Sephora US RETURN POLICY CHANGE EFFECTIVE AUGUST 28, 2019!!!

[yuline]

I only found out by accident. No notification. Nothing. Sephora changed the return policy for all purchases on or after August 28, 2019 from 60 days to 30 days in store and online! I hope this does NOT cause other beauty companies to follow intheir footsteps because everyone’s always copying each other (example 21 days of beauty). I’m worried if this means The Retail Equation (TRE), aka the pink elephant in the room, isgoing to get even tougher withthisnew stricter return policy considering how customers can get banned. The last return policy change in 2018wasn’t even that long agorelatively which resulted in a majorunexpected TRE crackdown.**** please note I posted to be informative not because I personally am an abuser of Sephora’s return policy. I too am helping Sephora to be quite profitable with my spending as reflected by my beautyinsider points and return history.****My concern is if this is a sign of more things to come and how will it change the whole industrywith respect to other retailers given that Sephora is so influential and powerful?

[harshrealm112]

I found out the hard way about this new return policy. I tried to return it to a Sephora inside JC Penney within 30 days but I didn't bring the credit card I used to purchase it so they would only do a store credit to JC Penney.  The products I'm returning haven't been opened and I brought the receipt. I declined to return and went to an actual Sephora store yesterday. Since it is over 30 days, I had to get a store credit.

I don't mind that I got store credit but what I do mind is that I can only use it in the store. It is hard to find parking and the Sephora is out of the way from where I live. I don't really like shopping at the JC Penney Sephora because they have limited items. 

I paid for flash shipping so that I don't have to go to the store. Now, I felt like I'm being punished. I rarely return items. This year, this was the only return I did.

SAD, SAD.....

[TesiaTalks]

I don’t like the change either. I have a physical disability currently made worse by high risk pregnancy so I can personally say sometimes it takes me a while to get in and return or exchange a product. I liked their previous policy because if I didn’t like it I could take it back pretty much whenever and get at least credit towards something else. This will make me want to experiment less with new products and just stick to what I know I need. If that’s their goal then okay but I thought they wanted us to find more so they can make more. I don’t abuse the returns or return used up stuff but I would like to know that if I absolutely hated something I can return it when I can get there. Also currently about an hour’s drive from the nearest Sephora and only have a JCP one near me so definitely affected by this. Just saying I stopped shopping at Ulta because Sephora had a better policy and didn’t seem to judge you if you needed to return something. The quickest way for me to stop spending money is being scrutinized as a customer and I have a shopping problem (probably like a lot of women lol) which stores benefit from.

[cocoaunicorn]

As someone eho hardly ever goes to the mall, this truly issed me off. I have had these giftcards for over a year and to find out they changed their policies out of nowhere really ticked me off. After going to both the jcp and regular i found it was smarter to just order online. Only issue is. If youbarent ontop of it you could end up wasting all your money. I hear people saying of thats more than enough time blah blah blah. That may be true for makeup junkies who cannot walk out the door without a face full of makeup, but if this is not something you focus on it could easily pass you by. The policy gave me a reason to choose sephora over other companies. Now, there isn't anything that makes them better or sets them apart from ulta or something so it's no point it going out of my way to use them. So grateful I didnt sign up for their credit card. What a bummer. 

[GG84]

Who even needs longer then 30 days to decide if an item at Sephora is right for them? I know right away if it’s a yes or no. 

[Anonymous]

People are BUSY and have challenges to overcome, Makeup isn’t a top priority to everyone! The changes in the return policy along with the overall crappy customer service and misinformation from Sephora is leading to a mass exodus from Sephora to ULTA. It’s sad, Sephora is just not the same. 

I spent $2500 there and had to return $400 of COMPLETELY UNUSED BRAND NEW PRODUCTS which I told them would happen , I have never received the funds from the return and it’s been months. No one has contacted me and their customer service said they are franchises so they are individually owned and the company isn’t responsible! That’s total crap and everyone is risking your privacy and safety shopping there at this point 

[apanos7]

It's not the fact that the policy is 30 days, it's an issue of it being changed without notification.

And as a mom of an infant, I can tell you that even if I know sooner that a product doesn't work for me, it will still be a while before I have the opportunity to actually go to Sephora to make the return.

[misscg]

Had no idea about this change. 30 days is too short. People with kids, commute, health issues, etc may take longer to get back to the store to return something. Such a hassle now 

[Jenx19]

GG84 I agree and I feel that the change to 30 days is a good idea.  A month is more than enough time to decide if a product is right for you. 

[rainj]

I realize this is an older post, but sometimes I do. I bought the Fresh Rose Toner during the sale and have spent the last two months trying to figure out if that or one of the other items I purchased is the cause for my new break-out situation. I didn't want it to be the toner because it's been very helpful with my dry skin. I finally decided today to accept that the toner has to be the culprit. I had to eliminate all new products until my skin cleared which took awhile, try them separately long enough to see if I'll get a reaction because the breakouts took days to appear, and had to time it all correctly so hormones and travel weren't affecting my results. In addition to the new breakouts I had an unexpected reaction to makeup wipes that gave me contact dermatitis on the skin around my eyes that needed significant time to clear up, and I couldn't really use the toner while that was active. I retried the toner more than once because, as I said, I really didn't want it to be the culprit. It's too late for me to return it so I might be dropping off an almost full bottle of product to the hazardous waste facility if no one I know is interested in using it (which is how it's currently looking). Thank goodness I bought the smaller bottle instead of going full hog with the larger one, and I only wasted $20 instead of $45.

A huge part of the reason I've always chosen to shop at Sephora instead of other retailers was the rather liberal return policy. It's really why I preferred Sephora over Ulta, even though the perks and sales happen more often there. I am much more willing to buy more from a retailer when I have confidence that I can easily return something that doesn't work after being able to give it an honest chance. I have felt comfortable in the past purchasing (on the same order) multiple expensive new-to-me skin care products, a new foundation, a new cream bronzer, new highlighters, and a couple new to me mini-mascaras because I knew I had time to introduce them individually and wait to see if I have a reaction to anything (obviously threw caution to the wind this time.)

I don't feel that way right now. I am much less interested in spending my time driving to a physical store to view products before purchasing them (and then purchasing them) after seeing that the return policy is different for in-store purchases vs online. Ulta is 60 days for either, Nordstrom doesn't have a specified number of days for returns, and both are physically closer to me. I guess the bonus to all this is that I am less likely to get sucked into the travel section while waiting in line, so those last minute impulse purchases ("I've been wanting to try this  dry shampoo", etc.) are less likely to happen.

[flamingolegs]

First of all, if you don't make excessive returns it shouldn't be a problem.  Second, why would you need to return anything more than 30 days later?  

I'm happy that Sephora has created this policy, as the abusers make products cost more for the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Guaranteed that everyone saying this is an employee... because the actual customers don’t talk like that 

[flamingolegs]

Sorry to burst your bubble, I'm not a Sephora employee.  Just a mature adult who understands that when a company loses money, they pass those losses onto consumers with higher prices.

[dancergirlktl]

Because if you, lets say, live in a large city where you have to either pay for parking or take public transit to shopping centers, it's very inconvenient to try to return products. I work full time so most of my products are purchased online. If I'm not happy with it (usually skincare), I'll hopefully return it but it's a huge hassle and I don't always have time to make the trek.

Also, returns are not the cause of the huge markup on beauty products. As anyone in the industry will tell you, marketing takes up the majority of the budget, then packaging. If big brands can comfortably give a 50% discount on products and still make a profit after all expenses then a few returns are not going to make a dent.

[flamingolegs]

I work full time as well, and find the time to handle my personal business, including the rare return.

[glideron1022]

Returns can be mailed also, thus saving you a trip and time.