Return to sender
Good morning,
I have recently had an item returned due to buyer not collecting. Last week the buyer messaged and ask where the item was. I looked at the tracking and responded to tell them it had an attempted delivery twice and to contact her local delivery depot. The item arrived back with me yesterday so this was not done.
Obviously, I know I need to refund the monies to the buyer, however, do I wait/ask the buyer to open a return request or do I just refund from the order details at my end? Is either preferable over the other in terms of listing fees, account stats etc?
Many thanks
40 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
No you just refund their full payment straight away
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
Refund immediately as an undeliverable address.
Seller_KjHQOlTKYaPEw
this is annoying when this happens, as the seller loses out on the initial cost to post.
I’ve had buyers asking me to resend, expecting free postage again 2nd time around
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
This matter comes up a lot on the forum. Firstly the customer would have had a card pushed through the door inviting them to collect or rearrange delivery. Some will say no card was pushed through the door however the courier system will say they did.
Others will say I didn’t have the time to collect and raise an A-Z Claim which has happened to us in the past.
Seller_vTCC47DVMGUB8
Do you?
Amazon will keep a percentage of your refund so you lose even more, not sure why you feel the need to do anything, I am sure at some point the buyer will contact you and let you know what they want done.
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
Just deduct the 9% fee together with the cost of posting as a partial refund when you have received the item back.
Seller_rgqzY6oIqUqWE
Thank you for your comments and advice everyone.
Just to clarify, I am going to fully refund I just wasn’t sure whether either of the methods; me activating a refund via the order or having the buyer open a refund request, was preferential in the endless statistics that Amazon take into account.
For clarity of everything else, the item was sent RM48. At the point of the buyer contacting me, I responded with the tracking number and a link to the RM Track & Trace website, to say the item had two attempts of delivery and the parcel was waiting for the buyer to collect at their convenience. the buyer hasn’t done this, for whatever reason, and it has been returned to me.
I agree, it is frustrating and is unfair, however, at the end of the day, the buyer has not received an item they purchased from me. If I put myself in the buyers shoes, I would not want to loose money on something I had paid for if I did not receive it, so they should not have to pay any monies (imo) .
Seller_gGjqGcIRP2hcT
You are supposed to help the buyer check the tracking information, and write email to the buyer if the parcel is delayed or collected. If the parcel is collected you need to give the buyer the local express phone number and tracking id and request the buyer take the parcel at depot.You need to send emails to the buyer if the parcel is returned and ask the buyer’s decision ( Refund or resend) and make buyer know why this parcel was returned.
Seller_DqVzngG6yzpZ1
These are all of the hidden costs of using Royal Mail. Why put your product prices up to counter the losses you make over the year from failed delivery attempts etc.
Simply don’t use Royal Mail. No brainer.
If Amazon could make it any clearer to you without them getting in trouble from the regulators then they would. If Amazon could do a total ban on Royal Mail then they would, and they’ve done enough to have practically done so, without having done so. Read between the lines - Amazon does not like Royal Mail, as they’re a pathetic service. No tracking as standard, poor delivery times, no redelivery attempts, constant price increases, high percentage of lost mail, regularly delivering to wrong addresses, no notification of non-delivery (would be good if click and drop could tell you when an item hasn’t been delivered). The list could go on.
If you value your Amazon business then you really need to take the final mile seriously. No point in having great products, spending a lot of time working your Amazon business, SEO, competitive research, then skimping out on the last mile. Get off Royal Mail and get an account with another courier, plus you’ll eliminate many a scammer too… Otherwise, get used to refunding customers and take customer care seriously whenever a mutual customer gets in touch with a problem. Just refund, refund, refund, and keep your Amazon account healthy.
Or you could choose to have a much easier and better life by bouncing Royal Mail for good.
Seller_Tz1vWBPfpir5d
Refund the buyer asap and ask the buyer to re-order if she still want it.