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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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    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

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

    Band 6-7

    Well, I recently bought myself a MacBook Pro initially while I was looking for a laptop. MacBook was once that I thought would be able to meet my requirements and should be able to work perfectly. But once I got it and recently I have been using it for the past two days, I'm noticing that its performance is not up to the mark that I wanted it to be and that is the reason I am willing to return it.

    Band 6-7

    Well, as I jog my memory, I remember that I bought a smartphone from an online platform known, and I was very quite ecstatic when I saw it on sale as that handheld device mobile was my favorite one to launch that year. Furthermore, as soon as I saw that it was on sale, I was quite cheered, I was quite ecstatic and owing to my enthusiasm and my eagerness, I ordered it on a whim. I was very much excited. Nevertheless, as soon as I received it, I was all over the moon. I did the unboxing, opened the sealing and got the mobile in my hand and I was very eager as it was coming on 50% sale. I had my doubts. Doubts were running in my mind like whether it's fake or it's genuine or not and as I was doing my research, I was checking the IMEI number. In addition to that, also checking the software, is it matching to the exact original model to or not. Then suddenly I had a realization. The mobile phone which I had bought was a clone. It was not original product and I was quite disgusted because I was eagerly waiting. Consequently, I tried to return it but as soon as I placed my return order, they were like we can't process the return as it doesn't go with the company policies.

    Band 6-7

    So, it's actually a very nice topic to talk about. And today I want to share one of my experiences of buying things because I'm having a habit of hoarding things without thinking twice on the purpose of buying. And it was all about 6 months ago when I bought a vacuum cleaner for my home. And I just bought it in 25 quid from nearest store B&M. When I bought it and came back to home, I just switched it on to give a look how it works. But unfortunately, it was not working. On first thought, I thought that there is some problem in my connection, the electricity power. And that's why I tried it in another plug and different room. But still over there as well, it didn't work. And after that, I came to know that the wire and the connection of that hoover vacuum was broken down. And I know that it was there in warranty, like it's been written on the box that if I want to return it, I can return it within next one month. So directly on next day, I went to the shop and told them the issue and also requested for the return or replacement. And they advised that we can't offer you the money because money returning is not available. But you can get the replacement. But unfortunately, I didn't get the same vacuum over there on that day. And they told you can search it out in next like in other stores in the same city. And fortunately, after two days, when I was having day off, I went to other store and got the same item.

    Band 6-7

    That's an interesting question. So, recently I bought a wallet that looks very pretty. I recently bought a beautiful Anarkali type gown which comes with a palazzo pants and a dupatta. The dupatta was very pretty when I looked at it first because the whole outfit had a zardozi embroidery with tiny mirror shaped crystals and all those hand embroidered work. But after receiving the product, I realized that that color didn't suit me well. When I saw that on my phone, visually it looked very appealing. I thought it would look very good on me. However, it was not the case when I received it. So, I immediately filed for a return. But what happened when the return was processed was... So, recently I bought a very pretty A-line kurta that comes with a palazzo pants and a dupatta. The whole outfit was in a really nice mauve plus lilac mixed color. It also had a very pretty zardozi and some mirror crystal work done like an embroidery all over the dress. The borders and especially the dupatta which we wear is a very beautiful shade. It was of a complimenting color. So, recently I bought a very pretty looking lilac plus mauve shaded A-line Anarkali set. It had a very pretty color combination. The top and the overall look was of a kurta with palazzo pants and a dupatta. The dupatta was fully embroidered with zardozi and many minute mirror works. And as per the palazzo pants, it also had an embroidered stitch border on its ankle length. Apart from that, when I took a first look at that dress online, it looked very pretty. But once I received it, I checked it to see that only to find out it didn't suit me well. I thought the color would suit me but it didn't. However, when I tried to return it because of this issue, I wasn't able to process the return. Because unfortunately I had brought it during a sale. So, the condition of that sale was once I buy a product, I couldn't return it again. So, unfortunately I lost the money but afterwards I felt that it was too pretty to be thrown away. So, I worn it twice or thrice but not more. I couldn't wear it more than that. It was really a disappointment I would say. Not much disappointed because it was partly my mistake. But I was quite disappointed since I expected that color to suit well and I was planning to wear it to a function too. I had to order another dress because I couldn't wear it.

    Band 6-7

    I once ordered a sunscreen online and before ordering I didn't see the Once from the online site Flipkart, I ordered a sunscreen and it was actually an online payment. So I did the payment and when the product arrived I opened it and to my shock it was an entirely different product. What I actually ordered was a sunscreen from the company Dermaco but I got a different product which is from a different company and it was a small face wash. Also the size of the face wash was very small not even like half the price which I paid for. So I was very shocked and distressed and then I checked to then I thought of returning it and getting refunds. So when I checked the page I found that there was no return policy for the particular product. I felt very much like cheated because they sent the wrong product and after all this no return policy also. That was a time I regret greatly for ordering something online but all my previous experiences were really good that's why I order things online. So that was the first time I'm having an entirely bad experience. I immediately reported this. I sent a mail but I didn't get any reply. So from that time onwards I am very afraid to purchase anything from that site. So I haven't purchased anything from that site until then.

    Band 6-7

    There is a store nearby me, its name is Balaji confectionery store. One day I went there and bought pearls from there. It is well organized shop run by a middle aged man. He was very friendly but I was disappointed on that day because the purses I bought is not in a good packaging, it is also got old, when I went there to complain him that the thing I get from him is not packed well, he started shouting on me and saying that it is good and not old, I had given you new packaging, new purses and if you want to return it, I will not give you money back, as he said me these lines, that he will not give me the money back, so I decided, so I decided to.

    Band 6-7

    Everyone have a memory with clothing. I too. That was two years back when I was studying my post-graduation. I bought a dress for me. That was a Sunday. Just we were chilling. We went out for chilling. At last we entered into a dressing shop and I found a good dress that was in white color and I really liked. Then I didn't even trialed that dress and I bought that dress. After I reached my hostel, once I wear it, it was loose. I have used a medium size clothes that was in extra large. So I decided to return that dress. So after three days, I went for return the dress, but they told me to show the bill. I don't have the bill because I lost somewhere else. So I was a little bit stressful. I told to manager about this issue. They won't allow to return this dress. That makes me really sad because I lost my money as well time and so.

    Band 6-7

    So last, in last July, I went to West Side where there was a very good sale on dresses. So I bought one of the top which I found very beautiful but when I returned back to my house and tried it off in order to show it to my parents, it really didn't fit me well and I was not looking that good as I had thought it would look like on me and this really upset me. So, in the next few days, I went back to the shop and asked them for, to return it in order, with the same problem I experienced. So first they asked me for the receipt and when I gave them the receipt, they denied me at a first glance because it was dated, it was a non-refundable and, or a non-exchanged product I bought and it was against their policy as well. But later on, after I had a chat with the manager and tried to explain him the kind of amount of money I spent on it, not, I'm not happy with the product, he accepted the, my request and he, but he asked me to exchange it and buy something else rather than the refund. So, I did bought one of the dress which I tried and looked good, actually looked good on me. Therefore, I made sure that every time I buy something, I would definitely try it on first. After the return, I felt satisfied with the new clothes I bought and was happy that I saved that huge amount of money I spent on a single top which was not even looking good enough on me and I was not feeling comfortable in it.

    Band 6-7

    Ok, so recently I bought this protection cover glass for my phone and it broke within a week. It was very very thin. I didn't even drop the phone but that thing broke in like one or two days. That was, that phone, that cover glass was very shitty and I probably not buy same thing from that company and if I was given a chance I would have returned it but it was like very delayed so I cannot return it.

    Band 6-7

    Firstly, I want to introduce that November and December time in India is famous for the wedding period. It's also known as the wedding season of India. So online shopping obviously becomes very, very important and it becomes very, very famous at this time of the year. Naturally, I was invited to a few weddings and I wanted to shop online. Personally, I prefer shopping in person because that just means I can double check or triple check my material I'm buying or the type of dress I'm buying or if it fits me or not. But this time, since I had absolutely no time, I could allot for shopping, I chose to do online shopping. I bought this beautiful looking sari online, which looked good on the camera, on the screen of my phone. But when I bought it, it was not great. The material was very slippery, was not silky and it had multiple faults everywhere. The zipper they gave with the sari did not work and some of the material was even torn. So it was blue color, that is why I loved it. Additionally, it was a lot of, it was very expensive. I had to return it because I couldn't wear it anywhere and I prefer, that is why I prefer going to buy on my own.
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