Amazon extends return window for most items bought this fall until January 31, 2021

Amazon box
(Image credit: Amazon)

If you're shopping for PC components or a whole computer right now, with all the hot new hardware from Nvidia and AMD out this fall, Amazon has a new perk: it's extending the return window for most items on the store to January 31st, 2021. This isn't just for electronics, either. Whatever you're buying on Amazon, if it doesn't work out, it probably has an unusually generous return window.

Prime Day deals are coming...

(Image credit: Future)

Amazon Prime Day 2020 deals: the place to find all the best Prime Day bargains around October 13 and 14.

Amazon's support page for returns now states, "for the 2020 holiday season, most of the items shipped between October 1 and December 31 can be returned until January 31, 2021." That means you (or the person you're gifting something to) have loads of time to test whatever you might buy from Amazon before deciding to keep it. You can verify if something is included in the extended return policy by looking below the buy buttons on a product page.

This is especially good news in light of the hardware and software issues affecting Nvidia's newest graphics cards. If you actually manage to place an order for an RTX 2080 card, and it shows up broken or partially-working, all you'll have to do is print out the label Amazon gives you and drop it off at your nearest UPS store.

Screenshot of Amazon product listing with the return policy box highlighted

Check below the buy buttons to see what the return policy is for a given item. (Image credit: Amazon)

That's much better than Newegg's return process, which typically charges 15-30% restocking fees for items, and only accepts most returns for 30 days after purchase.

Amazon might still charge a small restocking or shipping fee for some items, like monitors, cases, and other large products, but that information should be visible during the return process. Generally speaking, Amazon is pretty good at returns—better than it is at preventing COVID in its warehouses, anyway.

Corbin Davenport

Corbin is a tech journalist, software developer, and longtime PC Gamer freelance writer, currently based in North Carolina. He now focuses on the world of Android as a full-time writer at XDA-Developers. He plays a lot of Planet Coaster and Fallout and hosts a podcast all about forgotten stories from tech history.

Latest in Hardware
A pink GameSir Nova Lite, and a purple 8BitDo Ultimate 2C float in a teal void.
Hall effect controllers are so cheap now I’ve got a deal for you AND your player two
Peely from Fortnite with banana-fied Wolverine claws.
Fortnite comes to Snapdragon: Epic Games announces upcoming Arm support for its Easy Anti-Cheat software
Texas Instruments MSPM0C1104 tiny chip
World's smallest microcontroller looks like I could easily accidentally inhale it but packs a genuine 32-bit Arm CPU
Varjo Aero
Varjo Aero VR headsets seem to be not working on RTX 5090s, and its community is opting for strange solutions while waiting for an Nvidia driver release to fix it
A pasta "display" on a table showing the word "keep" surrounded by fruit. Obviously.
Penne for your thoughts: This pasta display can show three individual frames and it's trying its best, okay
Intel engineers inspect a lithography machine
Finally some good vibes from Intel as stock jumps 15% on new CEO hire and Arizona fab celebrates 'Eagle has landed' moment for its 18A node
Latest in News
A woman with an arcane slingshot uses it to light a distant fire
Deconstructeam's next game is about training to shoot a single fireball at an impossible target
assassin's creed shadow naoe
We asked two parkour athletes to rate the realism of Assassin's Creed's acrobatics, and a surprising 'crime against parkour' might actually be one of the most realistic things they saw
Mechs fight on the outside of a spaceship
MechWarrior 5: Clans is getting DLC with playable Elementals and a fight on the outside of a spaceship
Aloy - Horizon
'I feel worried about this art form:' Unsurprisingly, the real Aloy from Horizon isn't a fan of AI Aloy
Crying laughing emoji with disturbing realistic elements for REPO
REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'