Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Receipt-bag

receipts printed on bags
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How many times have you wanted to return something, but just cant find the receipt? In retail shops, the receipt would be printed on a tearaway section of the bag it came in. If you decide you want to return or exchange your purchase, you just put it back in the bag and go back to the store. If You wanna keep it, you can just tear off the receipt and do as you please. This would eliminate the problem of losing receipts alltogether.
shinobi, May 30 2004

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       Bah, puny tear-away section! Print the receipt in large letters, legible from a distance, on the whole side of a huge plastic bag, prompting passers-by to admire the purchases and possibly comment on them.   

       Seriously, bags get lost too, and the "tearaway" thing means mechanical complexity and breakage when it tears unexpectedly. Have the thing itself have some identification number and remember that.
jutta, May 30 2004
  

       Yeah. I'd be surprised if producers of warrantied items aren't already hopeful that much of their inventory control, sales records, and consumer satisfaction history will someday be automated.
dpsyplc, May 30 2004
  

       Half the problem with any new product idea is identifying the need. That’s the hard part, so a croissant for that.
ldischler, May 30 2004
  

       Or perhaps you could have a cash register that prints normal receipts, but also has the ability to print receipts on an adhesive-backed roll of paper. I suppose this would require the register to have two separate tape rolls. For a charge of 10 cents or so (to cover the extra cost) you could request a receipt "sticker" if you think you're one of those people who can't keep up with your receipts. Just peel it off and stick it on the bag or on the product.
tchaikovsky, May 30 2004
  

       That's pretty cool, [tchaikovsky]. I've actually seen that done for food or some other consumable item, but thought nothing of it. My guess would be it keeps litter down, provides the consumers with a bit of a reference in case a stranger asks "how much for the Sabrett?", and the handy slip serves as a napkin.
dpsyplc, May 30 2004
  

       I think you're on the right track, but I toss my bags before I make it to the parking area with most purchases. On top of which, where's the bag you bought those batteries in last week?   

       On top of which, I usually throw my receipt in my bag, and I think that other people do the same. So, they already have their receipt in their bag, but it gets lost with the bag anyway.   

       What if when the item gets scanned, a quick toner stamp of some sort writes the receipt on the original packaging? Then each item would have their price listed individually, there could be some unique barcode or whatnot for each time up to the checkout that the computer could record. You'd really only need to hold onto the original packaging of your dvd player in order to return it. Or your golden grahams.   

       It would also render a scam useless- finding a receipt on the ground, wandering around a store to find that item, and then 'returning' the item and getting cash for it.
Cheekio, May 31 2004
  

       //It would also render a scam useless- finding a receipt on the ground ...// I never heard about that scam, sounds perfectly good to me.
kbecker, May 31 2004
  

       My bun's more for [tchai]'s addition. Stick it right on the product with a post-it strength goo. Of course, retail stores have no incentive to make returning anything easy for you. I believe this is much of the reason behind the trend towards longer receipts (ever buy anything at Best Buy? feet long).
Worldgineer, Oct 15 2004
  
      
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