Does it bother you when stores refuse to do cash returns and will only offer to either A) exchange for the same item, or B) give a store credit or gift card? I'm not a big fan of the exact exchange only thing. If I bought something, and it ended up being junk, why would I want another one? I would want something different instead, so I'm mostly okay with store credits or gift cards. I prefer cash, but I'll deal with these options. I don't think the exchange is a very good or fair option though, so it's important to pay attention to return policies before buying something.
So far, over here there isn't any store that offers a refund, they all just opt to exchange the item. I guess they don't want to go through the hassle of updating their accounting records, and since they offer a lot more items in their store anyway, you can just simply choose what you want as a replacement. That's fine with me though.
I rarely buy anything without considering what I could do if it broke or was faulty. Many stores tell you their policy and I have only had credit once as a gift certificate which I agreed to. These days cash should only be given if it was a cash transaction as there are so many fraudulent purchases. I worked in retail and we would have to give cash refunds (store policy) even without a receipt as the store had a policy of trusting it's customers to be honest (John Lewis in the UK). Not many do though and they are an exception. You can't expect cash back, when you paid by card as the accounts do need to match up and creates more work and that's when discrepancies occur. That said I rarely return things, only if they are faulty or don't fit.
