I have learned that Bed, Bath and Beyond will take anything back. We have had two wedding presents that were either faulty or just poor quality. Absolutely not the gift givers fault as I had, in fact, registered for said items. The first item my cousin had also registered for. They broke constantly, but as we had opened them and used them, we assumed we couldn’t return them. I told my cousin to take them off her registry and she told me to return them. Taking her advise, I tried. They were returned and we have a much higher quality present.
We went back the other day to return the faulty present. As we were wondering around the store, we stopped at the discounted returned products counter. Lots of returned stuff gets resold– unless it really is broken. We have gotten some good deals here. This particular time, S eyed a very nice Cuisinart knife set– it was discounted at 50% off because it had a missing piece. We inspected it and it appeared that one knife was missing. Since it was 50% off, we had the store credit from the returned item, and S wanted to pay for the rest as a b-day present (which would be in addition to the cookbooks!), we got the knifes. The only nice knife we have at home is a Cuisinart knife that my sister bought us when we moved into the apartment; we hoped it would fit in the empty slot.
When we got home, we took apart the set and tried to figure out which knife was missing. On close inspection of the box, it said, “one empty slot provided to expand your collection”. So…. really, we had a full set. I thing, someone bought the knifes, saw the empty slot, didn’t read the directions (equivalent of refusing to stop for directions) and returned it. The sales person, likewise, saw the empty slot and marked it 50% off. Moral of the story?? = Happy Birthday to me.
P.S. The nice knife we already had does fit in the slot. See? Our collection is already expanded.
Musings from inside, outside, and underneath 
Knives are one of those very strange presents, where you never really think about how much you’d love a good set and how nice it is to have them on hand. What a great find! And don’t you love customer service in the U.S.?
Great find! =) Many Bed Bath and Beyond accept expired coupons as well! I’ve been keeping a few handy in my car whenever I need to go pick up something in the store.
I guess I’m getting a knife set soon. I’m thrilled because I’ve been cooking with butter knives. It’s hit and miss.