Just in time for the best seasonal candle months, a TikTok creator’s clip has gone viral after she discussed a tip for Bath & Body Works customers—but it might not work anymore.
Creator @imtiredofyourshite recently posted a video about the retail chain’s return policy, saying that they worked there for four years. The caption on the TikTok reads, “Don’t tell them i told you.”
The video has almost 23,000 views and more than 1,600 likes as of Monday. It was made in response to creator @tacoreacts’ TikTok asking people to share company secrets that no one should know.
@imtiredofyourshite dont tell them i told you 😘 #companypolicy #bathandbodyworks #fyp ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
The creator said in the clip, “I don’t know how many times I had to give somebody an entirely new product, because they came in with an empty bottle of lotion and they said, ‘I didn’t like it. I want a different one.’”
She added, “We have to give them store credit or exchange it for equal value because that’s the return policy.”
The creator clarified in a text overlay on the video that the return policy isn’t a secret, necessarily, but it’s not well-known. Some customers would bring in candles that had been burned all the way down and exchange them.
“You can abuse that for a couple of times and then they start catching on,” she said. One of the locations that the creator worked at started keeping track of people’s driver’s licenses when they made returns without receipts.
In the comments section, some viewers were eager to take advantage of this policy.
“I have some that I genuinely don’t like that are barely used. I may try this,” one person wrote.
Another asked, “Wait so i have a few soaps that are pretty much completely full that I was gifted and genuinely don’t like, i can bring them in and exchange it???” The creator replied yes.
“I told my husband this because the shower bath bombs are garbage but he just threw them away. It was like $40!” another commenter wrote.
But other viewers claimed that the policy might not be long for this world, or that it’s already gone.
A viewer commented, “The one by me literally told me to do this as much as possible because they were changing the policy soon.”
Another person commented, “Nope. not true. they told me new policy won’t allow them to return anything that’s used. especially candles.”
“I currently work there. You can’t do it anymore. They completely changed the policy,” a viewer chimed in. The creator replied, “I literally exchanged a candle I was gifted for a different one 3 months ago, without a receipt. the policy is also listed online.”
So what’s the store policy? According to the rules currently posted on the Bath & Body Works website, “At Bath & Body Works, we offer our customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not completely satisfied, you may return products purchased from us that are in new, gently used, or defective condition (due to materials or craftsmanship) for a refund subject to the terms of the Return Policy.”
Another page on the company’s website specifically addresses the return of fully used products: “Our return policy is intended to help customers who have issues that are related to poor product performance or unsatisfactory customer experience. As stated in our return policy, we will only accept the return of new, gently used or defective product. Significantly used product is not eligible for return. Whether a product is returned in new, gently used or defective condition will be determined by Bath & Body Works and White Barn in their sole discretion.”
So, it sounds like the return policy might not be quite what it used to be, but depending on your store, you may have varying luck determining what classifies as “gently used.”
(The Bath & Body Works website also says that “select” U.S. stores will limit customers to $250 in non-receipted returns or exchanges within 90 days. “These limits do not apply to the return or exchange of defective merchandise,” according to the customer FAQ.)
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok and Bath & Body Works via email.