The stores were prepared.
Extra registers were open and signs were posted, but lines were nonexistent most of the day.
Few Valley residents returned unwanted Christmas gifts Wednesday.
"We had 20 people waiting when we opened at 7 a.m.," said Bob Ridley, manager of the East Franklin Wal-Mart.
"That's about it. It's been nothing compared to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving," Ridley said. "Returns are practically nothing right now."
Although the store had six cash registers designated for returns, no one waited in line at noon.
However, there were lines at the remaining registers, where after-Christmas shoppers waited to pay for their bargains.
"We do have a lot of bargains," said Jay Horner, assistant manager of the store. "Our sales are up."
It was the same story at the J.C. Penney store in Lower Burrell.
Huge red signs were posted over registers designated for returns, but no one waited in line.
"We don't have any returns. We're here for the bargains," said Susan Scaife, a Fox Chapel Area School District teacher. "We're happy to turn my mother loose in the store and she can find anything."
Rita Groff, Scaife's mother, said she was thrilled with the mark-downs on perfume.
Next door at Family Toy Warehouse a cashier waited for people to return merchandise, but few people arrived.
"It hasn't been too bad here," said Laurie Coury, store manager. "They're mostly coming in to spend their Christmas money on electronics."
At Catherine's, a Lower Burrell store for plus-sized women's clothes, the store manager said only one person had returned an item.
"We've had some people come in, but only one return," said Janice Jankowski, store manager. "It's kind of hard to know if we'll get busier because we're new to this area."
Greg McBryde of Lower Burrell was one of the few Valley residents who took advantage of the short lines Wednesday morning.
He was at the Penney store exchanging clothes and had just come from the New Kensington Kmart.
"There wasn't a line there," McBryde said. "As we were leaving, there were only two or three people in line."
