Day after Christmas is a shoppers' delight

YAKIMA, Wash. -- After a holiday shopping season marked by earlier-than-ever sales events and busy, crowded stores, shoppers looking to return gifts Monday were pleasantly surprised by what they found at major retail centers.

Short lines. Plentiful parking spots. Crowd-free sale aisles.

"I anticipated there being longer lines," said Efrain Quiroz of Moxee, who was waiting in line a little before 11 a.m. with a dozen or so shoppers at Fred Meyer's customer service counter. Two employees were helping the customers, so the line moved fairly quickly.

Quiroz said he wasn't about to wake up early just to come in to do his exchanges, so he was happy with the short wait.

He was at Fred Meyer to exchange Nerf guns and a doll for his daughters.

"My wife's looking for something while I'm in line, so hopefully by the time I get up there, she'll have something picked out," he said.

Fred Meyer was the only store Quiroz needed to visit for an exchange, but he said he planned on stopping at a few other places to check out the sales.

Peggy Myhre of Yakima was also in line, exchanging some pajamas for a different size. After that, she wanted to scout the Christmas sale items.

"Most years, I'm pretty lucky; I don't have to do this," she said of the exchange. "But I found what I wanted; that's why I came early. I thought with clearances, the sizes would be getting picked over."

The holiday aisles at Fred Meyer were pretty bare, with people stocking up on discounted decorations and wrapping paper.

Store director Dennis Thompson said things might pick up in the afternoon, but that Monday would be the busiest day for post-Christmas returns.

"About 1, 2 o'clock is the busiest time," he said. "People kind of sleep in; a lot of people have the day off."

He said the store's day-after-Christmas discounts were greater this year than last year: All holiday items were 75 percent off, versus 50 percent off in 2010.

Most people doing returns at Fred Meyer trade clothing sizes or bring back toys that are often duplicates, Thompson said.

At Costco, store employees had three or four lines open at once so no one had to wait more than a few minutes to speak with a customer service representative.

Customers were divided into those with receipts and those without, as well as anyone who'd made a Costco purchase online.

People said they were surprised to find the store so empty.

"It's not bad for the day after Christmas," said Shon Copeland of Yakima. He and his wife, Rosemary, were exchanging a pair of boots she'd gotten, waiting in line with about a dozen other customers.

They said they don't usually have to exchange gifts because they're often with the people who buy them, so they make sure to get sizes right. Costco was the only store they needed to visit for returns, but they were bargain hunting at other stores.

Macy's was much less busy than they'd expected, Rosemary Copeland said, and there were fewer Christmas items on sale.

The Copelands were keeping an eye out for any special deals: They said they shop for Christmas gifts year-round so it's not a last-minute crunch or financial burden at the end of the year.

Target only had two customers waiting to do returns about noon Monday, and the store didn't seem busier than any normal day. But like Fred Meyer, the aisles of holiday items had been picked clean.

* Molly Rosbach can be reached at 509-577-7628 or mrosbach@yakimaherald.com.