David P. Willis

@dpwillis732

Return policies can come in all shapes andsizes.

Tags must not be removed. If you open the box, you'll have to pay a restocking fee. Some retailers allow you to return an item any time, for any reason.

But what about a web store that limits returns based on where the buyer lives?

What's going on?

Shan and Toad, a southern California-based online store that sells clothes for boys, girls and babies, has made recent headlines, including stories on Lakewood Scoop and New Jersey 101.5, over its policy to limit returns to exchange or store credit only for orders placed from Lakewood and Passaic in New Jersey and Brooklyn, Monsey and Monroe in New York. Each area is known for having a large community of Orthodox Jewish residents.

What's happening here?

Shan and Toad owner Shana Laub said the store's policy is a result of buying and return patterns in those areas, not its ethnic makeup. "It has nothing to do with prejudice against any race or religion because that is not the case," Laub said. "The only common thread between these areas would be high volume of returns, and an unwillingness to follow store policy."

In an email exchange with Press on Your Side, Laub detailed her reasons behind it.

More on that in a moment.

PRESS ON YOUR SIDE: Sears sent wrong item; wouldn't pay for return

PRESS ON YOUR SIDE: 7 rules on how long to keep your paperwork

LAKEWOOD: Lakewood watch ban in Jackson: Safety or bias?

Standard policy

At first glance, Shan and Toad's return policy seems pretty standard. "Shan and Toad aims to please! However, if for any reason, you are dissatisfied with your purchase, you may return non-sale items for a full refund." Items must be returned within seven days and there's a $5 restocking fee. Sale items can't be returned.

However, there's an asterisk. "Returns originating from the following areas will be eligible for store credit or exchange only. The merchandise must be sent back within 7 days of receipt. The $5 restocking fee will be deducted from the credit amount," it states. The five cities, Brooklyn, New York; Monsey, New York, Lakewood, Passaic and Monroe, New York are listed below it.

New Jersey's rules governing returns, the Refund Disclosure Act, doesn't address online stores, only retail stores. "The act requires stores in New Jersey to conspicuously post their refund policy on an item, at the point of sale, in a spot visible to the buyer from a cash register, or at each store entrance used by the public," said Lisa Coryell, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Consumer Affairs. "The act does not set any parameters for the refund policy itself."

To Press on Your Side, Shan and Toad's exclusion seems unusual. "I have never heard of this in my life," said Tod Marks, a shopping expert and senior projects editor for Consumer Reports.

But Laub said the policy, instituted about a year ago, is necessary for the survival of her business.

Customers in those five areas abused the return policy, she said. "Those customers would place large orders and return all, or nearly all of the items they had purchased, often in poor condition, and only after a substantial delay," Laub said in a statement.

Newly arrived merchandise could sell out in a few hours after orders were placed from those neighborhoods, leaving the website out of stock. "However, a few weeks later, all, or most of the merchandise would be returned," Laub said. "To illustrate, a customer shopping for a 2-year-old would purchase multiple sizes of the same item in the hope that one of them would fit. Or she would just like to see the clothes to consider whether she liked them." Meanwhile, another customer would be unable to find a size because all of the pieces were sent to one person.

Items could be returned "sometimes in terrible and unwearable condition from the handling, trying on and shipping," she said. The returns would come in weeks later, toward the end of the clothes' season. "In the meantime, I had been either unable to either fill more legitimate offers or had to restock at great cost," Laub said.

In the cases where returns were refused due to damage or being returned too late, the customer would threaten to dispute the credit-card charge, Laub said.

"The losses resulting from the returns were becoming too great to sustain, and we needed to implement a change," she said.

PRESS ON YOUR SIDE: Farmers markets: Do you get what you paid for?

PRESS ON YOUR SIDE: Slomin's charged Berkeley woman beyond the grave

LAKEWOOD: Lakewood cops arrest swastika suspects

It has made a difference. Laub said the return rate from those areas dropped to 13.3 percent after it was enacted, down from 34 percent. With those five towns removed, the website has a return rate of 2.8 percent, she added.

It's always important to consider a store's return policy when you buy.

"Generally, companies have become generous in terms of their policies," Consumer Reports' Marks said. "They are wiling to try to accommodate customers more than they used to."

He recommends that customers check out return policies before they buy.

"I would evaluate it to see how generous it is," Marks said. "The best companies for returns are those that offer what I'd call unconditional returns," like LL Bean and Lands End.

Some websites may allow you to return an item to a store, he said.

"You've got to read that fine print." Marks said. "You have to be understanding of the kind of business that they do."

Do you have a consumer problem that needs solving? Contact David P. Willis at 732-643-4042, pressonyourside@gannettnj.com or facebook.com/dpwillis732.