Santa-Faction Guaranteed Maybe That Hot Tie’s Gotta Go, But By And Large, Gift Returns Low At Stores

Either Santa’s helpers did surprisingly well at shopping this Christmas or the people on their lists are waiting until the weekend to return presents barely out of the wrapping paper.

“So far, the parents have done all right,” said James Trogden, assistant store manager at Hasting’s Books Music & Video in Coeur d’Alene.

Seated behind a refund and exchange table at the front of the store, Trogden was fielding very few returns by early afternoon.

“It’s mostly exchanges,” he said. “Somebody bought them John Denver, and they’re trading it for the hard rock CD they really wanted.”

A Highland Park, Ill., resident spent her last day in North Idaho popping in and out of stores at the Post Falls Factory Outlets. Carrying an arm load of plastic shopping bags bearing the logos of at least three outlet shops, Gail Wasserman said she was keeping her purchases to a reasonable minimum.

“It’s not that I don’t want to shop the sales, it’s just that I’m limited to how many suitcases I can bring home,” she said.

“My real find of the day were these Beanie Babies,” Wasserman went on, reaching into a K-B Toy Outlet bag to bring forth a malleable handful of this year’s best-selling toys. “I can’t believe they had a whole display of them sitting next to the counter. Back in the Midwest, you can’t even find them in the stores.”

K-B store manager Coey Wilson said the outlet’s buy two, get one free offer was designed to attract buyers like Wasserman, who collects the bean bag toys.

“You’ve got to have something cool on sale,” Wilson said. “It’s not fair that only the cheap stuff always is.”

Early in the day, the toy store was busy with adult shoppers taking advantage of half-off Christmas merchandise and “kids with grandpa money,” she said.

“We’ve done more sales than returns,” Wilson said. “In fact, we haven’t had any returns so far today.”

With that, she turned to a co-worker and directed: “Go knock on wood - quick.”

Silver Lake Mall was crawling with shoppers, most of whom appeared to be leaving with more merchandise than they came with.

Ted Hansen, store manager at Emporium, said his post-Christmas business was typical compared with past seasons.

“A lot of people out buying, and a lot of people out returning,” he said. “As long as you end the day without being half a million dollars in the hole, it’s a success.”

Since Christmas fell on a Thursday this year, Hansen expects a three-day run on after-holiday traffic, with strong sales lasting through the weekend. Emporium’s crop of sale signs that sprouted up Friday are there to catch the eye of discount-seekers as well as those who come in to cash out unwanted gifts. If those customers see the right item at the right price, Hansen explained, they might choose merchandise over money.

“You want to have enough merchandise in the store to keep those exchanges from becoming returns,” he said.

The trick then is to move as much product as possible in the month-long window between Christmas Eve and Jan. 24, when Emporium observes another annual tradition - inventory.

“I’d rather sell it than count it,” Hansen said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo