CAVEAT EMPTOR: Do you have a right...

CAVEAT EMPTOR: Do you have a right to return that truly awful gift? State law expects retailers to give a full cash or credit refund if a customer returns merchandise and a proof of purchase within seven days. . . . But, says the Department of Consumer Affairs, all a merchant has to do to get around that is to have a “conspicuous display” of any policy to the contrary. Like posting, “ABSOLUTELY NO RETURNS.”

THANKS, I THINK: If a gift from a loved one doesn’t suit your taste, it’s socially acceptable to ask where they bought it so you can exchange it. . . . But if it’s from a business associate, that teal jumpsuit could be yours forever. “If it’s an acquaintance or a colleague, you may be creating a problem,” says Kimber Lee Wilkes, who teaches an etiquette class at Pierce College. “I would keep the gift and maybe give it to someone else with that kind of taste.”

NO THANKS: Try putting one of these back in the gift box. . . . At the Mar-Tex Pet Shop in Encino, people have returned everything from puppies to reptiles known as water dragons. But store owner Susan McCoy, above, says she will always take back a failed pet “because the worst thing that could happen is that these animals end up where they are not wanted or cared for.”

NO REFUNDS: When most people take back a gift, they usually want another gift. So says Mike Gatti, vice president of marketing for the National Retail Federation. . . . Only about 10% of gift purchases are exchanged for cash refunds.

IN PRIVATE: Returning a sweater is one thing, but lace panties? It happens. “If guys try to buy bras for women, they will come back because those are items that must be fitted,” explains Monica Mitro, a spokeswoman for Victoria’s Secret. There’s some cheery news, though. Over the years, Mitro’s noticed that some women are “thrilled to death” when their husbands mistakenly buy brassieres that are too small for them.