A Guide for Returning Items to the Commissary

My husband and I had a major commissary run a couple weeks back where we stocked up on personal care items. Shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shaving items were among the big purchases. Because it was a slew of our most commonly purchased items, I didn’t think twice about holding onto the receipt.

I started using the shaving cream that I bought during that recent commissary raid and a couple days into it, the canister stopped dispensing the shaving cream. It was so unusual because I could feel the bottle was full, but somehow it wouldn’t pump out appropriately.

I thought I was out of luck because I tossed the receipt, then I remembered an amazing perk for commissary patrons. You don’t need a receipt for returning items.

That’s when I brought the bottle back to the commissary and explained my situation. Together with the customer service representative, I showed her how the bottle wouldn’t work and in the next second, we did an even trade and good news, the new bottle worked!

The commissary’s return policy is one of the best out there and I think it’s one that is underutilized too. Your local commissary is really there to be helpful. In addition, they are always working on enhancing the customer experience with programs like Click2Go and biannual case lot sales.

After my positive experience with returning an item at the commissary, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight the commissary’s return policy, so you’re not left questioning if you could return something or not.

Here’s your guide to returning items to the commissary:

You can return items without a receipt.

I already mentioned this amazing detail above. It’s so wonderful that I had to reiterate it here. I was thankful to be able to trade my defective shaving cream for another one. It was an even trade, so the transaction was simple and fast.

You’re able to get a full refund of the current cost of the item without your receipt via DeCA gift cards in increments of $25 or $50. If your total return costs less than $25, you’ll receive that in cash. Another way to get the credit from the return is just to apply it directly to a purchase, especially if the credit uses the whole refund amount.

The only goods that have a limitation are tobacco products and baby formula. Those items can be exchanged for another tobacco product or baby formula.

You can return items after trying it.

As I was waiting for the customer service representative, the woman in front of me was returning a cleaning item that she wasn’t happy with. She had her receipt, so she was able to get a full refund right then and there, even after using the product.

Be sure to pocket this refund policy because it’s typically one you don’t think about. I would think that after opening and using a product, that’s it. Luckily, that’s not the case.

Don’t feel like you have to keep something that didn’t work for your family.

You can return items to any commissary.

This is wonderful because the military moves us around so much that there might be a circumstance to return an item at a completely new location. I live in the Washington, D.C., area, so I have opportunity to visit more than one commissary depending on where I am (or my husband is) for the day. The same goes with how you receive credit back when you’re returning to another commissary too, especially if you don’t have your receipt.

What questions do you have about your commissary?