Home Depot is the one-stop shop for just about any homeowner or renter. Whether you’re fixing a busted pipe, planting flowers, or painting your entire home, Home Depot has everything you need for your home, inside and out.
But what happens when what you bought doesn’t work how you thought or you just changed your mind? What’s the Home Depot return policy?
While we’d like to say it’s a generous policy (because it is), Home Depot does have some quirks that make their policy a little less friendly depending on what you buy.
Here’s everything you should know.
There are Two Ways to Make a Home Depot Return
If you bought your item online, you can return in-store or online. But if you bought the item in-store, bring it back to the store you bought it, or any Home Depot store to get a refund.
Here’s how they work.
In-Store Returns
To return in-store with a receipt, you just need the product and the receipt. If you don’t have the receipt, Home Depot requires a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or state ID. This is also the case if you bought the item with a store credit.
Home Depot uses a third-party verification system to verify your purchase. Without approval in the system, they cannot process the refund.
If you don’t have your receipt, Home Depot has a few ways to look it up:
- If it was within the last 30 days, they may be able to look up the transaction using the credit card you used to purchase it
- If you have a Home Depot account and you logged into it at the register or online to buy the product, they can look it up that way
Don’t worry, though, if they can’t look up your purchase, you’ll get a store credit in most cases. You just won’t get a refund back the way you paid.
Online Returns
If you bought the product online, you can call 1-800-455-3869 to start the return. The customer service reps will walk you through the process of getting your UPS return label. It’s your responsibility to bring the item to your local UPS store with the required label.
Design Center Returns
If you bought items at the Home Depot Design Center, you can only return them at the Design Center. You also cannot return any other products at the Design Center including those bought at a regular Home Depot store or online.
Some Customers get a Long Time to Make Returns
Home Depot has a generous return policy for unopened products. You get 90 days to return these items.
But it gets better.
If you made your purchase with a Home Depot credit card, Home Depot Commercial credit card, or Home Depot Commercial account, you get a full year (365 days) to return the products.
If you order a product online and it arrives damaged or with missing parts, you have 30 days to call 1-800-430-3376 to report the issue and either get a refund or a replacement item.
How will Home Depot Refund you for your Returns?
If you have a return with a receipt, you’ll receive your refund via the method you paid for it whether cash, credit card, or PayPal. If you don’t have proof of your purchase, you may get a Home Depot store credit as deemed necessary by the store.
If you paid with a gift card, you’ll receive your refund as Store Credit which you can use inside any Home Depot store.
The Dreaded Exceptions – What are They?
You probably expected it, as every return policy has exceptions, but here’s what to expect from Home Depot.
Normally Home Depot has a 90-day return policy for purchases made without a Home Depot account, but the following items must be returned within 30 days:
- Area rugs
- Furniture
- Generators
- TVs
- Computers
- Gas powered equipment
- Gas powered tractors
Return Policies on Specific Products
Home Depot also has some specific return guidelines on certain products, including the following.
Appliances
Home Depot sells a large number of appliances so it’s important to understand their return policy for them as it differs from the return policy for most other products.
All customers are supposed to inspect the appliances upon delivery. If they notice any damage or defects, they should refuse delivery or if you’re buying it in store, tell the associate right away. If you accept delivery and/or take the item home, you have 48 hours to call (800) 455-3869 to tell Home Depot of the issues and for them to make it right.
Hazardous Materials
If you have any machines or power tools that use any flammable liquids or gasses, they can only be returned in store. You cannot send any products that use gas or liquid back by mail even if the product is emptied of its liquids.
Plants
If you order plants online and they arrive dead, you have three days to call 1-800-430-3376 to get a replacement.
If you buy plants or trees in store, they have a 1 year guarantee. This means if they die within 1 year, you can get a replacement. You can literally bring a dead plant back to Home Depot and either get a refund or get a replacement. If they don’t have the same plant, they will give you a store credit.
Home Depot also offers a guarantee on their Bonnie PLants with Miracle-Gro. If your plants don’t produce the promised fruits or vegetables between March – October, they will refund your purchase.
To qualify you must bring your Bonnie plant to Home Depot with your receipt. Your receipt must include both the plant and the Miracle-Gro soil and the purchases must be within the last 12 months.
Paint
Home Depot stands behind its paint. If you are unhappy with the color or look of the paint, you have 30 days to get a corrected can or a comparable new option.
If you want a full refund, though, the paint must be unopened and you have 30 days to return it. But if you tried the paint, your only option is an exchange for another paint.s
FAQs – Home Depot Return Policies
Can you return opened items to Home Depot?
Home Depot does accept opened items even though their return policy mostly pertains to unopened items. Whether the store will accept it varies by store, but overall they will accept items that are in like new condition (haven’t been used) and can be repackaged and sold again.
The policy will vary by store, though, as some stores are stricter than others about their return policy.
Can you return items to Home Depot without a receipt?
Home Depot does accept returns without a receipt, but you must provide a valid government-issued ID. You will also only get the lowest ticketed price for the item. For example, if the item went on clearance recently, you’d get that price versus the full price you paid when you bought it. The only way to get the full price you paid is if you have the receipt.
Why would Home Depot deny your return?
The Home Depot return policy is a general policy, but each store can have its own requirements too. In other words, they have the final say in whether you can return an item or not. If they think you used the product or you are too far past the return window, they have the right to decline your return.
Many stores will still offer store credit if you are past the return window, but they won’t refund the amount to your original payment method.
Does Home Depot cover the shipping costs to return an item?
If you return an item in-store, there is no restocking fee or shipping fee. However, if you return an item online using the UPS label Home Depot provides, they will deduct the amount of the shipping cost from your refund.
Final Thoughts – How Does the Home Depot Return Policy Stack Up?
The Home Depot return policy is good in some ways and bad in others. If you’re returning paint or appliances, or you don’t have a receipt, your hands are a bit more tied. Appliances are the worst because you have only a couple of days to let them know of any issues and they don’t take a change of mind returns.
Other purchases, though, can be returned for as much as 365 days depending on what it is and how you bought them. Dead plants included, you can get your money back or at least get store credit for the items you bought that didn’t meet your expectations.
