Best Places to Buy

Return Policies

If you've ever been burned by an exorbitant restocking fee or annoyed by an uncooperative customer service rep, you know why it's important to research a company's return policy before you buy.

We looked for clear, customer-friendly policies that don't punish buyers for problem purchases. Specifically, we rewarded stores that don't charge restocking fees and that either pick up goods gone bad or let you return them to a brick-and-mortar location instead of making you shell out for shipping.

In this area, nearly every other store could learn from Staples, which lets customers return products to their neighborhood store and does away with aggravating restocking fees. Better still, for online purchases, Staples picks up your unwanted items if you can't get out of the office to do it yourself.

On the other hand, cdw.com's return policy was rife with exceptions and manufacturer stipulations. It's a good idea to check for hidden conditions and manufacturer requirements. Many IBM products, for example, aren't returnable if bought from a third-party site--and that includes cdw.com.

Best Return Policies: Staples Shines

Don't buy it until you know how to return it. Dell.com, hpshopping.com, and sonystyle.com score for charging no restocking fee, but Staples comes out on top for also permitting customers to return products to its nearest brick-and-mortar-store--and for picking up the shipping tab if yo don't return the item to a local store.

Anne Kandra is a contributing editor for PC World.