How To Avoid Getting Banned From Returning Items At Sephora

The best part of shopping at Sephora is their generous return policy, because it allows us to experiment with numerous beauty products until we find what works best. Personally, if I had to shop somewhere else that didn’t allow returns, I’d be broke. Think about it — most lipsticks look great while under the store’s fluorescent lights, but later, you might notice that they’re not as flattering while at home or at work. I could go on and on about the mishaps that happen while in makeup aisles, but so far, Sephora has been a savior when it comes to returns. This is why we love the Sephora return policy. Well, that’s what I thought… but apparently, they’ve started monitoring our return behavior.

Earlier this year, a Wall Street Journal article revealed a new system that allows retailers to track customers’ returns. If a customer seems to be abusing the brand’s policy, they could be banned from returning items in the future. The system is called The Retail Equation (TRE), and it was confirmed by The Wall Street Journal that Sephora is now using it. Sephora customers have always been encouraged to purchase now and easily return later if the product doesn’t work. However, the possibility of these returns being used against customers has never been disclosed.

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Unfortunately, though, our relaxed return behavior does have to change. The Sephora return policy is still the same, stating that any product (opened or unopened) can be returned within 60 days of purchase with a receipt for a full refund. Items returned without a receipt will receive a store credit only. However, even if you follow the company’s rules, those returns are being monitored by the TRE system and could come with consequences.

Customers have been posting their frustration with this system on Reddit. Many customers have been sent emails from Sephora, warning shoppers about their return behavior and mentioning that they could be banned from future returns. (Yikes! I never want to be stuck with the wrong foundation.)

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There are two things you can do to prevent this ban from happening to you:

1. Keep your receipts. According to Yahoo, the TRE system tracks customers through government-issued IDs. Your ID is only required for a return when the receipt is absent. Therefore, if you always keep your receipts, the system will not be able to track you and your number of returns. Frequent returns without the receipt flag the system for fraudulent activity.
2.  Take full advantage of samples. Always ask for a sample of a product you are skeptical about. Now that we know returns are not as accepted as we thought, think twice about purchasing an item (no matter what the sales consultant tells you). By using samples first and giving the product a trial period, this will help lower your rate of unnecessary purchases and returns.

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Sephora has released a statement to Racked explaining these allegations. It said, “Sephora is dedicated to providing all of our customers with an excellent shopping experience. We make every effort to accommodate returns, but a small fraction of customers take advantage of our policy, in many cases returning more than twice as much merchandise as they purchase. This limits product selection and unfairly impacts other clients. When we identify excessive return patterns, we notify those customers that we may limit future returns or exchanges if no proof of purchase is provided.” I do understand how it can be frustrating to deal with customers who abuse store policy. So maybe employing the TRE system was necessary, but a warning or explanation to their loyal customers first would’ve been nice, right?

Buying the right makeup is tough… and it just got tougher. Take your time with makeup purchases — swatch and test products all day long if you have to.