How to Return Unwanted Gifts to Amazon

Lots of holiday gifts came from Amazon, this year. And there will be plenty of returns as well.

Whereas if you received an unwanted item from a physical store in your area you’re able to return it in person, Amazon’s return policy is a little bit different, especially if you’re the gift recipient making the return rather than the buyer.

In order for items to be returned, they will need to be marked as a gift at the time of purchase. Amazon said the type of refund you’re able to get for the item will depend on how it was purchased and how it’s returned.

Gift recipients also aren’t eligible for exchanges or instant refunds.

Before you can send an item back you first need to start a gift return on Amazon’s website. For buyers that happens on the “Orders” page within Amazon. For gift recipients, you can start that process here.

You will also need the order number for your gift. You can find that on the left side of your packing slip. If you don’t have it you’ll need to contact Amazon to try and look it up.

With the order number, you’ll be able to pull up everything that was purchased in that particular order. You can select the item you don’t want from the list and then select how you’d like to send your item back (via mail or Amazon locker). For shipped returns, you’ll get a printable return label to throw on the box.

Once your return is received and processed by Amazon the person who did the return will receive a credit to their Amazon account in the form of a gift card for the amount of the item.