macy s when i was younger and would do the christmas rush. you d see folks returning right after, you know, christmas is done. is that really the best time to do it? that is the best time because you re going to have the most wiggle room. as long as you have a receipt with you, you are good to go. some of these stores will only offer a store credit and many of them will offer a store credit for the lowest markdown price so that s what you re up against. electronics retailers in particular have the tightest return policies. sometimes you only get a 14-day window in which to make the returns. some of the retailers extend the window in which to make the return. but if you bought a computer at best buy on black friday, it s not even eligible. and if you reopened it you ve got to pay a restocking cases of 15 to 20%. in some cases up to 50% at amazon.com. if you ve got an item you don t want, keep it in the original packaging. if you use it, you might lose it.