So you bought something from a store and find it’s defective or somehow doesn’t suit your needs. Taking it back for a full refund should be no problem, right? It depends.

Consumers Association of Canada president Bruce Cran said federal law states retail goods must be suitable for the purpose for which they were sold. But return policies can vary tremendously from store to store.

“ They can put up virtually any conditions they want so you better find out what those rules are before you buy anything,” he said. “ Some stores won’t even tell you in advance what their return policy is, which is a sign that you should leave and shop at another store.”

Some stores demand a receipt with any return, and if you can’t produce one, you may or may not get a credit towards another purchase. Others require the item to be in its original packaging with tags intact and some stores charge a “ restocking fee” on returned goods.

Cran said a lot of consumers rush ahead and buy things without knowing what they really want.

“ If you bought a red item and decided later that you want a blue one, that’s not necessarily a valid reason for a return,” he said. “ That situation would be purely in the retailer’s hand, whether they take it back or not.”

London Drugs president Wynne Powell said his store’s official policy is to fully refund products within 15 days of purchase but they’re flexible because they want your business for life.

He said customers with returned goods should first go to the customer service desk and, if not satisfied, ask to speak to a manager. Be vigilant, without being rude or unprofessional, and tell the truth.

“ Don’t tell us something is defective if the real reason is you just had second thoughts about the product,” Powell said. “ Once you say it’s defective, we can’t risk putting it back on the shelf, so it has to go back to the manufacturer.”

P l u m C l o t h i n g c o - o w n e r E d DesRoches said some dissatisfied customers come back almost wanting to fight, and that’s a mistake.

“ Customers should come in with the attitude that if they’re in the right, all they have to do is talk to our sales people,” he said. “ If you’re nice to the sales person and calmly explain your problem, we’ll work something out so you leave the store happy.”

DesRoches said Plum Clothing has even gone so far as to accept returned merchandise that wasn’t purchased from the store.

“ Some people will genuinely believe they bought something here and we know for sure we never sold it to them,” he said. “ Sometimes we’ll just take the item and give them a store credit.

“ It’s damned competitive out there and you have to build long- term customer relationships any way you can.”

TRAVEL DEALS

Finding the best travel deals often depends on how picky you are, how flexible you are and just how willing you are to go against the flow. Global Travel managing partner Scott Clute suggests costconscious travellers consider destinations people tend to ignore at certain times of the year — like Europe in the winter.

And instead of flying directly from Vancouver to Los Angeles, try an indirect route like Bellingham to Las Vegas and then driving a rental car.

“ Seattle right now provides great deals to Hawaii because Hawaiian Airlines and Northwest and Alaska all have sales to that destination,” Clute said.

He said charter airlines generally provide the best deals when it comes to last- minute travel.

“ The flight has to leave at a certain time whether they have 200 people on the plane or 150,” Clute said. “ So as the day approaches, anything they can get for those unoccupied seats is better than letting them go empty.

“ Regular airlines don’t always have that same philosophy because they think putting a seat on sale might bring down the brand.”

Jubilee Travel owner Claire Newell said it’s often cheaper to stay in business destinations like Chicago or Dallas on the weekends because hotel prices are at a premium during the week.

She never advises anyone to wait until the last minute if they want to go to a specific place on a specific date.

“ But if you just want to go somewhere hot where there’s a four- star beachfront all- inclusive resort and you don’t care where it is, then I’d wait until about two weeks before you want to go,” Newell said.

“ If you really want to roll the dice, then go ahead and wait until a couple of days before you want to go but it might not work out.”

Newell said the first two weeks of December and the last three weeks of January are especially good times to seek out last- minute deals.

Itravel2000. com president Jonathan Carroll said Western Canadians can benefit from overcapacity in the number of seats to sun destinations this winter. He estimates there are about 115,000 more seats this year as new and existing players increased their programs to grab more market share in the strong western economy.

“ So if you’re looking for a last- minute getaway and you’re flexible on your date and destination, you should find good deals this year,” Carroll said.

So can consumers grind the prices down even more than the listed rates?

“ You can do a bit of that but it’s a lowmargin business so there’s often not a lot of room to move,” Carroll said. “ It’s a perishable product that we have to move so prices will have already been heavily discounted.”

CANUCKS TICKETS

The Vancouver Canucks have sold out 188 home games in a row since November 2002. About 17,000 of the 18,630 available seats at GM Place are taken up by season ticket holders, leaving about 1,600 available to the general public for each game. How do you get them?

You can try an online resource like Craigslist or even negotiate with a scalper in front of the arena.

But Vancouver Canucks chief operating officer Victor de Bonis advises against those options. Too many phoney tickets floating around and you might get burned.

“ Imagine spending hundreds of dollars for tickets and you can’t get into a game — it happens,” de Bonis said. “ You’re taking chances when you don’t have to. You just have to be a little savvy with your computer to go online at the right time and figure it out. It’s not complicated.”

He said there are four distinct ( and legitimate) programs to obtain Canucks tickets — the Prime Seat Club, the Family Night program, Last Seat in the House and late releases of single- game tickets not used by National Hockey League players and officials.

The Prime Seat Club — which costs $ 15 a season for each member — gives you access to tickets owned by season ticket holders who choose not to attend certain games.

De Bonis said more than 100 tickets are usually made available this way, with ticket prices determined by the demand. Prices normally range from face value to twice the face value and the Canucks won’t allow season ticket holders to price tickets below what they paid for them.

“ On practically any game day, you can buy a ticket off the Prime Seat Club,” de Bonis said.

The Family Night program happens once a month, offering packages of four tickets starting at $ 115. The group attending the game must include at least one child between two and 12 years of age.

At least 200 tickets are set aside for these games and are made available through Ticketmaster on the first Saturday of every month, starting at 10 a. m.

Last Seat in the House makes single seats available for certain games at half price. There are usually fewer than 100 seats available this way and signing up for a free membership in the Canucks’ 60,000- member Inside Edge club helps because you receive advance notice of the availability of these tickets before the general public.

F i n a l l y, t h e N H L r e q u i r e s t h e Canucks to set aside 250 to 300 tickets a game for league players and officials but the tickets are not always used. Unused tickets are released through Ticketmaster a day or two before the game so fans should check the Ticketmaster website regularly to determine the availability of those tickets.