Opened Earbuds Go Back at Most Stores. Best Buy Is Unclear

Opened earbuds can go back at most big US stores, inside the normal window: Apple, Target, Walmart, Costco, B&H, Samsung, Sony and Bose name no exclusion for them, though Target says any opened item “may be denied”. Best Buy is the exception to check: it bars opened “products that interact with bodily fluids” and does not say whether earbuds are one.

The catch elsewhere is money and time. Samsung keeps 5% of a Buds refund, Sony and B&H can keep 15%, and Apple, Samsung and Best Buy give 14 or 15 days rather than 30.

What each policy says

Store	Window	What it says about opened earbuds or headphones	Fee
Apple	14 calendar days	Not on its ineligible list. Engraved AirPods: refund, no in-store exchange	None listed
Samsung	15 days from delivery	Wearable audio (“Galaxy Buds”) must be new or like-new, in original packaging, factory reset	5%, waived if damaged or defective
Best Buy	15 days; 60 for Plus and Total members	Opened “products that interact with bodily fluids” are nonreturnable; earbuds not named either way	Headphones not on its fee list
Target	30 days for electronics; 14 for Apple and Beats	Nothing specific. Opened items “may be denied a refund or exchange”	Phones only
Walmart	30 days for most consumer electronics	Nothing specific; not on its exchange-only or nonreturnable lists	None on its own sales
Costco	Not stated for headphones	Not on its 90-day electronics list or its list of exceptions	None listed
B&H	30 days from delivery	Nothing specific; returns must be “in new condition, in their original unaltered box”	Minimum 15% if conditions are not met
Sony (US store)	30 days from delivery	Nothing specific	Up to 15% on any product, at Sony’s discretion
Bose	30 days from receipt	Nothing specific. “Experience Bose sound for 30 days”	None listed

Each row is the seller’s own policy page, read on 14 October 2026. Amazon is not here: we did not read its policy. Fees at the bigger stores are compared category by category in which stores charge a restocking fee.

Best Buy: the clause nobody defines

Best Buy’s list of items that are “nonreturnable once opened” starts with “Products that interact with bodily fluids”. The policy gives no examples and no definition, and we found no Best Buy page that does. In-ear headphones touch the ear canal; whether Best Buy counts that is a question its staff answer, not its policy text.

Two other lines on the same page matter for earbuds. Items that are “damaged, unsanitary, dented, scratched or missing major contents may be denied a return”. And connected devices must be unlinked “from any cloud account or to any other device” before Best Buy accepts them.

The page does treat hearing products separately: hearing aids get 60 days for every customer, and hearing amplifiers follow the standard 15. Neither covers ordinary earbuds. If you are buying at Best Buy and are not sure, ask at the counter before you break the seal. An open-box pair keeps the same window as new, as our guide to Best Buy’s open-box grades sets out.

The maker’s own store

Apple gives AirPods the same 14 calendar days from delivery as its other products, with “all the cords, adapters and documentation” back in the box. Its ineligible list is software, gift cards and developer products. Engraved AirPods can be returned for a refund, but Apple will not exchange them in store.

Samsung puts a fixed price on a change of mind. Wearable audio returned for a change of mind carries a 5% restocking fee, and the window is 15 days from delivery. The fee is waived if the Buds arrived damaged or defective, which you have to report within 5 days. Samsung also wants wearables factory reset and signed out of Find My Mobile.

Sony allows 30 days from delivery on its US store, and its terms say it “may additionally charge a restocking fee of 15% of the purchase price” on all products, at its discretion. Purchases from 1 November to 25 December can come back until 16 January, or within 30 days if that is later.

Bose frames the window as a trial: “Experience Bose sound for 30 days when purchased on Bose.com.” It pays return shipping and asks for the product in good physical condition with “all accessories, cases, and parts”. Its exclusions are trade-in purchases, personalized items, final-sale products, gift cards and warranty replacements.

The big-box stores

Target gives electronics 30 days and all Apple and Beats products 14, so a pair of AirPods or Beats bought there has half the time of a Sony pair. Its general rule is that “items that are opened or damaged or do not have a receipt may be denied a refund or exchange”. Its final-sale list names opened breast pumps and trading cards, not headphones. Target Circle Card holders get an extra 30 days on nearly all items.

Walmart gives most consumer electronics 30 days and says most items bought from 1 October to 31 December can come back until 31 January. Its nonreturnable “Hygienic Medical Equipment” covers items such as bedpans and opened breast pumps, and its exchange-only list for opened goods names phones, drones, projectors and air beds. Headphones are on neither.

Costco lists the electronics that have a 90-day limit: TVs, projectors, computers, tablets, smart wearables, cameras, drones, camcorders, MP3 players and phones. Headphones are not on it, or on its list of exceptions, and the page states no time limit for items outside them, beyond “Limitations apply”.

B&H gives 30 days from delivery and sets the strictest condition. A return must be “in new condition, in their original unaltered box” with every manual, accessory and piece of packing, or B&H can refuse it or charge “a minimum 15% restocking fee”. Its list of items that cannot come back once opened is TVs and monitors 37 inches and up, computers, software and consumables.

Before you open the box

1. Check the window first. It is 14 or 15 days at Apple, Samsung and Best Buy, and 14 at Target for Apple and Beats. For a gift, the clock may already be running; the return dates for a Black Friday purchase differ by store.
2. Keep every ear tip, the case, the cable and the box. B&H, Bose, Samsung and Apple all ask for the parts that came with the product.
3. Unpair and reset before you return. Samsung requires a factory reset of wearables, and Best Buy asks for devices unlinked from cloud accounts.
4. Report a fault as a fault. Samsung waives its fee for damaged or defective items, and Best Buy says it will arrange a replacement for a defective product returned within the window.
5. At Best Buy, ask before you open. Its policy leaves earbuds undecided, and the answer at the counter is the one that counts.

Questions people ask

Can you return earbuds after opening them?

At most big US stores, yes, within the window. Apple, Target, Walmart, Costco, B&H, Samsung, Sony and Bose name no exclusion for opened earbuds, though Target reserves the right to deny any opened item. Best Buy bars opened products that “interact with bodily fluids” and does not say whether earbuds count, so ask the store before you open a pair.

Can I return AirPods if I opened them?

Apple gives 14 calendar days from delivery and does not list AirPods as ineligible; repack them with the cable and documentation. Engraved AirPods can be returned for a refund but not exchanged in store. Target also gives Apple and Beats products 14 days.

Does Best Buy take back opened earbuds?

Its policy does not say directly. Opened products that “interact with bodily fluids” are nonreturnable, but Best Buy does not define the phrase or name headphones. It can also deny returns that are “unsanitary”. Most products have 15 days, or 60 for Plus and Total members.

Is there a restocking fee on returned earbuds?

Samsung charges 5% on Galaxy Buds unless they arrived damaged or defective. Sony may charge 15% on any product at its discretion. B&H can charge at least 15% if a return is not new, boxed and complete. Best Buy’s and Target’s fee lists do not include headphones.

How long do I have to return headphones at Walmart or Target?

Walmart gives most consumer electronics 30 days, and says most items bought from 1 October to 31 December can come back until 31 January. Target gives electronics 30 days and Apple and Beats products 14.

Can I return Bose earbuds after using them?

Bose invites you to “experience Bose sound for 30 days” when bought on Bose.com, and pays return shipping. The earbuds must be in good physical condition with every accessory, case and part. Personalized and final-sale items are excluded.