I was seeing how long it took you to see that, lol. Don't get me wrong, it's cute and the meaning behind it has to do with my dog's first toy that he came home from the breeder with (a rubber frog prince) and it's up in my bathroom, but it still felt really random. And my mom bought two since if you bought more than one it was free shipping and gave the other one to my dad since he has a frog prince statue she gave him a couple of years ago.

As for the Costco gifts, that's just funny!

my younger brother's girlfriend gave me a set of 28 brushes...who needs that many brushes at once??? :confused:

I bought my brother-in-law a DVD set of the first season of Heroes.
I had to look everywhere for it and paid a lot. Ironically, he bought it for me too!
Yesterday I went to the after-Christmas sale at Target and they were selling Heroes for $19.
I bought a copy and took it back to the other store where I paid more than twice as much.
Then, I took my savings and bought myself a couple of sweaters. ;)

So slight hijack, but a warning to all and maybe someone else has had this issue with NY&Co:

Last year I had a problem with NY&Co when they had "issues" exchanging a shirt I bought my sister that was a little too snug. I was with her when she was exchanging it... which is how I got so pissed off about it. I had (notice past tense) a store credit card from the store, and when you use it somewhat regularly, they send you coupons for "$20 off" or "$50 off." Well, when I bought her gift, I bought it along with some clothes for myself and a gift for someone else, as well, all in one transaction with the coupon, along with gift receipts. So my sister wanted to exchange the sweater for a different size and color... same style. The sweater was at the same price I purchased it at. However, when she was being rung up, the store associate told her that she owed $10 or something. She asked why and the lady explained that the coupon was taken off of each item as a percentage. I got into a huge thing with the associate because those coupons were benefits of having the store card... and it was like she was tearing it up. Moreover, someone should have said something when I made the purchase, since they knew they were gifts, knew there was a possibility of exchange since I asked for gift receipts, and I could have easily separated out my own purchases from the gifts and used the coupon on my own, ensuring that my gift receivers wouldn't get screwed. I pointed out that if my sister hadn't been given a gift receipt (or hadn't presented it to her), she would have been able to exchange the sweater for no cost, since it hadn't been marked down yet. The sales associate was extremely offended by this, and said that she didn't think it was ethical to get more store credit than what the original purchaser paid for, and that we wouldn't be able to exchange the sweater without the receipt while she was working there that day. I ended up paying the extra $10, but haven't spent a $1 there since. Be aware of this... I'm not sure how many other stores operate this way, but it seems sneaky to me.

Day 2 of trying to return/get credit on a sweater my mom gave me.
It's too big, and I don't like the style, she tried, it's from a place I shop.
The sweater has all tags, from the store. It has never been worn.
But.....
Mom lost the receipt. She bought the sweater, pre-sale, and now it's on sale. Without a receipt, I'll get the sale price, down $20 from purchase price.
But..
One clerk told me they could check her bank cards/credit cards for the purchase. The only 2 cards she uses didn't reflect the sale, a mystery.
Sooo...
I am now giving up, will stand in line again and take the sent in the mail store credit.

It is common practice of many stores to take the coupon/discount off of the entire transaction when you're returning something IF the coupon had a disclaimer like "$50 off any transaction of $100 or more." If your return bumped the total transaction price to below that $100, for instance, the coupon wouldn't apply. That said, an even exchange shouldn't have reduced the transaction amount.

These last two exchange/return stories are testaments to why I love Nordstrom so much.

I've never had an issue at NY and Co. I also get the $50 off of $100 purchase cards. And one time, I forgot the card. I got the items, returned the next day with the card and they basically did a return and then re-rang everything up. The clerk didnt seem to mind. The trick with returns and coupons is to do them separately. That's how they get you, if you do them at the same time. I also wait until the week after New Year's to do any returns, just to avoid the crowds and the confusion. I also go early in the morning or during the last hour of business to avoid the rush.

(former mall store worker)

Got my typical Playboy subscription from my brother and from my semi brother and wife some great smelling cologne!:)

Brother got portroits of dead presidents, semi Brother got a jug of Crown Royal with glasses and his wife got an antique pitcher of my mothers! They both loved the gifts!;)

I also brought left overs home!:)

I worked there while in college. We never would have done this to you! Since it had the tags on it, I would have just exchanged it without using the receipt. Perhaps policies have changed since then, but it was one of our "things" that returns and exchanges were no hassle. All receipts even printed out with "No Sale Is Ever Final!" on them!

That's especially crappy to do to you when it was an obvious gift.

Not only that, but the giver and the recipient were both present! What an embarrassment to the parties standing there to have the employee announce "Well, you bought this with a coupon..."

.....Kelly :)

My brother-in-law gave me a skin treatment kit. So . . . my skin looks dry???

The Bad:
What in the heck do I do with a battery operated salad dressing mixer? Can we have an unwanted gift swap?

The Heavy Sigh:
I got my third cake pedestal.

The Funny:
And, to my sisters, my mother bought me a squirrel-proof bird feeder. :rolleyes:

The Best:
My Ohio State Buckeye watch :)

We were able to exchange three gift items that didn't fit from Hollister with no problem because they still had the tags on them. (I'd lost the receipt) They were really nice about it.

Another perhaps well intended, you shouldn't have had, really, gift.
This was from his sister's best friend, who has taken me under her wing while my sister is in Wyoming: a big boxed assortment from Hickory Farms, all of her extended family got them.
I've already posted elsewhere about my weight loss. I've been really good, this Christmas, at parties, 1 glass of wine, per party and ignoring chips and dip, eating veggies.
Then, I open the box from my sister's friend.:eek:
Cheese balls. Cheese. Candy. Beef sticks.
I remember cheese. A favorite food.
I don't know where she bought the assortment, so it can't go back.
I'll eat the wheat crackers, maybe sneak a little bit of nutty cheese, and give the rest to my neighbor who is planning a big New Year's bash with his buddies.
Cheese.
sigh.