’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the mall,
Shoppers were wide eyed, finishing off their haul.
The store windows were decked out in their finest décor,
With tinsel and teddy bears and electronics galore.

This week we received the following question on our blog from a consumer.  Check out our video below for the answer!

Jeremy asks:

"Do the {BC gift card} laws only apply to the kind of gift card that is plastic with the magnetic strip?

My manager got me a gift card to a local restaurant (a general card for food and/or drinks), which is just a folded paper card listing the amount of the gift, who authorized it, etc. I recently found that it had fallen in-behind my bookshelf, but it is now 2 years past the expiry they wrote on it. They refuse to honour it. Do the laws still apply to local business gift cards? Or do they only apply to the plastic ones with magnetic strips? Thanks!"

“What’s your return and refund policy” is a question you should always ask before paying for your purchase at a store.  Retail sales aren’t bound by law to provide mandatory returns or refunds. There are dozens of different return policies that can exist at stores and in order to be a savvy consumer, asking that one question can save you a lot of frustration if you decide that outfit you splurged on last week really isn’t as amazing as you thought.

Whether its for $5 or $500, gift cards make great little stocking stuffers and are the perfect gift for those hard to buy folks.  In British Columbia, since 2008,  gift cards for a monetary value are not allowed to have an expiry date.  There are exceptions for when a gift card can have an expiry date however, such as for a specific good like a hair cut or for a mall card, where the card is good at more than one store.  If you are planning on giving a gift card this year, keep reading to see more information and tips we have about gift cards!

According to news sources, over 82% of Canadians purchased something online last year.  The pros of shopping online include having the ability to easily browse interesting products and compare prices.  The cons include being extremely frustrated if something goes wrong.  Here are some tips on how to ensure sure your online shopping experiences are positive.

School starts next week and that means back to school shopping for many of us! Start the learning early this year by teaching your kids the importance of being a smart consumer! Here are tips we would like to share about retail sales and cell phones that we often receive questions about.

Only a month and a half left of the school year and then it’s time for summer break!  For many teens across BC, this will be their last year of high school.  A big part of celebrating the completion of years of hard work is the graduation ceremony where everyone gets all dressed up.  Do you know a teenager that is graduating this year?  Have them read this blog to prevent any snags on their big day.

I had some time off last week and did a short road trip with some friends from Victoria down to Portland Oregon.  I admit that the purpose of our mini-trip was to do some shopping and spend some time together, but we managed to fit in some tourist activity as well.  One of our stops was at a tulip farm.  I was amazed at how gorgeous the colourful fields of tulips were!  My mom loves tulips and I was reminded that Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday.