Be polite and honest. "I am very grateful you offered to reimburse me for my sandals. It was very kind of you to buy these for me. Thank you for your kindness. Although these are darling they are not my style, may I have the receipt so I can return these and purchase a pair similar to the ones the pup destroyed." Nanny here, always be kind and honest.

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who feels sorry for the poor dog who knows people are home but is shut away in the back of the house all day? I dont know why some people get dogs.

+1 That's what I was thinking. Poor dog

Yeah, ask for the money on top of MB's gift - that is a great way to crap on an otherwise good relationship.

If you cannot afford to replace a $40 pair of sandals yourself then you have more problems than whether or not to ask for the money.

Oh for God's sake, OP, buy your own sandals and be gracious about receiving a gift. Next time don't leave your belongings where an errant dog or child could ruin them.

OP, "MN, while I appreciate the sandals you bought me, they are not a good fit. . I would like to replace with the same pair of sandals as they were very comfortable. I bought them at _______ and they cost $----, including tax."

She had no right to do this no matter how good it makes her feel
She should have asked you how much and given you cash.

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to go out on limb here and say that MB gave you a pair of wedges that have been sitting in her closet unworn for some time. She thought they were an upgrade from your sandals, and free to her, so, yay for her.

I think you're going to have to have this awkward conversation: "MB, thank you so much for the wedges. It was a lovely thought to give me the designer shoes to replace my old ones. The problem is that I still need to replace my sandals, because I need shoes I can wear to work everyday. This part is awkward for me, but I have to tell you that while they weren't expensive, they were for me. I really need the money to replace the sandals I had. Here are the wedges; I hope you can return them." And then hand her back the bag.

I totally agree, this was my first thought. This is a crappy move on the MBs part.

I have a dog so I am sympathetic to the situation but the onus is on the dog owner to make up for the accident, and giving someone a totally impractical gift (regardless of the price) is far from sufficient. OP should not have to go out of her way to sell OR return/exchange the unwanted item nor should she have to cut her losses on a $60 pair of shoes.

OP, I'd be having that uncomfortable conversation. Hand the sandals back with a "Thank you for your generosity" line and explain that these sandals were your go-to everyday shoes and need to be replaced. If it creates bad blood then so be it. Any sane person would understand your situation and feel like an ass for handing you a pair of Michael Kors wedges as a replacement for the shoes that were destroyed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to go out on limb here and say that MB gave you a pair of wedges that have been sitting in her closet unworn for some time. She thought they were an upgrade from your sandals, and free to her, so, yay for her.

I think you're going to have to have this awkward conversation: "MB, thank you so much for the wedges. It was a lovely thought to give me the designer shoes to replace my old ones. The problem is that I still need to replace my sandals, because I need shoes I can wear to work everyday. This part is awkward for me, but I have to tell you that while they weren't expensive, they were for me. I really need the money to replace the sandals I had. Here are the wedges; I hope you can return them." And then hand her back the bag.

I definitely would not take this advice.

-1

Why not?

I bet you can sell them for more than $60 online. Do that. Use the money to buy new sandals. This doesn't seem that hard. (Yes, it's a bit annoying, but assuming that you think your MB was well-intentioned but clueless and spent way more than $60 on the sandals, this would be my approach hands-down.)

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to go out on limb here and say that MB gave you a pair of wedges that have been sitting in her closet unworn for some time. She thought they were an upgrade from your sandals, and free to her, so, yay for her.

I think you're going to have to have this awkward conversation: "MB, thank you so much for the wedges. It was a lovely thought to give me the designer shoes to replace my old ones. The problem is that I still need to replace my sandals, because I need shoes I can wear to work everyday. This part is awkward for me, but I have to tell you that while they weren't expensive, they were for me. I really need the money to replace the sandals I had. Here are the wedges; I hope you can return them." And then hand her back the bag.

I definitely would not take this advice.

-1

Anonymous wrote:Just buy the new one! Are you that poor?

How insulting. I'm OP, and no im not "that poor", but a pair of $60 sandals is a lot for me when I have three children, I'm a single mom and have my rent and multiple bills due soon, as well as some unforeseen car troubles I had to take care of last week. Plus, like PP said, it's the principle. MB said she would reimburse, so she should do just that.