Amazon Return Window for Holidays 2021 Shopping Season

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It’s here. The early Black Friday deals have officially kicked off, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to grab everything you need or want at an amazing price, and beat the holiday rush! With supply chain issues, shipping delays, and low inventory just about everywhere, there’s no telling what kind of problems you might run into this year. So, shopping early really is a great idea. But typically, when you shop early like this, you may or may not run into issues with items when you need a refund, or when you need to return something. Buying earlier also means the return window is shorter, especially if you’re gifting something for the holidays. Thanks to Amazon, this year there’s no need to worry about that. They’ve extended the return window to January 2022 for all items purchased during the holiday shopping season.

In short, that means you have a longer period to return items if you’re not satisfied with your purchase. However, it also means you can return items you’ve purchased early if and when they go on sale later, essentially allowing you to get a refund for the price difference. If you buy something, then see the price drop even lower later, you can still get the best deal. There are virtually no risks to buying early anymore, which is awesome. Buy a shirt and it doesn’t fit? You can return it until January 2022. Grab a new TV or smart home device and then see it go on sale, even cheaper? No problem, just return the item and rebuy to recuperate the price difference.

Should you shop the Amazon Black Friday deals now or wait until November 26?

Traditionally, Black Friday has always been the day after Thanksgiving. Then a few days later, Cyber Monday hits. In previous years, retailers have opened up that entire week to Black Friday and holiday sales. Even with those early events, the big-ticket items have always been relegated to that window. Now, the Amazon Black Friday deals have started earlier than ever, with other retailers following suit, such as Walmart and Best Buy. These deals are great, but it makes one wonder if you should be shopping this early? Will there be bigger and better deals later?

The short answer is no, probably not. We recommend taking advantage of these early deals and getting as much shopping done now, as you can. There are a few reasons for this, not the least of which is that there are some pretty amazing deals available right now, so what’s the sense in waiting? If you’re worried about better prices dropping later, Amazon’s longer return window and Best Buy’s Price Match Guarantee mean you can still take advantage of those better deals if they do come. You’ll always get the best deal available, period.

More importantly, we don’t really know what’s going to happen this year the closer we get to the holidays. There are supply chain issues, shipping delays, materials shortages, low inventory, and many items — especially electronics — are in high demand. There’s a good chance that any items you are eyeing or planning to buy end up unavailable, because of low stock. What’s more, if you wait too long to purchase what you want, they may not arrive on time or close to the holidays. That’s not such a big deal if you’re buying for yourself, but if you’re buying a gift — let’s just say no one likes to show up to a holiday gathering empty-handed!

Knowing you have until January 2022 to return items you purchase at Amazon during the holidays gives you some peace of mind. They’re not the only retailer doing this, so you’re free to shop these early deals and steals without some of the big worries you might otherwise have.

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