Check Return And Refund Policies Before Purchase. If The Item Is For A Gift, Ask for a special gift receipt or other proof of purchase and give this to the recipient with the gift.

Return unwanted items as soon as possible after purchase. The retailer will have a better chance of reselling the item and so might be more inclined to offer a refund. You are also more likely to get a refund of the full price, not just the current selling price.

Keep the receipt.

Read sale signs carefully. A rack marked up to 20 per cent off doesn't mean that everything on the rack has been reduced by 20 per cent.

Remember, shops are not obliged to accept unwanted merchandise.