By Laura Mack, ProudMoney.com, lmack@proudmoney.com
TL;DR: You have 90 days after purchase to exchange or return items at Bed Bath & Beyond with your receipt and get a full refund (unless you bought with a gift card, in which case you get a Merchandise Credit). If you don’t have the receipt, they’ll try to track down the purchase through their computer system. If that doesn’t work, new and unopened items may still be accepted for exchange or a refund in the form a Merchandise Credit of the current selling price less 20%. (Full Bed Bath & Beyond Return Policy, including exceptions, can be found here.)
Original article below (still accurate as of February 2023):
Back in 2015, Bed Bath & Beyond changed their legendary return policy, which essentially let you return anything, anytime, without a receipt, as long as Bed Bath & Beyond had at one point sold that item. People loved that return policy, but, of course, some people abused it, bringing in stuff they didn’t even get from Bed Bath & Beyond and taking a store credit for the merchandise. It was almost like you could have a garage sale where Bed Bath & Beyond was your best customer, because they’d take anything.
Then Bed Bath & Beyond changed the policy and people acted like BB&B had stolen their firstborn. But, you guys, their return policy is still awesome. To wit:
First off, this story is a little embarrassing. I bought a shower curtain from Bed Bath & Beyond last year and then I lost it. It was one of those things where you end up questioning yourself: “I did buy that shower curtain, didn’t I? Or didn’t I? Did I just dream I bought that shower curtain but never really bought it?” Anyway, I couldn’t find the shower curtain so I ended up buying a different one somewhere else (sorry BB&B).
You know where this is going. It seems the shower curtain had slipped out of its bag in my car and fell perfectly in a little nook where no human hands (or eyes) generally go. A couple weeks ago I found it when on an unrelated search for a different lost item.
I brought it back to Bed Bath & Beyond, even though I did not have the receipt. They tried to track down my purchase using my credit card numbers, but it didn’t work. The main credit card I’d been using the last few years was stolen a few months ago and I’d had to replace it. Otherwise the cashier said they would’ve found my purchase that way. I frowned and prepared to leave, resigned to owning that shower curtain. But then she told me they could still give me store credit, but that they’d deduct 20% from the original purchase price (or at least what their records showed would’ve been the purchase price). I’ll take it!
Sure, that may not be as good as when Bed Bath & Beyond took any return, no questions asked, but let’s be serious. Bed Bath & Beyond seems to send me a 20%-off coupon every other day, so I’m very sure that I bought that shower curtain with a coupon anyway, meaning I most likely got back in store credit exactly what I had paid for it originally. (Which was only about $30, but 30 bucks is 30 bucks, amiright?)
Anyway, Bed Bath & Beyond, I think your return policy is still awesome and I don’t blame you for ending your crazy “anything goes” policy of yesteryear.