes certain tags are missing. I'm happy to take those items as new as long as they are in a good condition because otherwise they'd go to a landfill.

Old Navy, Gap, etc. online definitely resell returns as I've received a number of items that were definitely tried on and returned. A customer service person verified that as one item had a strong perfume smell and they told me it was likely a previous return.

Louis Vuitton returns are sold at discounts to employees. I don’t think anything returned goes back out to customers.

Anonymous wrote:You can buy products as used, instead of new, so those are pretty clearly returns that have been reprocessed by Amazon (as noted by the reseller.)

I bought some Used Like New shoes that are clearly returns.

But these items are not used (or they shouldn't be) if people are just trying on like they would in the store.

People also buy and return used things in person which is just trashy behavior. Like a dress to wear once and keep the tags on.

OP here - thanks for the responses. Seems like no one is quite sure, but that the mid and higher brands likely take these things back and resell. Appreciate the suggestions that in-person returns solve the problem, but we don't have any of these stores in person, so not an option for me.

You can buy products as used, instead of new, so those are pretty clearly returns that have been reprocessed by Amazon (as noted by the reseller.)

I bought some Used Like New shoes that are clearly returns.

I would say never.

I wonder this too!! I'm kind of disgusted by all of it. I'm not a serial returner either, but frequently the listings are just wrong and the item is significantly worse than it appeared. All the paid 5 star reviews were fake.

I think the in person at store returns are all processed. Stuff like Paige jeans if not resold on their website are probably at least resold on Marshalls or nordstrom rack.

I think the problem is with all that no name crap from China and so forth sold at Amazon. No one is packing that up and sending it back to the manufacturer and it’s not even worth the rack space for Marshall’s.

I wonder about lulus dresses. For my girls we often order multiple so we can try on different styles or sizes. If they don’t work we sometimes return them or sometimes just give them to other neighborhood girls or to one of the prom dress closets. I think those dresses all have a pretty good life on the donation circuit or the trade around amongst girls circuit.

Anonymous wrote:Old Navy and Target put online only returns in their clearance sections.

I don't think this is true. Then you'd see new "expensive pants" from the front page also in in the clearance section? Not happening.

Old Navy and Target put online only returns in their clearance sections.

I think Zappos shoes are all processed. I have used the "let me know when my size is available" feature frequently, and they are probably from someone else's return.

I made an online return in person to Nordstrom Rack, and they put it on the hanger in front of me to put back out for sale.

It's pretty common knowledge that a lot of online shopping returns are either immediately tossed in the trash by the vendor (or they tell Kohls or whomever processes the returns to toss them) or don't actually get returned to the store/made available for direct sale again, rather they get acquired by resellers/bundlers. This is widely reported on.

I try to avoid participating in this travesty. I don't buy loads of stuff from cheap vendors like Old Navy or Amazon clothes, with the expectation of returning half of it -- because i am 100% sure when i buy a $8 shirt from old navy, if i "return" it, it's not going back to Old Navy - it's going into the trash or being acquired by a reseller. Same thing with the $15 random item I bought from Amazon that ends up not meeting my needs. So i don't buy a lot from those vendors. To the extent I end up with this kind of cheaper stuff I don't want, we eventually sell in a yard sale, or put on facebook marketplace for free, or I give to my housecleaner who either keeps stuff for herself or donates to her church (which has an active donation program).

But I'm curious whether there is a level of store/price point where you can be pretty confident that your returns are actually going back to the store and actually being resold by that store. I live in a smaller metro area, and our local shopping is total crap so i buy online. Realistically, i need to return stuff that either doesn't fit or doesn't look good. And i almost always do my returns within a few days of items arriving. But I'd prefer to know that my returns aren't going in the trash pile.

If I'm buying from mid- and higher-price brands, is it pretty certain that the items are going back to them and being resold?

Like, i just bought three pairs of pants from Paige Jeans for their Black Friday 30% off sale, but only liked 1 of them on. Before 30% off, they're priced around $250 each. Can I assume Paige is taking them back and re-selling? Same thing that i just bought 2 skirts direct from Alice and Olivia in a rush for an event, and only want to keep the one that I preferred on. $250 skirt - can i assume the return is going back to A&O? What about athleisure like Vuori? What about more "mid range" brands like Jcrew? I'm thinking they also take stuff back, because that's why they basically made all their sales "Final Sale" only? Or is this all a total crap shoot and I should assume all of it is potentially headed for the trash heap? What about non-clothes stuff like brand name electronics?