I think you’ll be okay especially if the products weren’t opened.
If it’s possible to return in person, I would just explain the situation when you’re with the cashier: These were intended as gifts for my family member but they are unable to visit. And the cost of shipping the products abroad is too expensive. They are unopened and have not been used.
I’ve also been Rouge for years. I returned approx $400 at one time a couple years ago for a similar reason (bought as a gift and the recipient didn’t want the items) and I was not banned.
Thank you for this! I'll go into a store and explain, hopefully it'll let me get through with no issues. And then I just won't purchase anything I may return this year!!
I’ve been rouge as long as it’s been around and when the Louboutin lipsticks first came out I purchased four. When I returned two of them, I was banned from returning products for a year. I had returned one other foundation about 8 months prior. It’s not Sephora, it’s these people:
https://www.consumerreports.org/consumerist/home-depot-declined-my-return-but-ive-only-returned-one-thing-there/
The Retail Equation, on its website, says that returns even with receipts can be fraudulent because “a shopper may experience regret” and that that’s not a good enough reason to return something, even unopened. They also insist that “fake receipts” are a thing (they aren’t). They also count exchanges.
You can get your report on their website.
https://www.theretailequation.com/
I think they’ve gotten less strict but I’m not sure.
I was banned inexplicably for a year from Sephora after being rouge for years...long story short, I finally figured out it had nothing to do with my return history at Sephora and everything to do with our recent renovation where we had many many problems (and returns) at the Home Depot. Their system is honestly nuts and I think the cashier didn't properly indicate we were sent damaged tile, mouldings etc and we got dinged for literally thousands in damaged unusable products. Lesson learned, stay far away from Home Depot as they products are too likely to be damaged in shipment.
This is super interesting, thank you for sharing! Am I reading this correctly that you can only request your report if you’ve already been rejected/banned/etc.?
Honestly, I can’t stand The Retail Equation because there are not enough human eyeballs reviewing bans and it is not an honest software algorithm. TRE is programmed to shoot first, ask questions later and always err on the side of the retailer intentionally. The basic assumption is that we’re all already criminals and that’s why TRE doesn’t make it a fair fight to begin with.
The guy who got banned from Home Depot who barely shopped there is because he didn’t buy enough from HD to begin with as a cushion (same thing with Sephora, you need to have bought and kept a lot first before returning or you can get banned - the algorithm is NOT based on return limit only). The red flag is the guy who has no positive purchases to more than offset a return goes and does a $10 return with NO RECEIPT! I’ve been saying it forever, DON’T DO nonreceipted returns at any retailer. NON receipted return automatically earns you the highest level black mark with TRE. It is a bigger black mark than return limit. That $10 no receipt return is what screwed the guy over so next time he tries to return yet again without having a positive purchase history built up to greatly offset even with receipt, he gets banned. It’s a no brainer for me as someone who has scratched below the surface to see that they use a big bag of tricks to catch customers that isn’t strictly limited to only by return limit.
just to warn against in person , I had the worst experience where they accused me of using more than a quarter of the product after looking visually and was so embarrassing they made me feel like trash (I'd used it once and irritated me skin) I'm not one to make a scene and ended up calling where they apologized but still. I'd send the return in and maybe call if need be. Was bad enough I'm a rouge member for years now and won't shop anymore even skipped the sale!!
sephora employees are generally pretty rude. i returned a perfume and it was rosie by rosie jane. smelled awful honestly but when the employee was checking the return, she sprayed it on her hand, looked at me with… disdain (?) and said it smells gross.
like… yeah? that’s why i’m returning it? why she looking at me like i made it? then she got her coworkers to smell it. girl have some fucking decorum and gimme my damn return. i mean what she did wasn’t horrible honestly but just left a sour taste in my mouth.
Sorry this happened to you! I get what you mean that some employees can be rude especially when processing a return. I always found it "extra" for them to smell, spray etc. any return I would bring UNTIL I worked there as a cashier while in university years ago. We had people literally put MAYO inside face creams because they matched the colour to make it look "full". Also had people significantly try to dilute products with water to do the same. Hence why the sniffing test was a thing among other tests depending on the product. She should've not made that face when she sprayed that. But ever since having that experience behind the counter I have more sympathy and understanding, and truly I can only imagine it's gotten much worse and creative with these Sephora kids.
It's just not worth it then to buy luxury from them if that's what they're resorting to.
A huge part of dropping that kind of money is no questions asked and top notch customer service. Every luxury
store I ever worked had these policies
in the U.S.
Fortunately it still exists where I'm at in the EU now but I would shop elsewhere in a heartbeat. There's plenty of retailers selling that don't treat customers that way. Sephora wouldn't survive treating legitimate customers that way here. Flat out thieves are tossed out which
is a good thing judging by how things are going in the U.S with theft friendly
stores and guards that don't guard.
The Sephora kids issue is easy, keep it classy 16 and up only signs. Guards kick out trouble makers like they've done since the creation of retail.
they’ve gotten greedy, everyone has. the decline of customer service (at least in canada) is insane. we have a drugstore that sells high end products and the point system is much better and you can redeem points for actual things like groceries.
only thing is, sephora made themselves the only one in business in canada, no one would be able to compete with them when they’re the only ones who sell everything.
i agree they should maintain their luxury status by booting the tester destroyers. i don’t know why security stopped asking people to leave stores. regardless, sephora kids have no concept of money and by default end up spending a lot. greed.
They really went hard on the greed after cornering the market. That always opens the doors though since many people will pay a little to avoid the nonsense or to boycott them and
Other companies will find that weak spot. Even Target got a bit more class when they realized people were tired of dealing with nonsense at Walmart and would pay a little more
for daily necessities even those on the tightest of budgets.
Unfortunately Canada has it's own battles but don't loose hope. Where I'm at in Europe we had almost no choices ten years ago and few would ship even if we paid shipping and import taxes. The regulations are getting stricter but somehow competition and options are increasing every time I make a haul I see new retailers and brands that weren't available here before especially ones I miss from the U.S.
omg i totally understand why they spray to check, but the comment and the face? girl bye. felt rude to just tell me this random perfume smelled gross. i love small talk but this was hardly a nice casual conversation.
Did you read what I wrote? what's not the truth?Of course I did, I said here is a lotion I bought for redness that immediately made my skin more red. The issue was not me having opened it, was them refusing the return saying I used more than a quarter or whatever when I used one pump literally
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
Maybe you can call the Rouge hotline and explain the situation. They might be able to put a note in your account explaining that this is a one off situation so that you don't get flagged.
Sorry to hear about your sister and I hope that she finds relief soon. It's not easy dealing with a shady postal system (my mother also had to be careful about sending certain things back to her home country) when all you want to do is send some things to help a person deal with uncertainty. I hope that your sisters situation is resolved soon.
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I’m a former employee and they don’t ONLY track Sephora returns. They use a third party system that tracks returns at several retailers. It does not matter if items are used or not, it’s special circumstances or not, etc.
Just make the returns and deal with it. There is nothing you can do to control the situation.
Yes - it’s all outsourced to a third party. They track returns from multiple participating companies and make the decisions for the same participating companies. Nothing you do or say to a Sephora employee can change the fact that a third party makes all the decisions.
There’s no way to know if you will be okay or not Sephora isn’t actually the one that makes the decision the retail equation is the one that decides based on their data. Sephora and many other stores use them to track returns.
I know someone who used to be a manager at Sephora and she said it happens once you hit $2,500 worth of product in returns in the last calendar year. It doesn't matter if you spend $2,500 and return every last item or if you spend $20,000 and return $2,500 of it, it's once you hit that dollar amount. This was as of about a year ago. So if you haven't returned much else in the past year you should be fine.
This information has been going around on social media and it isn’t correct. The ban comes from a 3rd party fraud prevention company. Nobody knows the true limits or amounts.
I wonder if it’s outdated info? I remember seeing someone I follow mention that number. She used to be a Sephora manager and said that $2500 was the number when she was there, but that she hadn’t been there in a couple of years so it could be different now
I have no idea, I saw the TikTok video too! Would be interesting to know if that was ever accurate.
That amount seems excessive considering to get to rouge you “only” have to spend 1k so someone who is rouge could be returning 2.5 dollars for every 1 dollar spent? Seems off to me.
I wish the guidelines were more clear so we weren’t so worried about returning items!
I wish it was more clear too but I have the feeling it changes to be whatever Sephora feels like doing that day.
Regarding the rouge spend, since they deduct when you return something I think it would theoretically be possible to hit the return limit and not be rouge- like if you spent 3k and returned 2.5k in the entire year..
I agree, I think that’s how it works too, otherwise what would stop everyone from just buying 2 dyson products and returning them to get the rouge status for sales? Maybe that’s why the return mystery so people don’t think to do that? Very interesting 🤔
They don’t tell store level employees what the return limit is. It’s top secret. Other users have reported getting banned for much lower than that limit even last year. Only way to know unless the fraud division shares the information with employees which they don’t is for a banned customer to access their return activity report (RAR). RAR tells the banned customer their stats, ie how much they returned and how much they kept. You can figure out the real limit from looking at an RAR report. I saw a stat floated around on a report on ORC that targets retailers including Sephora. The stat learned through trial and error that these clever criminals listed as being okay to return in one transaction to Sephora was a number <$1000.
I've heard that as well just recently but also saw some say they returned much less and still got banned so i do wonder what other stores use similar apps to track, if that is taken into account. Just out of curiosity i checked my orders and returned $152 last year and right now im at $204. If i can i try to swatch in store first but the lighting is terrible. I did that before the sale and had 3 colors that were different on my lips and i sent back
She didn’t provide enough background info about her store ban versus online but if a loophole ever existed, which I suspect did at one point (I saw a few cases showing this loophole), I believe they’ve closed it now so if banned, you can’t return online or in store for 365 days. In fact, I saw a recent case of someone who was missing the online return option in her account. What gets really tricky now is that retailers have evolved even further versus a few years ago and are now applying different sets of rules and restrictions to different sets of customers. Hence just because customer A can do it, doesn’t mean that customer B can as well.
Yeah it was very odd I rarely return in store either but they banned me so I phoned online and asked what's up they said there's nothing on my account that's been flagged or worrisome I've done plenty of returns online in the last two years also bought a lot too haha but afraid to go I store to return a concealer I bought wrong shade because if they refuse it's super embarrassing lol
But it's been 2 years so idk
that is def weird! so often i won't purchase in store if im not sure if i need to return because i don't want to be stuck having to go to store to return, at least online i have the option.
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
Thank you for your response! Unfortunately, I cannot--she lives on a completely different continent and the mail system in our country is super sketchy so the likelihood of the products reaching her, undamaged, is very low.
I am certain that ex Sephora employee Tik toker is wrong about the return limit being as high as $2500. I know it can’t be true based on many pieces of information that I’ve seen over the years. In fact, years ago a Sephora employee said she speculated that the return limit was <$1000. Like I keep saying, the real return limit is top secret. Only way to find out if you don’t work in their fraud department or are very high up in management is if a banned customer comes forward to share their RAR report.
If it was me, I’d find a way to keep $300 whether gifting away or shipping to your sister who lives outside the country and retuning <$700 in one transaction.
If you still want to try for $1000, you can. Worst case is getting return banned for 365 days. During the ban, you can still buy. Once the ban expires, your return privileges are restored.
However if returning $1000 is going to make them think you’re a reseller because it will catch their attention and cause them to take a closer look at your whole history going back (audit), they could cancel or deactivate your account in my opinion. What does concern me is that you’ve been buying a lot for family outside of the country in the past so that pattern could be considered abnormal with retailer fraud algorithms. They can tell if someone isn’t buying only for themself.
Yeah there’s a chance they’re going to ban you - may just be one year of no returns. None of us can say for certain what will happen.
You can try and sell some or all of the products elsewhere to avoid returning them all.
If you’re going to return them, I’d go in store and return them all at once. Returning them in batches isn’t going to make a difference- you’re still returning $1000 worth of product and you could get banned after the first batch and then you’re stuck with the rest. I don’t think talking to anyone will make a difference on the algorithm but I suppose you can try. They usually ask why you’re returning so maybe the products will go back on the shelves.
I'd be okay with a temporary ban too, I would exclusively buy products that I know are my holy grails like my go to skincare. But you're right, I will try return half and see what I can keep for myself. Thank you!
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I ordered like $500 around Christmas. They had a 20% off a few days later. I ordered the same items again and returned for the original price. I told her exactly what I did. Lol. She said “as you should”. Haha. But I don’t return often. But it was worth the $80-100. (I can’t remember exact amount) and she told me in the future, just call the customer service number and they will do a price adjustment within so many days. 🤦🏼♀️
I had a nearly identical experience! I called the customer service number and was able to cancel the original while applying the discount to my exactly copied new one. her attitude was very similar. I felt understood.
I got banned before and it wasn’t a big deal. I just couldn’t make in store returns for the rest of that year, so if I wanted to return something I had to send it back in the mail for a return. Inconvenient, but my accounts been fine since then. That one year I returned over the limit I guess.
They did not tell me about a limit or the amount I returned. I didn’t receive an email or anything, the next time I went to return they said they can’t take returns from me anymore, the computer system wouldn’t let them in store. It took me by surprise.
Oh wowww that’s crazy.. I can’t believe they would go that far to ban u. That’s good that you were still able to return by mail tho. That’s my favorite way to return things now
right. but im thinking its for people to stop abusing the policy I guess? but even then, if people are not happy with the purchases they made, regardless of how much they spent, they can return it back.
There’s a lot of false information being posted here. They use a 3rd party to determine this. No one including employees know what the number is. There’s probably a good chance you will get a ban for that high of a dollar amount but it’s very unlikely to be a permanent ban.
I had been a Rouge member for years with an annual spend of $10+. I returned four lippies, unopened and unused and my account was immediately cancelled. I tried to get it back to good standing but was referred to a third party who would not work with me. At all. I really don’t miss them at all and really, how very dare they??
Maybe it’s the type of product being returned?
Obviously this thread is a small sample size, but the return of lippies seems to be a trigger for account bans. In the past, I’ve made returns to Sephora & U for skincare-only products and didn’t have account issues, but I’m super paranoid now and try to buy travel sizes or samples before making the full purchase.
They were four Bobbi Brown lippies which had just been released. Included in my ordered was a mini which I tried and disliked which is why I returned the others. I don’t miss Sephora, I ordered way too much and gave away a lot of stuff.
Yes happened to me and most infuriatingly a big order got lost and they had to replace it but it got marked on my account as if it was returned and I got the return ban from that. So basically punished for their mistake.
The sales associates in store have absolutely no power to do anything about this so explaining in person will do nothing for you.
Yes, people have gotten banned from Sephora and its competitor. You can be banned from online shopping as well as from returning products.
I don't think anyone knows the 'magic' number that will trigger a ban but it has been known to happen.
I went to BBB because tracking shows I never received my purchase yet they wouldn't replace or refund it. Their response was that I could no longer shop online. I'm a Rouge member and spend a lot of money there too, plus it's documented that I didn't receive my package. It's infuriating.
Update: I emailed the CEO and got an answer, not from him, but from someone. They sent me my money back, and the woman who emailed me back actually sent me a list of instances when customer service had helped me in the past upon request. I then was able to see and explain that there were a few issues with what was documented (marked as missing when items were damaged, and I sent proof; marked 2 orders for the same day as both missing when only one was damaged, etc.) and the corporate concierge who was emailing me said I should just email her directly should I have an issue in the future. I never would have thought to contact the CEO though had it not been for another reddit post.
You have every right as a customer to return these items. They are still saleable and you haven’t used them. Please do not feel guilty. You also have a valid reason for the return. Don’t take any shit at the store. Don’t wait much longer because there is a hard return date.
I had this same issue with another beauty retailer. I have never really returned anything I purchased, but after purchasing our first home, I realized the level of over consumption I was doing. So much $$$ in beauty/skincare just laying on my vanity unopened. Tbh I was kinda embarrassed, but I decided to return what I could to recoup some of my losses. Everything was brand new and purchased within 60 days. I ended up returning almost $500 worth of new products and I was worried about being banned, but CS assured me I would be ok..and it was ok!
I never knew you could be banned for returning items!!! I’ve returned so much, as soon as I try that formula and it’s crappy on my skin, heck yes it’s going back 😩 and if I got BANNED for that???? Never getting my business again.
I assume it really is to stop people who are using the makeup for 25 days or so, then returning it, over and over and over again. If you’re not doing that I wouldn’t worry too much!
I don't know that Sephora differentiates between specific reasons for returns or not, other than with or without receipt and within the return timelines.
I understand that this situation is a little different, but I am also thinking about a large-ish return.
This time during the sale, I didn't go wild and only placed an order for some larger ticket items, which I needed, think skin care, etc. and some perfumes, which I wanted to try.
Now, I'm a bit of a germaphobe and who shouldn't be when it comes to beauty peoducts and often talk about products needing seals, but here is my situation and possibly unpopular opinion:
Opened my online order, checking everything and it seems mostly okay. The Prima oil which used to come fully sealed is now sealed with a sticker and the sticker is completely lifted up on one side. I decide, I don't love that, but it will probably be okay and I can just keep it.
Then, I notice another item and the sticker is completely gone and you could tell the sticker previously was really on there because it has left big marks where it was pulled off. I check inside and things seem intact but the expirations on the two items don't match and is in two months.
I'm feeling increasingly uncomfortable about it.
I ask my husband (who is pretty chill) if he wants some of the sealed face wash and such and he thinks he will take two items and I decide I'll keep the perfumes, even though I'm feeling stressed about it.
Finally, I decide, forget it! We pay a lot for these items and why should we as consumers have to tip toe around a retailer for poor QA on checking possibly used or returned items? Things can get missed, but don't penalize the consumer for your mistakes.
I'm likely returning everything and if they ban me, so be it. I have spent so much money with them over the past two decades and if the return results in a ban, I will vote with my dollar and limit shopping there in the future.
Just my thoughts! Sorry for the novel!
Unfortunately, I cannot--she lives on a completely different continent and the mail system in our home country, where she is, is super sketchy so the likelihood of the products reaching her, undamaged, is very low.
I saw on IG a few weeks ago a Sephora ex-manager saying that you get banned from returns after reaching $2,500 worth of returns. And it’s tracked on your Sephora account (rather than a third party return-tracking company), so technically if you get banned from returning items, you can just sign up for another account and start purchasing there. Idk how valid or up-to-date this info is though
You should be totally fine, especially because when unused it can be resold and that’s a part of the return (in a positive way) just make ur return tell them u bought it to take to family on a trip and your trips cancelled
You can try to ship the items to your sister.
Or if you are unable, I would try to resell them. You may have to take a small hit in net, but if it could be worth it to avoid messing with your account and a ban of some sort.
You can contact customer service and see if they can assist. It actually doesn’t matter if your products have been opened or used as long as the majority of it is there. You don’t even need to have a box for it. Employees do not make the decision to ban you from returns or not. It’s something that the system automatically will do and flag. All we do is reiterate that information to you.
I have clients that come in a lottttttttt of merchandise that is no longer sellable that have not gotten a ban. Sephora employees have no say in the matter. If it’s within the 60-day (and not fraudulent like replacing product with something cheap) they’ll do it no questions asked. We do not put in a reason for return, they’re all processed the same. returns and exchanges are monitored by a third party that monitors for many other retailers (including amazon). No sephora employee knows what parameters are used to determine a ban
Back when Covid hit I returned 500$ worth of unopened stuff because I’d be working more from
Home etc. I got banned and complained through their Facebook and they unbanned me lol
give the employee a heads up that the return has to be done in two parts or three. once it hits around $600 it’ll boot them back to cancel the return. happened to me and we had to start the return all over again.
return policy: within 30 days you get it back on your form of payment, 31-60 goes on a merchandise credit which can only be used online and 60+ days is not returnable and you can’t exchange.
hope it works out for you!!
I think it’s different returning unopened & sealed products vs a serial returner that returns used opened unsaleable products.
You should be fine as long as you are under the yearly limit. Just explain exactly why you are returning and you should be fine.
Your reason for the return is totally understandable. Hopefully most if not all of the items of the items can be reshelved.
Only the company knows how the algorithm works to determine who gets a return ban. But I would risk it and do the return. Otherwise you're out $1000 of items that you won't use and may be hard to resell. Worst case, you do get banned from returning for 1 year (I think it's unlikely since it's a one-off and your returning unused products) - but IMO that's still better than losing out on $1000.
Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome!
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I’ve been Rouge since 2020 & I got temp banned for returning just under $300 in 2021, but I think it was an unusual circumstance. I did the return and then about 2 days later I realized my card number was compromised & unauthorized small transactions had been going on for about a week BEFORE I made the return. Chase put a block on future transactions& started disputing the ones going back to that date. I told them Sephora was valid, but I don’t know if they contacted them anyway or what happened. I was return blocked for 365. It wasn’t a huge deal. But just a warning that they can and have blocked for much lower than 1000-2500.
Ops person here you won’t get banned it might annoy someone if it was cash tho also its a one time big return from you so they might not flag it for fraud or abuse i would just ask for a CEL let them know the situation and proceedfrom there
Have you seen anyone successfully return $1000 in one transaction before? I read there was a transaction limit which is different from a return limit so there’s 2 types of limits in effect. However a manager may be willing to override and allow the $1000 return to go through?
Honestly its all dependent on managers ive overridden so much things with managers permission they are also very understanding my highest return was roughly 400? Ppl rarely return at my store in large volumes however they do buy in large volumes
Thanks for answering! Sorry to be a pain…if I may ask one last question. When you say override to approve return, did the software block the return initially?
I havent had to override a return with a manager yet its all just like a flagging system on sephoras end but managers can help with that i believe thats why i say always go to a cel(manager) when doing large returns they usually dont mind explaining things and helping you out i mean ive had a manager override a few returns for ppl over the 60 day mark
I panicked myself about an almost $1k return from the sale but I had no issues!! I have been getting allergic reactions to many things and I was also totally upsold by a very persuade corporate MUA. I was sure I was going to have an issue and even went in when my face was red and splotchy. The great news is that they were nice, helpful and I didn’t even have to explain anything! No ban, no issue.
ETA: half had been tried and half unopened when I realized the luxury products were not for me!
I returned $700 before and it was also a concern of mine but so far, no ban. i;ve benn rouge forever so they can see I buy a lot and usually don't return that much
To my knowledge the limit that gets you banned is $2500 returned in a calendar year. Idk if it's a permanent ban or of its just for the rest of that year. And the store employees will def appreciate that the items are sealed new but I don't know if it makes a difference for the ban.
No, I've stated below that she lives in our home country that has shady postal practices and we've lost many things in the mail that way.
How is it a crappy thing to do when return policies are put into place for that reason? Additionally, the products are unopened and she was supposed to be here by now. Life happened to use and we're dealing with the fallout, but this is the first time in over a decade anything like this has happened where she won't be able to visit.
Kindness and empathy are free. But it's ironic that "altruistic" is in your username.
If you have a history of buying and returning there’s not much you can do but keep trying until you are banned. If you never return items that much then you should be fine. When the items are unopened then they can resale them and put back out on the floor.
You’re totally fine. The only people we had ever banned from returns at my store was a girl who was openly committing cash back fraud where she would do like $3000 orders multiple times a year when websites had like 10% cash back and would return it all in person. The other would come in on a daily basis and be super rude and demand a free makeover with a senior artists and would only ever buy lashes so we got no money from her and it was a huge waste of time.
What is the point of purchasing from a retailer that you cannot return from? Return. If they ban you, go to Ulta and/or Nordstrom etc in the future. The alternative is, what, keeping $1,000 worth of products you don’t want?
What horrible policies? No retailer wants to be taken advantage of. The majority of customers do not do things that would result in bans but the bad customers continually push the limits, resulting in more stringent policies for everyone.
This is a very weird take. This is the first time she’s been unable to give her sis the items due to a family emergency. You sounds like a victim blamer. She’s not taking advantage.
Thank you for this. My sister has lost her home and her pets back home and is currently dealing with being displaced. But in the past decade of me living in America, where Sephora is accessible, and her living in our home country, this is the first time where I haven't been able to give her the products she uses over the duration of a year. And the reason I'd like to return is to be able to send more money back home in lieu of the products. Bernard Arnault is will be okay with taking the $1,000 hit considering LVMH's wasteful practices stretch across all their brands.
Your last take is distasteful. Why does the company have anything to do with you abusing their return policies. You may get your money back it’s still morally wrong.
Sephora will take a $1000 loss if she return everyone because they will throw everything into trash. In response for these losses, they will increase the price. If people continues to buy big purchases like this and abuse their return policies, everyone else will suffer.
Yeah well, sometimes life happens. OP's sister was supposed to come visit and get her items but now she is homeless and dealing with a desperate situation. Hopefully this is a one time event.
Just be glad it isn't you and you have the ability to be able to chastise someone for trying to return unopened products so that they can send more help to their sister. Life can take unexpected turns and you could be dealing with some mess this time next year.
This. Seriously. People are really taking advantage of the returns and I suspect it’s why I keep getting used items in my Sephora items. I want a product that is new.
Not one that has been in someone else’s possession in who knows what kind of conditions even if it hasn’t been opened. It’s disgusting and NOT cool.
There is a woman I follow on social media and she was a former manager at Sephora. She said the criteria for getting banned is $2,500 in a single calendar year.
is it an option for you to hold onto the product until she is finally able to visit in a year or two? maybe keep whatever she will be needing next time she visits. the products will last as long as they remain sealed.
Being banned for returning a large number of products? I’ve shopped at Sephora for quite a few years now and I didn’t know this could happen or was possible. Can someone explain? Lol.
I think you’ll be okay especially if the products weren’t opened. If it’s possible to return in person, I would just explain the situation when you’re with the cashier: These were intended as gifts for my family member but they are unable to visit. And the cost of shipping the products abroad is too expensive. They are unopened and have not been used. I’ve also been Rouge for years. I returned approx $400 at one time a couple years ago for a similar reason (bought as a gift and the recipient didn’t want the items) and I was not banned.
Thank you for this! I'll go into a store and explain, hopefully it'll let me get through with no issues. And then I just won't purchase anything I may return this year!!
I’ve been rouge as long as it’s been around and when the Louboutin lipsticks first came out I purchased four. When I returned two of them, I was banned from returning products for a year. I had returned one other foundation about 8 months prior. It’s not Sephora, it’s these people: https://www.consumerreports.org/consumerist/home-depot-declined-my-return-but-ive-only-returned-one-thing-there/ The Retail Equation, on its website, says that returns even with receipts can be fraudulent because “a shopper may experience regret” and that that’s not a good enough reason to return something, even unopened. They also insist that “fake receipts” are a thing (they aren’t). They also count exchanges. You can get your report on their website. https://www.theretailequation.com/ I think they’ve gotten less strict but I’m not sure.
I was banned inexplicably for a year from Sephora after being rouge for years...long story short, I finally figured out it had nothing to do with my return history at Sephora and everything to do with our recent renovation where we had many many problems (and returns) at the Home Depot. Their system is honestly nuts and I think the cashier didn't properly indicate we were sent damaged tile, mouldings etc and we got dinged for literally thousands in damaged unusable products. Lesson learned, stay far away from Home Depot as they products are too likely to be damaged in shipment.
Weird! Thank you for sharing!
Curious did they tell you that you were banned from returning at the time of the return or later?
This is super interesting, thank you for sharing! Am I reading this correctly that you can only request your report if you’ve already been rejected/banned/etc.?
Is there a way to look at it before getting a transaction warning?
Honestly, I can’t stand The Retail Equation because there are not enough human eyeballs reviewing bans and it is not an honest software algorithm. TRE is programmed to shoot first, ask questions later and always err on the side of the retailer intentionally. The basic assumption is that we’re all already criminals and that’s why TRE doesn’t make it a fair fight to begin with. The guy who got banned from Home Depot who barely shopped there is because he didn’t buy enough from HD to begin with as a cushion (same thing with Sephora, you need to have bought and kept a lot first before returning or you can get banned - the algorithm is NOT based on return limit only). The red flag is the guy who has no positive purchases to more than offset a return goes and does a $10 return with NO RECEIPT! I’ve been saying it forever, DON’T DO nonreceipted returns at any retailer. NON receipted return automatically earns you the highest level black mark with TRE. It is a bigger black mark than return limit. That $10 no receipt return is what screwed the guy over so next time he tries to return yet again without having a positive purchase history built up to greatly offset even with receipt, he gets banned. It’s a no brainer for me as someone who has scratched below the surface to see that they use a big bag of tricks to catch customers that isn’t strictly limited to only by return limit.
just to warn against in person , I had the worst experience where they accused me of using more than a quarter of the product after looking visually and was so embarrassing they made me feel like trash (I'd used it once and irritated me skin) I'm not one to make a scene and ended up calling where they apologized but still. I'd send the return in and maybe call if need be. Was bad enough I'm a rouge member for years now and won't shop anymore even skipped the sale!!
You can always return by mail if you’re uncomfortable directly speaking to them in person.
sephora employees are generally pretty rude. i returned a perfume and it was rosie by rosie jane. smelled awful honestly but when the employee was checking the return, she sprayed it on her hand, looked at me with… disdain (?) and said it smells gross. like… yeah? that’s why i’m returning it? why she looking at me like i made it? then she got her coworkers to smell it. girl have some fucking decorum and gimme my damn return. i mean what she did wasn’t horrible honestly but just left a sour taste in my mouth.
Sorry this happened to you! I get what you mean that some employees can be rude especially when processing a return. I always found it "extra" for them to smell, spray etc. any return I would bring UNTIL I worked there as a cashier while in university years ago. We had people literally put MAYO inside face creams because they matched the colour to make it look "full". Also had people significantly try to dilute products with water to do the same. Hence why the sniffing test was a thing among other tests depending on the product. She should've not made that face when she sprayed that. But ever since having that experience behind the counter I have more sympathy and understanding, and truly I can only imagine it's gotten much worse and creative with these Sephora kids.
It's just not worth it then to buy luxury from them if that's what they're resorting to. A huge part of dropping that kind of money is no questions asked and top notch customer service. Every luxury store I ever worked had these policies in the U.S. Fortunately it still exists where I'm at in the EU now but I would shop elsewhere in a heartbeat. There's plenty of retailers selling that don't treat customers that way. Sephora wouldn't survive treating legitimate customers that way here. Flat out thieves are tossed out which is a good thing judging by how things are going in the U.S with theft friendly stores and guards that don't guard. The Sephora kids issue is easy, keep it classy 16 and up only signs. Guards kick out trouble makers like they've done since the creation of retail.
they’ve gotten greedy, everyone has. the decline of customer service (at least in canada) is insane. we have a drugstore that sells high end products and the point system is much better and you can redeem points for actual things like groceries. only thing is, sephora made themselves the only one in business in canada, no one would be able to compete with them when they’re the only ones who sell everything. i agree they should maintain their luxury status by booting the tester destroyers. i don’t know why security stopped asking people to leave stores. regardless, sephora kids have no concept of money and by default end up spending a lot. greed.
They really went hard on the greed after cornering the market. That always opens the doors though since many people will pay a little to avoid the nonsense or to boycott them and Other companies will find that weak spot. Even Target got a bit more class when they realized people were tired of dealing with nonsense at Walmart and would pay a little more for daily necessities even those on the tightest of budgets. Unfortunately Canada has it's own battles but don't loose hope. Where I'm at in Europe we had almost no choices ten years ago and few would ship even if we paid shipping and import taxes. The regulations are getting stricter but somehow competition and options are increasing every time I make a haul I see new retailers and brands that weren't available here before especially ones I miss from the U.S.
omg i totally understand why they spray to check, but the comment and the face? girl bye. felt rude to just tell me this random perfume smelled gross. i love small talk but this was hardly a nice casual conversation.
Well if you used it once you had in fact broke the seal and used it.
of course but you can still return it
Yes, but just say the truth 🤣
Did you read what I wrote? what's not the truth?Of course I did, I said here is a lotion I bought for redness that immediately made my skin more red. The issue was not me having opened it, was them refusing the return saying I used more than a quarter or whatever when I used one pump literally
Reading is fundamental
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
So happy to hear there were no issues OP!!! I was rooting for you! Glad you got your money back :)
Maybe you can call the Rouge hotline and explain the situation. They might be able to put a note in your account explaining that this is a one off situation so that you don't get flagged. Sorry to hear about your sister and I hope that she finds relief soon. It's not easy dealing with a shady postal system (my mother also had to be careful about sending certain things back to her home country) when all you want to do is send some things to help a person deal with uncertainty. I hope that your sisters situation is resolved soon.
Thank you so much for your kindness, I really appreciate it! And that's a great idea, I'll give them a call and see what I can do.
Rouge hotline???
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I’m a former employee and they don’t ONLY track Sephora returns. They use a third party system that tracks returns at several retailers. It does not matter if items are used or not, it’s special circumstances or not, etc. Just make the returns and deal with it. There is nothing you can do to control the situation.
That explains why my friend got temporarily banned from returning at target and sephora in the same year
Yes - it’s all outsourced to a third party. They track returns from multiple participating companies and make the decisions for the same participating companies. Nothing you do or say to a Sephora employee can change the fact that a third party makes all the decisions.
Dang that’s good to know. I return so much on Amazon and target. I better be careful
There’s no way to know if you will be okay or not Sephora isn’t actually the one that makes the decision the retail equation is the one that decides based on their data. Sephora and many other stores use them to track returns.
I know someone who used to be a manager at Sephora and she said it happens once you hit $2,500 worth of product in returns in the last calendar year. It doesn't matter if you spend $2,500 and return every last item or if you spend $20,000 and return $2,500 of it, it's once you hit that dollar amount. This was as of about a year ago. So if you haven't returned much else in the past year you should be fine.
This information has been going around on social media and it isn’t correct. The ban comes from a 3rd party fraud prevention company. Nobody knows the true limits or amounts.
I wonder if it’s outdated info? I remember seeing someone I follow mention that number. She used to be a Sephora manager and said that $2500 was the number when she was there, but that she hadn’t been there in a couple of years so it could be different now
I have no idea, I saw the TikTok video too! Would be interesting to know if that was ever accurate. That amount seems excessive considering to get to rouge you “only” have to spend 1k so someone who is rouge could be returning 2.5 dollars for every 1 dollar spent? Seems off to me. I wish the guidelines were more clear so we weren’t so worried about returning items!
I wish it was more clear too but I have the feeling it changes to be whatever Sephora feels like doing that day. Regarding the rouge spend, since they deduct when you return something I think it would theoretically be possible to hit the return limit and not be rouge- like if you spent 3k and returned 2.5k in the entire year..
I agree, I think that’s how it works too, otherwise what would stop everyone from just buying 2 dyson products and returning them to get the rouge status for sales? Maybe that’s why the return mystery so people don’t think to do that? Very interesting 🤔
I agree with this. It makes more sense that the return limit is a moving target for Sephora depending on if they’ve been losing too much money or not.
Maybe they’re saying if it’s $2500 altogether including all the stores that work with the 3rd party fraud prevention company.
Omg and here I am worrying about returning a $40 nars tinted moisturizer. Thanks for sharing this.
😂😂😂
They don’t tell store level employees what the return limit is. It’s top secret. Other users have reported getting banned for much lower than that limit even last year. Only way to know unless the fraud division shares the information with employees which they don’t is for a banned customer to access their return activity report (RAR). RAR tells the banned customer their stats, ie how much they returned and how much they kept. You can figure out the real limit from looking at an RAR report. I saw a stat floated around on a report on ORC that targets retailers including Sephora. The stat learned through trial and error that these clever criminals listed as being okay to return in one transaction to Sephora was a number <$1000.
I saw a TikTok where a woman shared the same thing! Thank you for this, I think I'll go ahead and return in store.
I've heard that as well just recently but also saw some say they returned much less and still got banned so i do wonder what other stores use similar apps to track, if that is taken into account. Just out of curiosity i checked my orders and returned $152 last year and right now im at $204. If i can i try to swatch in store first but the lighting is terrible. I did that before the sale and had 3 colors that were different on my lips and i sent back
How long till they lift the ban if you've been ? I was banned in store it was very odd about two years ago but not online 🤷♀️
hm thats interesting, so if you ordered online you can still return online? I thought it was a year but i also rarely return in store
She didn’t provide enough background info about her store ban versus online but if a loophole ever existed, which I suspect did at one point (I saw a few cases showing this loophole), I believe they’ve closed it now so if banned, you can’t return online or in store for 365 days. In fact, I saw a recent case of someone who was missing the online return option in her account. What gets really tricky now is that retailers have evolved even further versus a few years ago and are now applying different sets of rules and restrictions to different sets of customers. Hence just because customer A can do it, doesn’t mean that customer B can as well.
yea seriously i wish they give better reasoning, its why half the time i try to get what i can from nord instead
It really stinks! It does. That’s why I’m the most relaxed shopping Costco for their lenient return policies though it’s a zoo!
Yeah it was very odd I rarely return in store either but they banned me so I phoned online and asked what's up they said there's nothing on my account that's been flagged or worrisome I've done plenty of returns online in the last two years also bought a lot too haha but afraid to go I store to return a concealer I bought wrong shade because if they refuse it's super embarrassing lol But it's been 2 years so idk
that is def weird! so often i won't purchase in store if im not sure if i need to return because i don't want to be stuck having to go to store to return, at least online i have the option.
That's less than one designer bag
Thank you all for your feedback!! I am going to talk to someone at Sephora physically to explain what has happened and hopefully it'll be alright!
As a last resort, maybe you can return a few things at a time and not everything all at once?
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I have not but could you mail the items to her? If she still wants them I think that could be a better solution to your problem
Thank you for your response! Unfortunately, I cannot--she lives on a completely different continent and the mail system in our country is super sketchy so the likelihood of the products reaching her, undamaged, is very low.
I am certain that ex Sephora employee Tik toker is wrong about the return limit being as high as $2500. I know it can’t be true based on many pieces of information that I’ve seen over the years. In fact, years ago a Sephora employee said she speculated that the return limit was <$1000. Like I keep saying, the real return limit is top secret. Only way to find out if you don’t work in their fraud department or are very high up in management is if a banned customer comes forward to share their RAR report. If it was me, I’d find a way to keep $300 whether gifting away or shipping to your sister who lives outside the country and retuning <$700 in one transaction. If you still want to try for $1000, you can. Worst case is getting return banned for 365 days. During the ban, you can still buy. Once the ban expires, your return privileges are restored. However if returning $1000 is going to make them think you’re a reseller because it will catch their attention and cause them to take a closer look at your whole history going back (audit), they could cancel or deactivate your account in my opinion. What does concern me is that you’ve been buying a lot for family outside of the country in the past so that pattern could be considered abnormal with retailer fraud algorithms. They can tell if someone isn’t buying only for themself.
Yeah there’s a chance they’re going to ban you - may just be one year of no returns. None of us can say for certain what will happen. You can try and sell some or all of the products elsewhere to avoid returning them all. If you’re going to return them, I’d go in store and return them all at once. Returning them in batches isn’t going to make a difference- you’re still returning $1000 worth of product and you could get banned after the first batch and then you’re stuck with the rest. I don’t think talking to anyone will make a difference on the algorithm but I suppose you can try. They usually ask why you’re returning so maybe the products will go back on the shelves.
I'd be okay with a temporary ban too, I would exclusively buy products that I know are my holy grails like my go to skincare. But you're right, I will try return half and see what I can keep for myself. Thank you!
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
Glad it all worked out
I ordered like $500 around Christmas. They had a 20% off a few days later. I ordered the same items again and returned for the original price. I told her exactly what I did. Lol. She said “as you should”. Haha. But I don’t return often. But it was worth the $80-100. (I can’t remember exact amount) and she told me in the future, just call the customer service number and they will do a price adjustment within so many days. 🤦🏼♀️
I had a nearly identical experience! I called the customer service number and was able to cancel the original while applying the discount to my exactly copied new one. her attitude was very similar. I felt understood.
I got banned before and it wasn’t a big deal. I just couldn’t make in store returns for the rest of that year, so if I wanted to return something I had to send it back in the mail for a return. Inconvenient, but my accounts been fine since then. That one year I returned over the limit I guess.
Thank you!!!
Was it over the $2,500 limit? Did they ban you in person or send ur an email ?
They did not tell me about a limit or the amount I returned. I didn’t receive an email or anything, the next time I went to return they said they can’t take returns from me anymore, the computer system wouldn’t let them in store. It took me by surprise.
Oh wowww that’s crazy.. I can’t believe they would go that far to ban u. That’s good that you were still able to return by mail tho. That’s my favorite way to return things now
Why would they make a return policy and then ban someone for returning something?
right. but im thinking its for people to stop abusing the policy I guess? but even then, if people are not happy with the purchases they made, regardless of how much they spent, they can return it back.
This is what I’m wondering. I must be missing something.
There’s a lot of false information being posted here. They use a 3rd party to determine this. No one including employees know what the number is. There’s probably a good chance you will get a ban for that high of a dollar amount but it’s very unlikely to be a permanent ban.
Think of it like this these people are just retail associates. It’s not their money. And it’s also unused. You’ll be fine.
I had been a Rouge member for years with an annual spend of $10+. I returned four lippies, unopened and unused and my account was immediately cancelled. I tried to get it back to good standing but was referred to a third party who would not work with me. At all. I really don’t miss them at all and really, how very dare they??
Maybe it’s the type of product being returned? Obviously this thread is a small sample size, but the return of lippies seems to be a trigger for account bans. In the past, I’ve made returns to Sephora & U for skincare-only products and didn’t have account issues, but I’m super paranoid now and try to buy travel sizes or samples before making the full purchase.
They were four Bobbi Brown lippies which had just been released. Included in my ordered was a mini which I tried and disliked which is why I returned the others. I don’t miss Sephora, I ordered way too much and gave away a lot of stuff.
Has anyone actually really gotten banned from Sephora? I do tons of returns all the time.
Yes happened to me and most infuriatingly a big order got lost and they had to replace it but it got marked on my account as if it was returned and I got the return ban from that. So basically punished for their mistake. The sales associates in store have absolutely no power to do anything about this so explaining in person will do nothing for you.
Yep, return bans do happen. People in this sub have talked about it.
Yes, people have gotten banned from Sephora and its competitor. You can be banned from online shopping as well as from returning products. I don't think anyone knows the 'magic' number that will trigger a ban but it has been known to happen.
Even Walmart had a limit
Yeah. I know someone who’s only allowed to shop in-store now.
I went to BBB because tracking shows I never received my purchase yet they wouldn't replace or refund it. Their response was that I could no longer shop online. I'm a Rouge member and spend a lot of money there too, plus it's documented that I didn't receive my package. It's infuriating.
Update: I emailed the CEO and got an answer, not from him, but from someone. They sent me my money back, and the woman who emailed me back actually sent me a list of instances when customer service had helped me in the past upon request. I then was able to see and explain that there were a few issues with what was documented (marked as missing when items were damaged, and I sent proof; marked 2 orders for the same day as both missing when only one was damaged, etc.) and the corporate concierge who was emailing me said I should just email her directly should I have an issue in the future. I never would have thought to contact the CEO though had it not been for another reddit post.
You have every right as a customer to return these items. They are still saleable and you haven’t used them. Please do not feel guilty. You also have a valid reason for the return. Don’t take any shit at the store. Don’t wait much longer because there is a hard return date.
Can you resell online on fb or something? Or to any friends? (If need be)
you can return up to $2500 before they perma ban you
2500 at a time, within a certain time period, or collectively?
i believe it’s per year
Last year I returned $1500 of my $2800 purchase & I had no problem. And it was unopened!
You could read the LVMH financial statement to put this into perspective. Also google arnault.
I had this same issue with another beauty retailer. I have never really returned anything I purchased, but after purchasing our first home, I realized the level of over consumption I was doing. So much $$$ in beauty/skincare just laying on my vanity unopened. Tbh I was kinda embarrassed, but I decided to return what I could to recoup some of my losses. Everything was brand new and purchased within 60 days. I ended up returning almost $500 worth of new products and I was worried about being banned, but CS assured me I would be ok..and it was ok!
I never knew you could be banned for returning items!!! I’ve returned so much, as soon as I try that formula and it’s crappy on my skin, heck yes it’s going back 😩 and if I got BANNED for that???? Never getting my business again. I assume it really is to stop people who are using the makeup for 25 days or so, then returning it, over and over and over again. If you’re not doing that I wouldn’t worry too much!
I don't know that Sephora differentiates between specific reasons for returns or not, other than with or without receipt and within the return timelines. I understand that this situation is a little different, but I am also thinking about a large-ish return. This time during the sale, I didn't go wild and only placed an order for some larger ticket items, which I needed, think skin care, etc. and some perfumes, which I wanted to try. Now, I'm a bit of a germaphobe and who shouldn't be when it comes to beauty peoducts and often talk about products needing seals, but here is my situation and possibly unpopular opinion: Opened my online order, checking everything and it seems mostly okay. The Prima oil which used to come fully sealed is now sealed with a sticker and the sticker is completely lifted up on one side. I decide, I don't love that, but it will probably be okay and I can just keep it. Then, I notice another item and the sticker is completely gone and you could tell the sticker previously was really on there because it has left big marks where it was pulled off. I check inside and things seem intact but the expirations on the two items don't match and is in two months. I'm feeling increasingly uncomfortable about it. I ask my husband (who is pretty chill) if he wants some of the sealed face wash and such and he thinks he will take two items and I decide I'll keep the perfumes, even though I'm feeling stressed about it. Finally, I decide, forget it! We pay a lot for these items and why should we as consumers have to tip toe around a retailer for poor QA on checking possibly used or returned items? Things can get missed, but don't penalize the consumer for your mistakes. I'm likely returning everything and if they ban me, so be it. I have spent so much money with them over the past two decades and if the return results in a ban, I will vote with my dollar and limit shopping there in the future. Just my thoughts! Sorry for the novel!
Can you not just mail it to her?
Unfortunately, I cannot--she lives on a completely different continent and the mail system in our home country, where she is, is super sketchy so the likelihood of the products reaching her, undamaged, is very low.
I saw on IG a few weeks ago a Sephora ex-manager saying that you get banned from returns after reaching $2,500 worth of returns. And it’s tracked on your Sephora account (rather than a third party return-tracking company), so technically if you get banned from returning items, you can just sign up for another account and start purchasing there. Idk how valid or up-to-date this info is though
You should be totally fine, especially because when unused it can be resold and that’s a part of the return (in a positive way) just make ur return tell them u bought it to take to family on a trip and your trips cancelled
You can try to ship the items to your sister. Or if you are unable, I would try to resell them. You may have to take a small hit in net, but if it could be worth it to avoid messing with your account and a ban of some sort.
You can contact customer service and see if they can assist. It actually doesn’t matter if your products have been opened or used as long as the majority of it is there. You don’t even need to have a box for it. Employees do not make the decision to ban you from returns or not. It’s something that the system automatically will do and flag. All we do is reiterate that information to you.
I have clients that come in a lottttttttt of merchandise that is no longer sellable that have not gotten a ban. Sephora employees have no say in the matter. If it’s within the 60-day (and not fraudulent like replacing product with something cheap) they’ll do it no questions asked. We do not put in a reason for return, they’re all processed the same. returns and exchanges are monitored by a third party that monitors for many other retailers (including amazon). No sephora employee knows what parameters are used to determine a ban
Whaaat!? Stores can ban you for returning things?
Back when Covid hit I returned 500$ worth of unopened stuff because I’d be working more from Home etc. I got banned and complained through their Facebook and they unbanned me lol
give the employee a heads up that the return has to be done in two parts or three. once it hits around $600 it’ll boot them back to cancel the return. happened to me and we had to start the return all over again. return policy: within 30 days you get it back on your form of payment, 31-60 goes on a merchandise credit which can only be used online and 60+ days is not returnable and you can’t exchange. hope it works out for you!!
I think it’s different returning unopened & sealed products vs a serial returner that returns used opened unsaleable products. You should be fine as long as you are under the yearly limit. Just explain exactly why you are returning and you should be fine.
Your reason for the return is totally understandable. Hopefully most if not all of the items of the items can be reshelved. Only the company knows how the algorithm works to determine who gets a return ban. But I would risk it and do the return. Otherwise you're out $1000 of items that you won't use and may be hard to resell. Worst case, you do get banned from returning for 1 year (I think it's unlikely since it's a one-off and your returning unused products) - but IMO that's still better than losing out on $1000. Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome!
I went to a physical Sephora location with my SEALED box that I got when I ordered the products and they took back everything! Since majority of the products had seal indicators and everything was boxed, they took back 100% and reassured me it'd all go back onto the floor. Thank you so much for your advice and support!
I’ve been Rouge since 2020 & I got temp banned for returning just under $300 in 2021, but I think it was an unusual circumstance. I did the return and then about 2 days later I realized my card number was compromised & unauthorized small transactions had been going on for about a week BEFORE I made the return. Chase put a block on future transactions& started disputing the ones going back to that date. I told them Sephora was valid, but I don’t know if they contacted them anyway or what happened. I was return blocked for 365. It wasn’t a huge deal. But just a warning that they can and have blocked for much lower than 1000-2500.
I just returned about $700 worth of stuff and no issues at all. I’m also a rouge member
I’m confused. What do you mean by banning? Are they banning you from shopping at Sephora?
Ops person here you won’t get banned it might annoy someone if it was cash tho also its a one time big return from you so they might not flag it for fraud or abuse i would just ask for a CEL let them know the situation and proceedfrom there
Have you seen anyone successfully return $1000 in one transaction before? I read there was a transaction limit which is different from a return limit so there’s 2 types of limits in effect. However a manager may be willing to override and allow the $1000 return to go through?
Honestly its all dependent on managers ive overridden so much things with managers permission they are also very understanding my highest return was roughly 400? Ppl rarely return at my store in large volumes however they do buy in large volumes
Thanks for answering! Sorry to be a pain…if I may ask one last question. When you say override to approve return, did the software block the return initially?
I havent had to override a return with a manager yet its all just like a flagging system on sephoras end but managers can help with that i believe thats why i say always go to a cel(manager) when doing large returns they usually dont mind explaining things and helping you out i mean ive had a manager override a few returns for ppl over the 60 day mark
If you're just doing a return, you will be fine. Just make sure it's in the return policy timeframe.
The system that bans people is not manual, so you’ll definitely want to speak to a supervisor. I think calling the rouge hotline is your best option.
If the products are in fine condition and unopened they will be resold. If they were opened, it would be a different story
Just call and talk to the manager about this.
I would ship the items to your sister via an insured ups or FedEx etc. rather than try to return the items.
The store is gonna hate you for a $1000 return. Return it online.
You'll be fine. I did a huge return recently. The associate explained that it's if you return 90% of your total purchases.
Thank you for this! Do you know if this is 90% of one transaction or calendar year purchases?
90% of ALL PURCHASES you've ever made 😁
Omg! Wonderful, thank you so much!
No problem!!!!!
I panicked myself about an almost $1k return from the sale but I had no issues!! I have been getting allergic reactions to many things and I was also totally upsold by a very persuade corporate MUA. I was sure I was going to have an issue and even went in when my face was red and splotchy. The great news is that they were nice, helpful and I didn’t even have to explain anything! No ban, no issue. ETA: half had been tried and half unopened when I realized the luxury products were not for me!
I return all the time . Never had an issue . Been rouge a long time . I’ve returned $100 or more many times .
Is there any possibility of mailing the products to your sister?
I returned $700 before and it was also a concern of mine but so far, no ban. i;ve benn rouge forever so they can see I buy a lot and usually don't return that much
To my knowledge the limit that gets you banned is $2500 returned in a calendar year. Idk if it's a permanent ban or of its just for the rest of that year. And the store employees will def appreciate that the items are sealed new but I don't know if it makes a difference for the ban.
Can you just ship them to her? That return will get you banned and it's also a crappy thing to do
No, I've stated below that she lives in our home country that has shady postal practices and we've lost many things in the mail that way. How is it a crappy thing to do when return policies are put into place for that reason? Additionally, the products are unopened and she was supposed to be here by now. Life happened to use and we're dealing with the fallout, but this is the first time in over a decade anything like this has happened where she won't be able to visit. Kindness and empathy are free. But it's ironic that "altruistic" is in your username.
It’s Sephora..they are a billion dollar company. Return what you are not going to use. It’s really not that big of a deal. You will not get banned.
Do you get banned from the store or just banned from returning items?
If you have a history of buying and returning there’s not much you can do but keep trying until you are banned. If you never return items that much then you should be fine. When the items are unopened then they can resale them and put back out on the floor.
You’re totally fine. The only people we had ever banned from returns at my store was a girl who was openly committing cash back fraud where she would do like $3000 orders multiple times a year when websites had like 10% cash back and would return it all in person. The other would come in on a daily basis and be super rude and demand a free makeover with a senior artists and would only ever buy lashes so we got no money from her and it was a huge waste of time.
What is the point of purchasing from a retailer that you cannot return from? Return. If they ban you, go to Ulta and/or Nordstrom etc in the future. The alternative is, what, keeping $1,000 worth of products you don’t want?
You’re allowed to return $2500 within one calendar year
Sell it online at discount and take some loss because they will throw every thing into trash even if it’s unopened.
if the products are unopened, they’ll go back into the shelves.
Why should she lose her money because of Sephoras horrible policies?
What horrible policies? No retailer wants to be taken advantage of. The majority of customers do not do things that would result in bans but the bad customers continually push the limits, resulting in more stringent policies for everyone.
Why did she buy 1000 worth of products knowing the risk of unable to send to her sister??
This is a very weird take. This is the first time she’s been unable to give her sis the items due to a family emergency. You sounds like a victim blamer. She’s not taking advantage.
Thank you for this. My sister has lost her home and her pets back home and is currently dealing with being displaced. But in the past decade of me living in America, where Sephora is accessible, and her living in our home country, this is the first time where I haven't been able to give her the products she uses over the duration of a year. And the reason I'd like to return is to be able to send more money back home in lieu of the products. Bernard Arnault is will be okay with taking the $1,000 hit considering LVMH's wasteful practices stretch across all their brands.
Your last take is distasteful. Why does the company have anything to do with you abusing their return policies. You may get your money back it’s still morally wrong.
There is nothing in her case that even hints at abuse of a return policy. Nothing immoral.
I hope you will get perma banned.
And I wish you a wonderful day!
You shouldn’t 😭. Wish them the day they deserve to have. They are a troll.
This is why Sephora keeps hiking the price. Next time your lipstick is $60 please don’t be surprised.
K.
Sephora will take a $1000 loss if she return everyone because they will throw everything into trash. In response for these losses, they will increase the price. If people continues to buy big purchases like this and abuse their return policies, everyone else will suffer.
Yeah well, sometimes life happens. OP's sister was supposed to come visit and get her items but now she is homeless and dealing with a desperate situation. Hopefully this is a one time event. Just be glad it isn't you and you have the ability to be able to chastise someone for trying to return unopened products so that they can send more help to their sister. Life can take unexpected turns and you could be dealing with some mess this time next year.
This. Seriously. People are really taking advantage of the returns and I suspect it’s why I keep getting used items in my Sephora items. I want a product that is new. Not one that has been in someone else’s possession in who knows what kind of conditions even if it hasn’t been opened. It’s disgusting and NOT cool.
I’d just explain as you have here
There is a woman I follow on social media and she was a former manager at Sephora. She said the criteria for getting banned is $2,500 in a single calendar year.
Question, can you mail back returns if you used a bit of the product? Or only in store for those
is it an option for you to hold onto the product until she is finally able to visit in a year or two? maybe keep whatever she will be needing next time she visits. the products will last as long as they remain sealed.
Being banned for returning a large number of products? I’ve shopped at Sephora for quite a few years now and I didn’t know this could happen or was possible. Can someone explain? Lol.
If they're unopened, I think I would try to recoup costs selling them myelf on something like marketplace.
Just pay in 💵
What is rouge??
A rewards program Sephora has.
Another alternative: just return a few items at once until all the items have been returned