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Returning gifts after the holidays

The day after Christmas for a lot of people means going out to the stores and returning gifts.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The day after Christmas is notorious for gift returning. 

"Its a tradition," says shopper Cheryl Johnson, "Every year on December 26th my husband and I and the kids will come out and return gifts and we use our gift cards that we got and go from there."

A new survey found 77% of shoppers say they plan on returning gifts. That same survey says almost 20% of gift receivers will return more than half of what they received Christmas day. 

"I don't mind going out!" says Anna Brown.

And Rachel Mills says, "I love the day after Christmas!"

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Consumer Reports has a few helpful tips to make the returning process go more smoothly:

1. Don't open the box -- sometimes stores will not accept returns if the original packaging is not intact. 

2. Keep your receipts -- a lot of retailers will turn you away if you don't have one with your item.

3. Make sure you check the store's return policy to see if there are any time limits on returns. 

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Or you can skip the process completely -- and re-gift for next year!

"There's a lot of people that re-gift!" Mills told us. Asked if she's re-gifted before, Mills says, "No, I'll have to admit that I haven't but I do know people that have and that's ok! If you don't like it, somebody else might!" 

If you have any story ideas or information on things happening around town, contact us at StreetSquad@wltx.com or tweet us using the hashtag #StreetSquad19.

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