Best Buy Return Policy: Everything You Need To Know (Plus a Few Hacks Too)
I’m not gonna lie, the Best Buy return policy is kind of confusing and gotten WAY worse in recent years. Different lengths of time to return stuff, different ways to return items, and some products that you flat-out can’t return. Because of all these factors, I figured it was time to officially figure out their return policy by talking directly to Best Buy employees who actually deal with it, and angry customers, on a daily basis. I did exactly that and here’s everything you need to know about their return policy, plus a few hacks to make it work better for you.
2024 Holiday Policy Update:
Best Buy has extended their return policy for items purchased between November 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024.
You now have until January 14, 2025 to return or exchange these items.
How Many Days Do I Have to Return Something?
15 days.
“Regular” Best Buy customers only get a measly 15- day return window.
If you’re a My Best Buy Plus, or a My Best Buy Total member, you get a 60 day return policy.
In case you were wondering, and who wasn’t, the My Best Buy Plus membership costs $49.99/year, and the My Best Buy Total runs $179.99/year, and they both also come with free 2-day shipping. Details HERE.
Cell Phones and Devices with a Carrier Contract – 14 days for everyone.
Wedding Registry Items – 60 days from date of purchase.
Litter Boxes – For some reason beyond my knowledge, cat litter boxes sold by Best Buy come with a 90-day return window for everyone.
PRO TIP: AFTER 15 DAYS RETURN HACK
If you have your receipt, and it’s only been a few days past 15 (up to 7 days), you stand a good chance of scoring an even exchange if your polite and you have a legitimate issue with the product. It really comes down to the manager on shift, but often times they’re willing to work with you. If not, then you’ll have to contact the manufacturer and file a warranty claim. For this reason, I suggest window shopping at Best Buy but make your actual purchase on Amazon where you get a 30 day return policy and they’re pretty lenient if you have issues with a consumer electronic product.
How Does the Best Buy Return Policy Work?
Here’s the skinny so you can actually make the Best Buy return policy work for you.
In-Store Return – You can return an item bought at Best Buy or BestBuy.com directly to any brick & mortar location.
To make the return go smoothly bring in your receipt or packing slip, the credit card used, and a valid photo ID.
Return by Mail:
Do-It-Yourself – You pick the carrier, use the included Return Form on your packing slip, and pay for the shipping yourself.
No packing slip? Print this blank one and fill it out. Refund will be processed with 2-3 business days of receiving your item.
Use the Prepaid Return Label – Print a prepaid return label, pay nothing upfront, and send your item back to Best Buy for a refund via UPS.
Expect the cost of the return shipping to be deducted from your refund unless the return is a result of a Best Buy error.
PRO TIP: ALWAYS OPT FOR IN-STORE RETURN IF POSSIBLE
When returning an item bought from BestBuy.com, always return it to your local store if you can. Not only will you avoid any return shipping charges, but you can also take advantage of an instant exchange or a much quicker refund to your original form of payment.
See Also: The Best Buy Price Match Policy: Tips To Help You Save BIG
How Do I Return a Gift to Best Buy?
If you return a gift bought at Best Buy by walking into a physical store, you’ll get store credit for the purchase price.
For gifts returned via mail, they’ll credit the gift purchaser and notify them via e-mail.
What Can’t I Return to Best Buy?
There are some products you can’t return to Best Buy.
They include the following:
Final Sale Items – These are clearance products marked as “Final Sale”. If you’re not sure if item is Final Sale, ask an employee before you purchase it.
Special Orders – You’ll only get 85% of the original price refunded. These are items that are typically ordered directly from the manufacturer and not stocked by Best Buy.
Digital Content – This includes games and software that can be downloaded.
Prepaid Cards – This includes prepaid cards from Nintendo, AT&T, Verizon, eBay, and Disney.
Gift Packaging – Pretty obvious. This would be really hard to return.
Membership Costs – This includes the annual Geek Squad membership. Update: Thanks to employee Kristy who says Geek Squad memberships can be returned within 14 days of purchase. After that they will pro-rate it.
Completed Services – This refers to services that Geek Squad has completed for you.
Opened consumable items – This includes batteries, ink and 3D printer filament, and items returned that are damaged, unsanitary or missing major parts.
PRO TIP: DID BEST BUY MAKE AN ERROR?
If you’re returning something to Best Buy via mail, and the reason for the return is an error on Best Buy’s part, they’re on the hook for the return shipping charges. Do not let them charge you for return shipping as they sometimes will try and slip those charges in if you’re not paying attention.
See Also: Newegg Return Policy: A Very Complicated Policy That We Make Sense Of
Do I Have to Pay Re-Stocking Fee on Certain Items?
Yes.
Unfortunately you’ll have to pay a re-stocking fee on these items.
DSLR Cameras and Lenses – 15% re-stocking fee.
Smartphones – $45 flat re-stocking fee.
Drones – 15% re-stocking fee.
Projectors – 15% re-stocking fee.
Rideables – 15% re-stocking fee.
Special Order Products – 15% re-stocking fee.
What If I Don’t Have a Receipt?
If you don’t have a receipt, be prepared to show a valid ID when returning something to Best Buy.
They do this to try and cut down on return fraud in their stores.
They reserve the right to refuse any return without a receipt if they feel it’s fraudulent.
See Also: 7 Insider Tips to Save Money at Best Buy
What If My Return Has Been Opened?
No worries, just pack everything back up as well as you can and get a full refund as long as your still within the return period.
Make sure you don’t forget any manuals or instructions that can with the item.
What If My Return is Missing Parts?
Don’t let that stop you from returning something to Best Buy.
From their site, “If you do not have all the original packaging or accessories, that’s okay too. We can process a return with a nonrefundable deduction on your refund for what is missing.”
What About a Cash Refund?
Keep in mind that if you pay with cash, and your order is over $800, you’ll have to settle for a corporate check as a refund.
You’ll get the check in the mail within 7-10 days.
Stores don’t keep a lot of cash on hand and so they won’t be able to refund you with cash.
The same applies when you spend $250 by check or by a debit card without a major credit card logo.
Can I Return an Item That I Got a Price Match On?
Yes…BUT.
I got a comment on this issue from J.Cole stating that he had to settle for store credit on an item that he got a price match on because a competitor had a lower price.
I asked a Best Buy manager about this the last time I was shopping and she said that’s only the case when doing an online return and selecting “Found a better price” as the reason for your return.
She said when returning in-store, you’ll get a full refund for what you paid, to your original form of payment, and it doesn’t matter if you got a price match on the item or not.
Can I Return Refurbished Items?
Yes.
The regular return policy applies to refurbished, open-box, and pre-owned products.
Can I Return an Unopened Video Game?
I had someone in the comments ask if they could return an unopened video game they bought 2 months ago.
I wasn’t sure of the answer so I hit up Best Buy Live Chat and was told YES, it’s returnable for store credit since it is unopened.
I then asked if the original purchase of 2 months ago would be a problem and was surprisingly told…NOT a problem.
What if I Used a Gift Card to Make the Purchase?
Not a problem.
If you bought the item with a Best Buy gift card, you’ll get a full refund back to that same gift card.
If you don’t have the gift card anymore, no worries, just call Best Buy at 1-888-237-8289 with your order number and they’ll re-issue you a new gift card.
Ask the Reader: Have you had success taking advantage of Best Buy’s return policy? Any issues I need to add to this post that I may have overlooked?
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Does best buy open the unopened pre-owned boxes up ? And what if they did that and found nothing but junk. Who is responsible for that.? Because I never opened my reused item then best buy . Wil open it?
Hi,
If it is an open box item/ an open item in general, we will open the box and inspect it to ensure that all the pieces are there. If the item is clearly sealed (I.E. tape that we know should be there, shrink wrap we know should be there etc.) we will not inspect the return. Hope this late answer helps!
I really hate this laptop I bought on Black Friday. I was out of town, came back and the last day to return was January 16, I thought it was the 19th. any way they will still take it back?
Thanks
Edit I’m willing to pay a restocking fee
Worth a shot, will probably come down to manager’s discretion.
Another thing id add is that 14 day return period for mobile devices includes the day it was purchased so you only have 13 additional days even if you pick up one minute before store closing and your online order history indicates 14 days after the date you took it home. Best Buy can override that period if necessary, BUT your wireless carrier’s contract cancellation period is 14 days including the date of purchase. I recently had this issue and best buy was able to do the refund for what I paid in the store and the geek squad plan, but I had to contact my carrier separately to explain the situation and they made sure the phone and the 2 year payment plan was off of my account.
My artist tablet is not at all what I was expecting. I paid $320 cash. How will i be refunded.?
It will be a cash refund.
What if the computer you bought has never worked correctly. Mine has been freezing up since I bought it. They want $250 to fix it. I just bought it!
hI
aND THANKS FOR THE INFO, SO i BOUGHT A BIG BEEFY GAMING pc 21 DAYS AGO TURNS OUT ITS NOT BEEFY ENOUGH, THE RECEIPT ALONG WITH ANOTHER ITEM TOTALED OVER $1600 DOLLARS. tHIS QUALIFIES ME TO GET 30 DAYS TO RETURN BEING IT STILL THE SAME CALANDER YEAR?
I returned a tv today to Best Buy. It was bought in my debit card and they are supposed to be putting it back on my debit card When will I receive the money
Is there any possibility of exchanging my 3 month old laptop for a different computer? I really don’t like this one
$80 for a trade-in value of something i just purchased that doesn’t work right half the time and it was an open box with a guarantee fantastic. definitely wont be shopping at best buy anymore
I bought a pair of blue tooth head phones for my tv. But my tv is not compatible with blue tooth. I need to return them but I don’t have the box. But I do have everything else can I return them to get my money back
I recently purchased an item that didn’t work as advertised and I wanted to return it but in store they said they could’t do anything since it was outside the 15 day window. I ordered it online and it allowed me the option to return with a prepaid slip. I’m curious how they’ll handle this. It’s been a few days since I sent it in and am curious if they’ll just send it back or process a return.
Bought a Netgear C6220 modem/router 28 days ago (May 12th) and it’s been acting weird the past couple days (2.4ghz randomly disconnects, modem randomly rdboots). Today it stopped working all together and all the lights just flash. I really hope I can just exchange it rather than go through a long RMA process since I don’t want to be without internet.
I bought a macbook air and the same day someone spilled a drink on my keyboard. The mac book is working, yet I know there will be issues down the road. I ran a diagnostic and everything is fine. Yet there are two sticky keys. Will best buy do a more thorough diagnostic after I return it?
Just go when they are real busy that’s what I did I took my gift cards and bought another one that night lol if they let u return it would say more about buying “open box” from them. GOOD LUCK 🤞🏼
Another note best buy shipping protection sucks got a video game named returnal over a month ago video game upon opening had big dent in the case the game also wouldn’t read in my ps5 I sent them it back and explained what happened it took me 4 times contacting best buy to get it solved the return team kept declining to refund it as the game was opened I stated it was my right to return a game that doesn’t work and that is damage and the live agent agreed so the person ended up talking to the superiors who got me a refund right away…
On 15 day return policy on appliances do I have to pay a restocking fee?
Also is it 15 days from purchase or 15 days from delivery?