Via iStockphoto / @penanitza TikTok
A woman thought she scored a great cologne at a good price while shopping at Ross, until she opened the package.
A Texas woman thought she purchased Gucci cologne from Ross until she opened the box. What she found instead stunned viewers.
In a viral TikTok video with 208,000 views, user Nitza Peña, REALTOR®️ (@penanitza), recorded the moment she discovered something strange in her new cologne purchase.
“I just bought this, just opened this,” she explained while recording.
Then she revealed what was actually inside the box: A travel-size bottle of Colgate mouthwash.
“What the hell is this, Ross?” she asked.
Ultimately, the woman worried whether or not the store would accept the return after her findings.
Brobible reached out to Nitza via email to ask if she was able to return the item and receive a refund.
What Is Return Fraud?
In the video’s comments section, some blamed Ross’s lenient return policy for the incident.
“Girl Ross will take back anything,” user Julie commented.
“This is exactly why we stopped doing returns on fragrance at my Ross,” user Maria Fernanda wrote.
However, others noted that some locations have adopted stricter fragrance return policies.
“There are no returns for fragrances in Ross stores. Before purchasing it, the cashier says it clearly,” user @alaoujen2s5 said.
Return fraud is very common in retail and results in millions of dollars of losses annually. Some common examples of return fraud include using an item and then returning it. Fraudsters may also switch out genuine products for dupes or, in this case, entirely different items.
In 2023, returns in the retail industry amounted to $743 worth of merchandise. The total return rate for that year was %14.3, which is quite a considerable amount.
On a Reddit post, one worker asked if others have been seeing an increase in “crazy returns fraud lately?”
“We’ve been seeing more people buy stuff, swap it out, or send back random junk and claim it’s legit. It’s been brutal to deal with, and most fraud tools only flag things after it’s too late,” user @Joe_Hart99 wrote in the post.
Others have also shared similar experiences on the platform.
“My return rate this year has been off the charts and I’ve been selling the same items for years,” user Peppaire wrote on an Amazon Seller Reddit post.
Does Ross Accept Fragrance Returns?
According to Ross’s return policy, unused, unworn, and unaltered merchandise can be returned within 30 days if accompanied by the original receipt.
A full refund is issued to the form of payment used for the purchase. Customers are also offered store credit for items returned without a receipt.
The website explains that all mattress sales are final, but does not have an explicit policy about fragrances.
Brobible reached out to Ross via email for comment.
@penanitza I went back and they returned it but I was so scared they were going to not return it 🥴😭 #parati #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii #fyp #rgv #ross