Amazon, you are asking SELLERS if we can DEFEND ourselves on here against customer theft, where customers literally steal products over and over, and swap them out with junk, or strip off parts to complete products they already have, and send our new products back opened, missing everything, up to as many as 6 consecutive orders without being stopped. Heres my answer:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/ef8a4afe-d801-4cf8-be34-7a507205cab3?
Nearly 300 SELLERS AGREE THAT THIS [BLOCKING CUSTOMERS WITH HIGH RETURN RATES AND FRAUDULENT SWAPPED RETURNS] IS THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. Nearly ALL other 3rd party platforms allow this. WHY ON EARTH DOESN'T AMAZON? I just had a customer claim a product was received OPENED and USED, and DAMAGED. This is a $250 PRODUCT WE HAVE SOLD 30 SETS OF, TOTALING $8000, WITH 0 (ZERO) DEFECTIVE RETURNS, that was shipped BY US, directly to FBA NEW, in a Hasbro FACTORY DEALER CASE.
- I read the return reason, caught it as a fraud attempt, where customer was likely planning to SWAP out a NEW $250 product with a USED broken one. I told customer that their description did NOT match our product condition, per my DEALER POs, and the factory-sealed cases we have of these products. SO I asked them VIA MESSAGE to STOP buying from us immediately or we would report it to Amazon's fraud dept, and if they continued to swap out NEW products with used damaged ones, we reserved the right to report it to the police IC3.GOV, as THEFT. KNOW what happened? Amazon DEFENDED US, AND STOPPED THE FRAUDULENT CUSTOMER RIGHT? NOPE. Amazon LET them return the product, under completely false pretenses, and as a reward for trying to STOP their fraud, Amazon wrote us up for a CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATION, the first we have received in 6 years, and 50,000 orders. They stated "you cant threaten a customer [by stating you are UPHOLDING Amazon's policy on reporting customer fraud/theft, and reporting theft to the police - in other words, let them steal from you, REPORT THEM QUIETLY, AND PRAY TO GOD ALMIGHTY THAT THEY DONT GO ON A STEALING SPREE while you sit there and WATCH, AND ASSUME YOU JUST DONT CARE ABOUT THEFT JUDGING BY YOUR SILENCE.]
- AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, WE NEVER THREATENED THE CUSTOMER IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. WE SIMPLY SAID THAT WE REPORT FRAUD TO AMAZON, AND IF IT CONTINUES, WE REPORT IT FOR WHAT IT IS, THEFT, TO THE POLICE. WE HAVE NEVER THREATENED ANY OF OUR 100,000+ CUSTOMERS IN 16 YEARS HUMBLY AND THANKFULLY SELLING ON HERE. WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS! THAT'S REFLECTED IN OUR 16 YEAR FEEDBACK RATING OF 99% POSITIVE. WE JUST WANT TO DEFEND OURSELVES WHEN CUSTOMERS COMMIT FRAUD, AND WE (AND AMAZON) LOSE OUR PAYCHECKS.
- So I caught someone returning the MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM IN MY ENTIRE STORE @ $250 (2 days pay lost), FILING A FRAUDULENT RETURN CLAIM, AND WHEN I ASK THEM TO STOP BUYING from us, AMAZON STICKS THEIR FOOT IN MY MOUTH AND SAYS, "SHUT UP, LEE". Yeah, I would not call that "DEFENDING SELLERS". Its more like telling someone, "Hey, NEXT time a mugger attacks you, don't try to hold up your hands in defense, you might HURT the mugger's hand while they are robbing you. We DESPERATELY need to be able to BLOCK buyers like this. They cost us, AND AMAZON ALL of our revenue, and our dignity as store owners. I have seen customers return 6 consecutive orders, wrack up hundreds of dollars in returns of products with ZERO other returns, GIVE US HALF A DOZEN FALSE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMERS DEFECTS, for product with ZERO other DEFECTS, and cost us up to $500 in refunds, and amazon up to $150 in commission. And we can't do a darn thing about it.
- The above example is mild compared to some customers I have seen, who return up to 6 consecutive orders, fill the return box up with junk, or strip parts off the product, and send the NEW product back half empty, or full of broken pieces of a totally different product, and just keep on stealing and swapping products. I sell 8,000 items a year on here, and at least 80 items, all NEW, sealed, get returned, totaling about $4,000 in return loss. Of those, nearly half of them are fraudulent returns. It's absolutely heartbreaking to click on a customer's order history, see that they have Placed 5 orders, and all have a red refund symbol next to them (100% RETURN RATE-ABUSE OF AMAZONS RETURN POLICY), and they are about to order another one. If we had the ability to block these customers I would block them the first time they swap out a return. If they return their first 3 orders, regardless of reason, they are done. Let them scam somebody else, and rob Amazon's Commission with a different seller, not me. Hopefully the other sellers will block them and report them too. If they keep scamming Sellers and we block them, the buyer will eventually realize "hey I've got to stop stealing. Or I won't be able to buy on Amazon at all." Or, Amazon can continue to leave us powerless and let them steal until Amazon's cash spills out of the crooked customers wallet. I have a zero tolerance policy for fraud and theft. Amazon, you should too! Please consider letting us have the ability to block bad buyers. If we aren't making money, you aren't making money either.
- BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK. THAT'S HOW YOU STOP CUSTOMER FRAUD. YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CALL A FOOTBALL GAME PLAY WHERE THE OFFENSIVE LINE DOESN'T BLOCK FOR THE QUARTERBACK? A SACK. AND A FAILURE TO DEFEND THE GUY WHO'S FIGHTING TO HELP YOU WIN. AND ULTIMATELY, A LOSS FOR THE WHOLE TEAM. WE ARE ON TEAM AMAZON. BY NOT BLOCKING FOR US, OR AT LEAST LETTING US RUN FROM GETTING TACKLED, YOU ARE LETTING YOUR SELLERS GET ABSOLUTELY CLOBBERED ON HERE. And as a result, both sellers, and Amazon, OUR COACH, LOSE THE GAME.
- THEFT AND FRAUD ON HERE WOULD BE REDUCED BY HALF (50%), SAVING SELLERS, AND AMAZON TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PROFIT-DRAINING RETURNS ANNUALLY, IF WE COULD SIMPLY BLOCK CUSTOMERS WHO ARE RETURNING /DAMAGING/ STEALING OUR STUFF! WE DON'T WANT CUSTOMERS WITH 100% RETURN RATES! WE DON'T WANT CUSTOMERS WHO REPEATEDLY ABUSE AMAZON'S RETURN POLICY, TO CONTINUE TO BUY FROM US AND DESTROY OUR BUSINESSES. AMAZON, DO YOU?
