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Describe something you bought that you really wanted to return: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What you bought?
  • Why you wanted to return it?
  • What happened when you tried to return it?
  • And explain how you felt afterward.
Show all 319 answers

Cue 1:What you bought?

  • Begin by clearly stating the item you purchased and its significance to you.
  • Include details about where and when you bought it to set the context.

Example

I bought a pair of expensive wireless headphones from an online store during a sale. I had been wanting them for months because I love listening to music while commuting and exercising.

Cue 2:Why you wanted to return it?

  • Explain the specific reasons that led you to want to return the item.
  • Mention any expectations you had that were not met.

Example

After using the headphones for a few days, I realized that the sound quality was not as good as I had hoped. Additionally, they were uncomfortable to wear for long periods, which was disappointing since I had read many positive reviews.

Cue 3:What happened when you tried to return it?

  • Describe the process you went through to return the item.
  • Share any challenges or frustrations you faced during the return process.

Example

When I contacted customer service to initiate the return, I faced long wait times on the phone. They informed me that I needed to send the headphones back at my own expense, which I found frustrating. Eventually, I managed to send them back, but it took a lot longer than I expected.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt afterward.

  • Reflect on your emotions after the return process was completed.
  • Discuss any lessons learned from the experience.

Example

After finally returning the headphones, I felt relieved but also a bit frustrated with the whole experience. I learned to be more cautious when buying expensive items online and to read reviews more thoroughly before making a purchase.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, returning the headphones was a challenging experience, but it taught me valuable lessons about online shopping and managing expectations. I now feel more confident in making future purchases.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your response unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the item you bought or your feelings about returning it.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the item, including its name and features. Describe your feelings and experiences in detail to create a clearer picture.

    2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Failing to express your emotions can make your answer less engaging. It's important to convey how the experience affected you personally.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings before and after the return process. Use descriptive language to express your emotions, such as frustration or relief.

    Ignoring the Return Process

    Not explaining what happened during the return process can leave your answer incomplete. Candidates often skip this crucial part, which can lead to a lack of depth.

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    Tip

    Detail the steps you took to return the item, including any challenges faced. This adds depth to your story and shows your problem-solving skills.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    I had bought a perfume a few days back which I bought in urgent where I didn't get the chance to even try it out but I just heard from a friend of mine that this perfume was actually really nice and had a great fragrance but when I reached home and I just had a scent of smell of it I really didn't like it because it was too strong of a floral smell which I really don't like and I don't prefer that scent later on the next day when I went to return it I had a doubt that I would be able to return it because I had returned that I had removed the tag off I had thrown it in the dustbin without knowing that I wouldn't like the smell of it but thankfully the staff there understood my situation and were ready to either exchange it or give me the money in return I preferred to exchange the perfume and get a one which I've already used before because the ones which I already know how the smell is so I was really grateful to the staff who helped me carry on this

    Band 6-7

    Speaking of a thing that I really wanted to return is a really expensive and designer lehenga that I had bought from a very renowned shop in my locality. There is a really interesting story associated with this purchase and that is I purchased this lehenga to wear by myself on my cousin sister's wedding. My cousin sister had really a lot of expectations from me as I am the closest cousin to her. So, I had customized this lehenga for myself with a lot of hand-woven embroidery and selected really expensive material for that. To my surprise, when I received this delivery, the lehenga did not fit me and it did not give me a look that I had expected for myself. Moreover, the color was faded at certain parts of the dress and the thread of the embroidery was also sticking out at certain places. So, definitely I would not like to embarrass myself by wearing such a lehenga which would make me look despicable in front of my family, my friends and my other cousins. So, I demanded for a refund and I returned the lehenga.

    Band 6-7

    It might be last weekend or the weekend before that I purchased a set of book, a series which I had already read but I really wanted to have the physical copy for my library collection. But what happened was that when I received the book I wasn't happy about the size or the font inside and either the painting since I was already in a financial constraint and I didn't have enough space to store more books right now and looking for more storage and bookshelf options and overall it felt like a burden for me and that's when I decided to get rid of it and what I first did was to check back on the website whether I have the provision to return it without losing my money at all and yes it did, the webpage allowed easy returns. They came and picked up the thing from me, the book from me and but what happened was that there was a condition that I need to have the actual bill available with me and also proper packaging but I had missed the bill which worried me whether I could easily return this or not. Luckily the pickup agent said it was fine because he had a spare bill to attach to the product and I happily returned it but the thing is that after returning it I felt a little sad because I really loved that book and I wish I had kept it.

    Band 6-7

    The thing I bought first time was a dress which I ordered from the Renote website. And they also had an app which is from Puma. I have been fascinated by their products from first reading. But this was an exhilarating experience. When they had delivered the dress, it was very comfortable and it fitted me well. But I wanted to return it because of their colour. Actually they had replaced me with another colour which was not suiting my body rightly. And they actually didn't accept the return because I had made a late return time which caused me to not get it.

    Band 6-7

    here i am going to talk about a product that i bought last week, actually it was a mobile phone i bought it from amazon and it was you know it wasn't working very well so i decided to return it on amazon i requested them to return my product and refund my money and after several week their delivery personnel came to my location and collected this mobile phone so i was very happy after that when i got refund my money and it was completely a disastrous moment for me because i didn't think about it because amazon is a very good name we all know that it's a global brand name and i bought this product on amazon the overall experience that i got from this product is very very sad so i would say we should be careful about purchasing anything on internet so after all i would say we should definitely purchase product by checking its quality and features so this experience is very learning for me

    Band 6-7

    Around a month ago, I bought two large books of my favorite series because I wanted to read them. However, when they arrived, they ended up being the wrong size and slightly damaged. I decided I wanted to return these via the app. So I went on the application to try and return the items. When I went on the application, I noticed that it said no returns. It hadn't said this when I had initially wanted to buy it. So then I contacted the owners and the sellers of these items. They informed me that it was always no returns and that I just have to keep the books. This frustrated me highly and I wanted to get rid of these books as they would not fit in my bookshelf. Then I tried to sell them, but I wasn't able to get any buyers. Additionally, this made me sad as these books would go to waste at the back of my cupboard unseen and unused. If there were some people who would want to buy these books, I would immediately sell it to them. However, in the last month, I haven't received any buyers.

    Band 6-7

    As we all know there are a lot of things that we bought in our daily life as it is necessary for all the human beings, now as per my cue card, now I will tell you about that thing that I bought but today I really wanted to return it. So it was an iPhone which I purchased last month from Apple store near my home town and it is a totally I think that a false decision I made in my life, it was like a gift because my parents promised me to give a iPhone if I got a good marks, I really want to return it because of the reason that there are a lot of technical problems which I faced during the using of mobile phone, so it was the first and foremost is the screen or display that is a really worried and frustrated me while I using it, so I think that the exegrated questions or I think that who recommended me to about iPhone, I think that he was a selfish person because there are a lot of money I wasted on this, I returned it because of the reason that it gives me a not a good response which I really wanted from that, so I really feel guilty when I wasted a lot of money on this because I purchased it worth around 1,50,000.

    Band 6-7

    So an item that I recently bought was a pair of basketball sneakers which was from a Nike store located under the metro station of the place Chatarpur. I wanted to return those shoes because when I bought them and tried putting them on for a basketball game, I felt like the cushion was a little bit stiff and I wasn't feeling the level of comfort that I have in my previous purchases. When I tried to return it, the first thing the salesman argued was if I didn't buy it after trying on at the store, but since it was bought by my mother, so I couldn't check the comfort then, which also made me question the experience that a huge brand like Nike would be asking. Moreover, I did try to talk to the manager about the return, but in addition to the questioning that was done by the salesman, the manager replied with a disappointing tone that they won't be able to return the product since it has already been sold, but my argument to that was purely in terms and conditions of the product that it is still under a warranty.

    Band 6-7

    The one thing that I bought that I still would want to return would be my tab, a tablet. I was a naive kid when I had that one wish that I could get a tablet. So I pursued my parents, I cried, I got stubborn about it and forced them into buying me a tablet. So then I started using it and I realized that I didn't need it. However, I had to prove it to my parents that no, the decision that I've made is fine. However, furthermore, I stopped using that tablet and it's still lying on my bookshelf, never been used and has been a wasteful purchase.

    Band 6-7

    a while ago I bought a black dress which was a sequin dress and had silver linings on it. I found it very beautiful so I bought it off the Amazon site and when I received it I was very disappointed in the dress because in the picture that was shown to me while I was buying it was shown that it was a knee-length dress and it looked very immaculate and amazing however when I received it it barely even covered my entire upper body it was way too small to fit me although I had ordered a large size and this dress was also very fit on me also very tight on me and its length was way too less to even be called a dress. When I tried to return the dress I found out that it had no return and no exchange policy which I had not seen before so I was very disappointed that I could not wear the dress and I could not even return it then when I could not return it so I turned to the only option I had which was I cut the dress as I'm very good at making DIY clothes I cut the dress myself and I made gloves out of it which were very beautiful
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