Sephora’s new return policy

[nnahrinn]

How are you guys feeling about Sephora’s new return policy? Personally I used to love Sephora over any other retailers because of their generous return policy. Now that they made it a 30 day only window I am considering other retailers with better benefits.

[redhead1256]

I made a return just one day late and was told no refund in store credit only and I don't live that far from a store it's still a pain!!  😭

[ss719]

I didn’t notice they changed their policy! What other retailers are you looking at? 

[TeamVananne]

I’m very frustrated with their inflexibility for unopened, unused products within a 60 day window from purchase (less than 45 days of delivery date). My items did not arrive until half a month later due to delays during the holidays. I was forced to accept the store credit which cannot be used online, or online credit that can only be used online. This experience has left a bad taste unfortunately. I don’t think I will be shopping at Sephora going forward even though I’ve been a VIB customer for a long time.

[missJ1112]

I totally hear you! I may consider not to shop here anymore because of this bad return policy. They counted the 30 days as from the date of purchase regardless of how late they shipped to you…while the return policy from other department stores are so much more generous and they also give a lot of free nice gifts.

[selahhanh]

I’m sooo blown away that they flag your account for returning items. That’s just so awful. Just another confirmation to never ever shop there. 
I honestly don’t know how they can get away with that now days. That’s pretty much profiling someone in a bad way. What a disgrace to us as paying customers. just awful 

[sydtomato]

You don't get flagged for doing returns. You only flagged if you are abusing the policy, aka returning a large amount of products, returning without receipts etc. Returning a product here and there is not going to get you flagged a company has the right to refuse returns if you abuse their generous policy. This is not the definition of profiling. @selahhanh

[selahhanh]

I’m NEVER shopping there again!!!!  I can’t believe this stupid policy. Buyers be ware. Especially online even if your online order takes 2 days or 15 or even longer you have 30 days from the date you purchased it. If you have returns and want your money back beware of that also after the 30 days you only get store credit after 60 days your really screwed!!!!  Go to Macy’s, Nordstrom, Ulta. Anywhere but there. 

[Anonymous]

Me too. The last order I placed which was nearly $2500. I did not receive an item so I called and they told me I was abusing the return policy and my account was flagged?!!  There has been one time that one item I received was a pallet that was completely crushed so I sent photos and they sent a second one out and that was also crushed a also sent them photos of the packaging it was crazy how neglectful it was.  

Anyways, since Covid and being 2 hours away from the nearest Sephora (4 hr drive just to go there and back) I’ve been doing color matches with concealer bronzer powder and such. I was warned I can no longer do this??!!! I will take my 10 grand a year somewhere else and I am no longer using my Sephora credit card.

Spread this news and let others know!  Sephora is just getting worse and worse!!!! Sephora should be stepping it up and doing things better to make things easier with Covid… They aren’t changing with the times to cater to customers. They are literally driving high paying customers like myself away. It’s crazy because there are so many other online retailers that are doing so many things to retain and attract customers but yet Sephora is doing worse and making stronger restrictions??!!  I’m going elsewhere… Too many competitors that are offering a lot better deals especially when it comes to virtual shopping. Sephora should put in place a try before you buy policy with Covid going on and of course have limits but instead they are making restrictions and tighter boundaries so let’s run with our big pockets to somewhere else

[missjeanie]

@Anonymous Just out of curiosity how many items were you returning due to wrong shades over the last year?  I've never done returns with Sephroa, just figured out how to make them work or passed them on to friends, but I've heard about accounts being flagged for too many returns for quite a few years now.  I'm curious how many is too many for Sephora?  I mean.... they have to throw out any opened products, so it makes sense to limit it... just wondering what the limit is.

[Anonymous]

Also it’s important to note THEY DO NOT TAKE A LOSS FOR OPENED PRODUCTS!!!  IT’S A TAX WRITE OFF!!!! Incurring no profit and loss. 

[Chelsea313]

That isn’t at all what a write off means or how it works. A write off is not anywhere close to dollar for dollar. 

[ChristalM]

Still incredibly wasteful! To order products knowing you have no intention of keeping it all only to select some and send it back is wasteful and all that ends up back in garbage. 

[Anonymous]

In 2020 I placed 28 orders and made 6 returns total. 1 of those was due to wrong items being sent and 1 was due to broken palette, so not my fault. So only 4 of those returns were due to allergic reaction or wrong color. So less than 15%. !!!!!!!!!! It’s so wrong. Spent $13,000 non returned items. 

[LCResz]

@nnahrinn I just went to my local Sephora and had a horrible experience with the new return policy. I received a lipstick as a gift and was just inquiring how I could do an exchange and the response I got was dismissive and the opposite of customer friendly. The staff was rude and quite frankly made me feel like a criminal just because I was asking what I would need in order to exchange a lipstick for a different shade. I dropped it and figured I’d just buy the color I want directly from the brand. I understand that Sephora’s return policy was quite generous once upon a time and that tightening up the parameters was necessary, but there’s no need to also make it a point to tell customers in front of everyone that returns are not like before and will not be easy, essentially saying don’t even bother to ask.

[pamreen]

I am extremely disappointed with Sephora's current return policy

I believe it's 30 days for a refund & 60 days for a store credit in Canada - please correct me if I'm mistaken?

While there is some discretion depending on the person you are dealing with, I have generally found that returning anything at Sephora is a hassle now. They are so by the book, that for loyal customers - which most Sephora customers are - it's very inconvenient & does not make you feel like your business is valued

As much as I have enjoyed shopping at Sephora over the years, most if not all the perks they offered are now available at Nordstrom & Ulta as others mentioned

I personally think there should be a longer return window for Rouge customers - given how much they are spending at Sephora!!

Or do what Nordstrom does, and have a flexible return policy where the sales associates have the ability to use their own judgment (e.g. as long as it's not used up/been years and still being sold - they will return/exchange it for you)

[sampals12]

This is disappointing to say the least, but lesson learned. I was just going through some products I wanted to return from the end of last year (when I was traveling, suffering from severe depression, and lost a pet) and will have to learn to make those work for me. I understand them needing to crack down on chronic over-returners, but I don't live near a Sephora, and I guess it takes me too long to try new products, so 30 days is way too short for me. Oh well – this, along with their TERRIBLE rewards program that has disappointed me several times, will mean I'm taking my business mostly to Nordstrom and Ulta. It will also help me to change my mindset in regards to beauty purchases...I'm realizing I can actually spend my money on things that don't expire! : P

[Snglbug]

Personally, I'm ok with it. I get really excited when I make new purchases so I typically use it almost immediately. I learn right away if something doesn't work for me and needs to be returned.

Although, someone above said that they can't do returns at JCP Sephoras, and while that is not an issue for me, I feel for them if that is the case. I think of places like Grand Forks, North Dakota where a JCP Sephora is the only option. So unfair to them!

[Er667799]

I love my girls at my Sephora at JCP, they r so good to me, but honestly at this point if ulta had all the same products I'd buy there. What's really funny is in the Sephora app when you go to the sale page it doesn't even list all the products on sale! It does this all the time and it also doesn't track all your recent purchases correctly. Lastly, I get the wrong samples all the time! Not here and there...all the time! It doesn't surprise me they didnt notify anyone about these changes, but I'm sure everyone saw the big app pic of the credit card! Rant over......🙉

[yuline]

Sometimes shipping online can be held up for a week even 2 weeks for various reasons but if you’re returning an online order in store, they go by the order date on the invoice, not the actual ship date.  Hence you could really only have a 2 week window to return an online order in store at times. With holiday or business trip travels, people sometimes can’t get to packages immediately too. Most people have very busy lives and can’t meticulously track package arrivals and deadlines so it’s easy to miss a tight deadline even by a few days. Thus it can be challenging for online orders. I’ve said this before, a company’s success is multifactorial. Return policy issues is only one of many reasons a company thrives or fails.  There is one company that is basically like a second home for me with how often and how much I shop. They have a very generous/reasonable return policy and they consistently post positive sales for years. Part of it is I’m buying consumable goods that aren’t usually returned, good offerings/selection, convenience of location and check out, and even regular price items are reasonable and not blatantly jacked up, etc. It’s a win win all around for me so I’m easily spending a lot 24/7 and hardly returning.  I am literally buying from them every other day because they offer one stop shopping. If they got unreasonable with their return policy even though I am not a return abuser, somehow psychologically I’d probably not shop as much. There’s a psych element too.

[Iluvabeach]

I am disappointed and have not received my first purchase. First they should not charge your card until the items ship. I have no problem with a 30 day return policy with a valid reason. Allergic for one. Performance for another. The 30 days should be from the date you received the product. So your Credit Card should have the shipped date on it, not the purchase date. I have worked with a lot of companies and this is the normal practice. DON’T CHARGE UNTIL ITEM SHIPS. I am happy with a store credit. Sephora has so many great Brands to choose from. I never make a purchase with the intention of returning it. If I buy a color make up I would go to the store for it to be sure it’s the right color for me.