TRU Returns

bahnstormer

Bought a "few" minfigs in the 20% sale recently. returned over 100 after putting together some sets and turns out TRU have a really crappy computer system. the assistant had to lodge each one as a separate entry to process the refunds. took almost 2 hours.

if you are thinking of doing the same be forewarned and take a book (war and peace should be adequate...)

Yellowcastle

I have also returned minifigs to TRU before and it did take a while. It was my understanding, though, that this was because they were originally sold to me incorrectly (i.e. one scan and then manually multiplied by 60 by the cashier). Supposedly, they are supposed to scan each one when they are sold.

evilempire22

I, too, have had to deal with this poor excuse for a system. Bought a box of Series 4, got all I wanted, and returned the rest. The cashier said they are able to multiply a quantity on a sale, but not on a return...wtf.

Ypres

My sister works for TRU (Canada) and always tells me how outdated their computer is. The cash system is no better....

Just know that if it's painful for you, it's twice as painful for the employee. And why on earth are you guys returning minifigs? You should just pick a box and move to another area of the store. That way you can peacefully pick out your set and be on your way. Having to return minifigs seems like you're just being a pain.

bahnstormer

ypres, as i picked out quite a few sets I preferred to do this from the comfort of my couch in front of the TV rather than spending 8 hours standing in a store.

whilst i understand that it was a painful process for the employee who did my refund she was still getting paid whilst she did it.

madforLEGO

^ Sorry, but you know what?.. time to Rant a bit.
This is not what a return process was invented for, and anyone doing this is still getting a good deal by doing it this way. Sorry but I think it is a bit tacky to take an entire box home, pick the ones you want, and return the rest and THEN complain about time it takes to return them.. what did you think would happen? ...... it can spin it any way you wish... Especially when many people will do this to get multiples of sought after ones and then return the commons....
So I think people can just deal with the 'inconvenience' of having to sit there for a bit to return them.. especially if someone wants to return 100 figs. Like ypres says, think about the employee having to sit there and do this for you... getting paid or not... and I am sure the people standing in line to return one item love people coming back to return 60-100..crappy computer system or not...

End rant and I apologize to the admins for this, but I just find it a bit strange people are complaining about the slowness of a process that was never designed to be used for something like this.
I would say instead be happy and pray that TRU does not decide to implement a no return policy on the figs.

oldtodd33

You also might consider that some chains tag multiple return customers and simply refuse to refund for that customer anymore.

rocao

@madforlegos: TRU's return policy includes a provision for unwanted items. In this case, the minifigures are unwanted, so even though this is not a typical "one and done" return, the point is still valid that the TRU return system is lacking the convenience of quantity input. By contrast, the register system at many other stores support this.

There are other "peculiarities" about TRU's return system. The worst example I can think of is that an in-store return of a ToysRUs.com purchase results in merchandise credit only, even if one has the online invoice which clearly shows the form of payment used.

bahnstormer

mmm, seem to have hit a nerve on this topic. US consumer protection law is not as strong as it is in Europe and a number of the issues mentioned above would be illegal here - full refunds and 90 days for full cash back are legally mandated, an item can also be returned for a credit for a further 9 months if it is unused or faulty.

As for refusing a refund on the grouds of doing it too often, this would count as mis-use of personal data and you could sue them.

I work in IT and it amazes me that a multinational retailer has such a lousy accounting system. The stock control and warehousing database is actually quite good, you can check other stores in the area to see what stock is still available, only one other chain has this at a store level here.

@madforlegos - my post says SETS. the manager at the store offered me a deal on 10 cases of series 3 to clear them out but not at the same price I paid for S2, so I left it. I explained I only wanted 48 from each case and he was ok to take back 120 out of 600, the assistant who would have had to do the refund didnt look too impressed tho.

Si_UKNZ

One thing which surprises me is that people are still surprised by how rubbish TRU are. Personally I wouldn't go near them if you paid me, any deal they have is generally equalled or bettered online, and the more you shop there the more you are supporting them. I wish more people would just vote with their feet and not go there.

Yellowcastle

Like it or not, TRU fills a necessary niche in the toy ecosystem. And I for one am glad I have them as an available option.

Crackseed

I understand your sentiment Si, but like Yellowcastle says, they are actually a very welcome addition to the Toy market IMO. Yes, they do use a rather annoying mark-up but they often will carry sets after places like LEGO store phases it out and they routinely have good 20-30% sales or BOGO offers. Even with their markup for example, it's still cheaper for me to buy from them most of them time then to go online to a vendor since by the time shipping is done with me, I'll have spent the same price if not a bit more AND have to wait for my product to arrive.

They aren't perfect, but I'm glad to have the option to shop there at least versus having no real solid store options :)

Matthew

The only time I have been there in the past two years is to look for the new Harbour sets, I'm going back tomorrow as they should actually have them!

jwsmart

Huh. You know - I was in TRU the other day making a minifigure return, and I have to say that I thought the experience was quite painless. I had about 30 or so to return, on 4 different receipts, including one from TRU.com...
Everything went on one return receipt - they correctly refunded some money, and issued store credit for the rest (as I had expected, because I read the returns/exchange policy). The whole process took a couple of minutes, resulted in a single transaction and a single gift card with all the store credit on it.

While the returns policy at TRU pales in comparison to cut-rate retailers like Wal-Mart, they also have the best LEGO selection to be found within an hour drive of my home. The mark-up over MSRP stinks, but I have gotten some great deals there in the past, like a pair of King's Castles for $75 (total, not each) via their loyalty card, and sales. It looks like they're changing their policy on marking up items as well... Most of the non-licensed 2011 sets have not been marked up at all.

I go to TRU because it's the best (and sometimes only) way for me to get the LEGO I want. If I'm patient enough, I can also get good deals on most of the stuff.

Competition between retailers is always a good thing. Long live TRU.

Matthew

like a pair of King's Castles for $75 (total, not each)

How did you manage that? I have one of their gold cards, but they don't seem to post coupons any more...

50missioncap

@dorking:

One thing which surprises me is that people are still surprised by how rubbish TRU are. Personally I wouldn't go near them if you paid me, any deal they have is generally equalled or bettered online, and the more you shop there the more you are supporting them. I wish more people would just vote with their feet and not go there.


I agree that Lego is best found online... and usually cheaper.

That said, you can basically find any set you want online.. be that the elusive batman tumbler or sets prior to 08 when you were still in the dark age. My stance on TRU is that they are the best retail lego shop in my area - which lacks a Lego store. The Lego section at my TRU is maintained by two AFOLS, and I do not think it sees too much traffic... I saw a few sets from 09 there yesterday. For me it is about the hunt. I love finding sets in person - be they new like the lighthouse island a few weeks back, or the random score of discountinued coast guard sets last year at the Olathe, Kansas TRU... for me, that is a big part of the thrill. Reminds of the days in the 1980s that my friends and I would bike to TRU and other stores searching for specific GI Joe figures... TRU sort of allows me to relive my childhood; thus I am okay with spending a bit over retail now and again.

In terms of returning things, the staff at my TRU is nothing but fantastic. I just took back two starwars sets (which I was ambivalent toward and was intending on using them for mocs) that had been sitting in my closet for a few months to purchase some new sets so my wife wouldn't notice the spending :) I returned them in a matter of a few minutes and picked up the new sets I wanted.

Again, it is all about the hunt for me.

jwsmart

@Matthew - it was a combination of that set being reduced, qualifying for a BOGO50 sale, and having some TRU bucks. It was during the pre-christmas sale bonanza last year. I scored so much discounted LEGO between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, it was silly.

And yes, I haven't seen much from the rewards card since January.

madforLEGO

TRU is good for one thing... Sales, their BOGO sales, while they may increase the prices for those sets, still outweighs most of what Lego ever does (When is the last time you saw a sale on All Lego from a Lego store?? And I am not talking about clearance sales either)
Now I am lucky enough to be near three Lego stores from my place, but I still buy from TRU on occasion when they have BOGO going on. Yes I can get VIP points at a Lego store, but they are not THAT close to me (each is about a 30-40 minute drive, unless I'm breaking the speed limit) So I do rely on TRU to get BOGO sets that I cannot get online from TRU BOGOG50 when the shipping applies(like the rail repair vehicle for trains)
The other place I am notices sales from time to time is walmart.com, especially with their ship to store.. that is how I got my Cafe Corners back in the day for 120 each and shipped to store. I just wish they do that with the Grand Emporium

daveace21

Good morning: I just have to say thank you for this discussion and all of the comments. I am LMAO and almost wet my pants laughing. If I had to spend two hours returning items, I think I would go insane !!!

zaxter2001

I've had problems also with returning minifigures and taking a long time, but the issue i have even more is that I bought a 7 PotC sets the first day they were on the shelves. This is when they were still at MSRP before TRU jacked up the prices. And then the next day they had the BOGO 50% sale. So i was like sweet! i can get back a decent amount of money. I could have gotten about $50 back but because of their system, the manager essentially had me return the items, and then had be re-buy them at the higher price, so the money i got back, went straight back to paying for the higher prices and i only got back about $20, which wasn't even worth the gas i used to drive there. Complete muck if you ask me. I might just start waiting for sets to be released on [email protected] instead of jumping the gun.