A TikTok creator has gone viral for sharing how she uses Kohl’s even exchange policy to avoid paying for new jeans.
The video was made in response to creator @tacoreacts’ TikTok asking people to share company secrets that no one should know. “I’ve been waiting for this for so f*cking long,” @saucedrippaaaaa says in her new video, which has almost 990,000 views and 74,000 likes.
@saucedrippaaaaa #stitch with @Taco reacts #companysecrets #freepants #supportsmallbusiness ♬ original sound – saucedrippaaaaa
“Today we’re going to talk about Kohl’s and their even exchange policy,” she continues.
The creator walks viewers through a scenario: Say you’ve bought any item of clothing from Kohl’s, like pants that have started to rub thin in the inner thigh area.
“But you don’t want to spend another $120 on jeans every three months,” the creator says.
According to @saucedrippaaaaa, you would wash the jeans, “walk your happy a** into Kohl’s,” find pants that are the same size, style, and color, and take both pairs to the front register. (Not customer service, she specifies.)
Then, the shopper would tell the cashier they need to do an even exchange because they’re unsatisfied with how quickly the pants wore out. And: “You don’t need a receipt to do an even exchange policy,” she says.
As the creator tells it, that’s how you end up with new jeans.
“I haven’t paid for pants in like 10 f*cking years,” she says.
A few Kohl’s workers confirmed the plausibility of this scenario in the comments section.
“I worked at kohls for 6 years (cashier, customer service, fine jewelry) this is true~ they’re pretty lenient. But it’s gotta be exactly the same,” one commenter said.
“When I worked there, I once had a man come to exchange old, dirty the shoes ON HIS FEET. My manager gave the ok to this,” another wrote.
“As a kolhs employee, this is true. You can bring anything to me beaten up with a baseball bat and I’d still have to return/exchange within 180 days,” one comment read.
“Sometimes if it’s the same brand and the same original price but slightly different styles it’ll still work,” another person chimed in.
“Had a family buy school clothes for all 3 kids. Kept receipts and returned them all at the end of year, bought new,” a further viewer added.
One commenter pointed out another way to bypass the system: “Also the kohls cash hack! Buy two things, both equalling over 25 dollars, go to the service desk, combine for kohls cash, return the items. Free $$.”
Though Kohl’s doesn’t seem to explicitly reference an “even exchange” policy on its website, according to the retailer’s “hassle-free” return policy, the company “will accept most returns up to 180 days after the original purchase date, with or without a receipt.” Some exceptions to the policy include beauty and electronics purchases.
The Daily Dot contacted @saucedrippaaaaa via Instagram direct message and Kohl’s via email for further information.
