One of the things that me and my wife always appriciate here in the United States are the benefits of a relaxed Return Policy comparred to when we lived in Japan. 

Maybe some of you are already aware of this, but for those of you who arent, here in the U.S many stores offer the ability to return an item you purchased simply because you were not satisfied enough by it.

Usually you have around 30 days with most retail stores, but for the holidays this can be extended for upwards of 3 months! (November 15th-January 15th)

Not only that, but when you purchase a product as a gift for someone you can request a "Gift Receipt". This actually removes the listed cost on the receipt so you can included it as part of your gift. So if someone who received your gift ends up not liking it for whatever reason, they can return it for store credit to purchase something else without the giver knowing they did this.

Theirs even some stores here that will accept returns without a receipt either! If you lost it or threw it away for some reason, they will try to find the purchase in the computer system history and honor the return still. And even after that, if they cant find it in the system SOME stores will return it anyways just so they can keep you as a customer. (Like Nordstrom and Walmart)

In the U.S we may have an overly relaxed return policy, but this has it's purpose in keeping the customer happy. A "Customer Comes First" mentality in doing business. This can improve customer loyalty and a positive brand association in comparrison to other stores that dont match the return policies. 

One funny example occured with a friend of mine from Japan who went to the grocery store for the first time here in the U.S

She didnt know what kind of Salad Dressing she should buy as she never tried any of them before, so she asked someone who worked there what they reccomend. They discussed this and the worker there said "Why dont you buy two and return the one you dont like?" She responded, "I can actually do that?!" She was so suprised and couldnt believe it, but sure enough when she tried both later on at home and made her preference choice, she went back with the other salad dressing the next day to return it and they accepted it without any problem.

Haha! But thats just how far some stores will go, especially for Christmas.. just to keep you happy.