SlipbookGuide · Updated · By Johanna Hoppe
Most return windows last only two to four weeks, and they start ticking the moment you buy or receive something. A good reminder at the right time is the difference between a refund and an item you didn’t want. Here is how to set one up on iPhone.
Write down the last return day as soon as you buy, then set more than one reminder: a week before gives you time to decide, a few days before gives you time to pack and ship. You can do this with the Reminders or Calendar app, or with a return tracker such as Slipbook, which reminds you 7, 3 and 1 days before each return deadline by default.
Create a reminder such as “Return jacket to Zalando”, tap the info button, turn on Date and set it a few days before the deadline. You can add the receipt as an image attachment. Reminders is simple and syncs with iCloud, but each reminder fires only once, and it doesn’t know the actual deadline.
Create an all-day event on the last return day and add one or two alerts, for example one week before and two days before. Calendar is good if you already plan your week there; it gets crowded quickly if you track many purchases.
A dedicated tracker keeps the purchase, the receipt and all of its dates together. In Slipbook:
All deadlines appear on one calendar-like timeline, nearest first, with overdue ones grouped at the top. When you return something, you record the refund once it has actually arrived, and the statistics show what you got back.