How to return almost anything without a receipt

(FOX News) -- For people who meticulously organize and catalog their receipts, returning merchandise is no problem. But for the rest of us, it's a huge pain in the pocketbook.

Luckily, there's no reason to fret over past purchases. Just because you can't find your receipt -- or your Aunt Cathy didn't include one with the cheetah-print sweater she bought you for Christmas -- it doesn't mean you're stuck with your shoddy merchandise or unwanted gifts for the rest of your life.

Expert shopper and extreme couponer Kathy Spencer knows her way around a retail outlet, and she's agreed to share some of her secrets with disappointed giftees.

"Most stores accept returns without receipts," says Spencer, the author of "How to Shop for Free." "Depending on which store the item is from will determine how easy -- or not so easy -- this task will be."

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