More Online Clothing Sales Come With a Catch: No Returns

Nonrefundable items are now popping up in even more places. Secondhand website Poshmark reports a 61% rise in garments marked “new with tags” and feature the words “final sale” in the description since 2022. When a retailer includes the words “final sale,” the company means that even if the item doesn’t fit, you can’t send it back.

Consumers are having a hard time adjusting. Some are continuing to buy goods like they did before retailers clamped down, tempted by the final-sale deals. They often get stuck with their online purchases or must get creative in unloading them.

“It can create unnecessary friction and start annoying them,” Devillard says.

Yes, then no

Angela Gatto thought she scored some great deals when buying clothes online.

But a dress turned out to be a shade of mustardy yellow that she just couldn’t bear. And a crushed velvet bodysuit looked great on the model but proved too revealing. Both went straight into the donation pile.

“You get suckered in,” says Gatto, a 44-year-old human-resources executive in Bedminster, N.J. 

Clearance racks have always included nonreturnable merchandise. But more of today’s final sales offer clothing items from the current season. They aim to entice shoppers to pull the trigger on an item without needing to give an even steeper discount later in the season, Devillard says.

Lainne Bacharach, 37, has a bin in the spare bedroom of her Pittsburgh home for items purchased on sale that don’t fit. Though she posts the unwanted garments for sale on secondhand websites including Poshmark or Vestiaire Collective, it can take months to recoup the money she spent.

This spring, Bacharach resold for $700 a pair of Bottega Veneta flats that she purchased on final sale for $400 last summer. Cocktail dresses also sell quickly, while jeans only sell at a loss. Still, the branding-agency executive continues to shop final sales because she is eager to find bargains on designer pieces.

“You’re not getting something on sale that you can return anymore,” she says.

AYR, an online retailer known for its denim, added a final-sale section to the website last year. The 40% off section allows the company to move discontinued colors, clothing styles and remaining sizes out of their inventory more quickly, says New York-based co-founder Max Bonbrest. In some instances, jeans that cost $245 are marked down to $145.

An estimated 16.5% of items were returned in 2022, according to the latest numbers from the National Retail Federation.

Playing the game

For those who must shop final-sale sections, wardrobe stylist Katie Schuppler recommends purchasing a size up from your usual size or opting for brands that are already in your closet so you can better understand the fit. Often, her clients don’t realize that they purchased something on final sale until they try to initiate a return.

“It comes up a lot when you’re panic-buying and not even paying attention,” says Schuppler, who is based in Chicago.

Andrew Matos, 29, says he shops final sales online with his tailor’s blessing. Purchasing pants that are too long or a shirt that needs to be taken in allows him to buy cheaper items with plenty left in the budget for alterations. But even with a go-to tailor, Matos says only four out of five items he purchases end up a good fit. He donates or resells the rest.

“Psychologically, it always feels like a risk,” says Matos, a men’s clothing-store supervisor in Miami.

Having a close family member or friend accept your castoffs at the ready helps Cathy Williamson, 62, make that gamble. Her daughter and two daughters-in-law get items that she can’t wear, so it is easier to decide to buy something she loves. She says she keeps the purchases at least half the time, but still finds it stressful to pay $300 for a shirt that doesn’t fit.

She waited until an $895 plaid fringe-trimmed coat went down to $229 during final sale a few months ago. Though she wasn’t ready to purchase the coat for full price because it is something she rarely needs living in Dallas, she “snapped it up” once it went on sale. “I bought it and I love it,” says Williamson, who writes a blog for women over 50.  

Shoppers say they are learning from their final-sales mistakes.

After seeing nonreturnable clothes taking up space in her closet, Lakeisha Rush, 39, decided to create a wish list of items that she wants to purchase each season. Rather than giving into temptation, Rush keeps the screenshots of items she wants on her phone and uses them as a guide for whether to complete a final-sale purchase.

When all else fails, Rush, a Charlotte, N.C.-based content creator, says she has had luck calling the retailer and negotiating for a credit or a different size. Earlier this year, she scored a refund on a red chiffon Versace skirt that was too small and bought as final sale. Having a prior shopping history with the retailer, being kind to the customer-service representative and acknowledging that she was asking for an exception helped.

“I thought, I’m going to pray that it works—and it did,” she says.