Customer wants shipping refund due to late delivery
A customer ordered a book from me and selected Expedited Shipping speed.
I shipped the book the following day in a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope using Amazon's buy-shipping.
The package didn't arrive for 12 days! I did not realize it was even delayed until the customer emailed me (once it was delivered).
The Customer was upset (rightly so) and wanted a refund of the shipping costs. I refunded the shipping along with an apologetic email for the shipping delay.
I then went to USPS to see if I could get refunded for the shipping. They informed me that there are no refunds for Priority mail (except for Priority Express).
I attempted a SAFE-T claim which was immediately rejected.
I contacted seller support, but they kept on telling me I should have directed to customer to get a shipping refund from USPS.
My question: Is there something I could have done differently in order to remedy this situation? I did everything in my power to make sure the package arrived on time and the delay was clearly out of my control. It actually would have been easier to if the package had not arrived at all, because Amazon has made provision for INR claims, but this feels like a catch 22 for the seller.
35 replies
Seller_MyXY4Myx9zVcR
You did everything right including apologizing and refunding the shipping paid by the buyer.
The USPS doesn't always do everything right.
The USPS makes no guarantees about delivery times with Priority Mail.
Amazon will not cover this postage refund.
Move on.
Seller_LTNvvFJ2jqJOv
My A-Z blurb for Amazon Buy Shipping @SEAmod You used Amazon Buy Shipping it should not be denied.
I am terribly sorry for USPS, I did ship it on time using Amazon Buy Shipping.
You need to request a refund through Amazon.
To request a refund:
Go to Your Orders.
Locate the order.
Select Problem with Order.
Select your problem from the list.
Select Request Refund.
Enter your comments in the text box.
Select Submit.
It must be 3 days after the deliver date to file.
Seller_1056OIqQZz0c6
Horrible advice selg_inc, shame on you. Secret City Books, If you used Amazon Buy Shipping and you shipped it out on time, then never give out free refunds for shipping. Force the customer to act on it.
Seller_IMsC7YIe1vuDn
I did not know that an A to Z claim would cover this, since they did receive their package.
Seller_5YYyDBugyakvv
Für die Situation, die Sie sagten, Sie nehmen die FBM, aber tatsächlich gehen, um die Amazon-Kauf-Service diese Art von Sache zu wählen, diese Art von Sache für mich ist sehr nicht empfohlen.
Da ich selbst FBM und FBA betreibe, nutze ich viele Lagerhäuser, aber die meisten dieser Lagerhäuser haben sich geweigert, ihre Kanäle zu nutzen, weil ihre Kanäle sehr instabil sind.
Und durch die Informationen, die Sie sagten, da Sie durch den Kanal von USPS sind, sollten Sie gehen, um ihre Zeitgarantie zu verstehen, durch ihre Zeitprobleme, verstehen ihre Ansprüche, wenn die Lieferfrist überschritten wird, welche Art von Verantwortung sie übernehmen sollten, und geben Sie einen Teil der Entschädigung.
Wenn Sie Amazon benutzen, um USPS zu kaufen, ist das gleichbedeutend mit einer Drittplattform, um ein Versandetikett für Sie zu beantragen. Diese Situation wird nicht nur Ihre Versandkosten erhöhen, sondern es auch unmöglich machen, dass Sie gehen und entschädigt werden, wenn Sie eine ähnliche Situation erhalten. (Weil Sie deren Entschädigungsmechanismus einfach nicht verstehen und nicht entscheiden können, welchen Dienst sie nutzen)
Wenn Sie den FBA-Versand nutzen und es ein Problem mit der Pünktlichkeit gibt und der Kunde sich an Sie wendet und eine Reklamation vorbringt, müssen Sie sich keine Sorgen machen, denn solche Reklamationen werden von Amazon übernommen und haben keinen Einfluss auf die Fehlerquote Ihrer Bestellung.
Seller_DdmPiA1p1S2Wu
Do you have experience with that working? I thought that the buyer filing the A-Z claim would only be for a package that had not yet been delivered to them. As far as I know, Amazon wouldn't cover the shipping on a package that was late, but has now been delivered, they would expect the seller to cover that. If they will cover those situations, that would be good to know for future reference, so let me know if you have any proof along those lines, please.
Seller_IMsC7YIe1vuDn
Thanks, but I have singlehandedly run a small used book business for 15+ years. I tried using FBA once, but it was just as much work and the profit margin was a lot smaller.
Seller_IMsC7YIe1vuDn
That's what I thought also. I would love to know Amazon's official stance on this.
Seller_WtOwWhtSrFjva
Once you refund you have no recourse any more. You should have told them to file and A to Z.
Seller_gjMpCOuIyMglk
Piggybacking off what @Seller_LTNvvFJ2jqJOv and others have said, below is a script template I copied off someone else in the forum years ago (thank you stranger). I send this to people upset about missing packages or stranded packages:
Hi [customer]
Please follow these steps to receive a full refund:
You may be eligible to request a refund under the A-to-z Guarantee if “You have not received your package and three days have passed since the maximum estimated delivery date or the tracking shows a delivery confirmation, whichever is sooner. Note: Amazon also require you to wait 48 hours after contacting the seller before you are eligible to request a refund.”
Requesting an A-to-z Guarantee Refund
To request a refund on an eligible order:
Go to Your Orders .
Locate your order in the list and click Problem with order.
Select “Package didn’t arrive” from the list.
Select Request refund.
Enter your comments in the text box.
Select Submit
Note: Refund requests can take up to one week to investigate. Amazon will notify you of their decision via the email address associated with your account. To view the status of your request, locate your order in the list on the Your Orders page and select Problem with order.
To receive the maximum refund allowed you need to select “Package didn’t arrive”
________________________________________________________________
It's a bit wordy so you can chop it up some, but it gets the point across.
Seller_bgmcNFSQ8G693
What you did was 100% correct. Good job!
The Customer was upset (rightly so) and wanted a refund of the shipping costs. I refunded the shipping along with an apologetic email for the shipping delay.
What seller support told you was 100% incorrect. Bad job!
I contacted seller support, but they kept on telling me I should have directed to customer to get a shipping refund from USPS.
Unfortunately sometimes you just have to eat the cost on things like this. Just part of being a business owner/seller. Hopefully the customer is happy and will repurchase in the future from you
Seller_ZDZdRkJPJcczS
If you use Veeqo (Amazon owned) to ship, I'm pretty sure they will cover this claim out of their pocket. I have no experience with this... yet, although I do use Veeqo for most of my shipping lately.
"If you purchase shipping labels through Veeqo and ship on time, you are protected against claims where a customer reports problems with delivery. Amazon will cover the cost of these claims, and they will not affect your Order Defect Rate."
https://sell.amazon.com/tools/veeqo
