Book arrived damaged, please refund
For the 2nd time in 3 months, a customer/reseller sent me this message: ”Book arrived damaged/not as described, please refund”.
In the text, she wrote that she thought it was water damaged.
I accepted the return, without refunding, because I was not born yesterday…
This morning I have received and checked the book returned (a large book with soft cover, sold for £.39+PP).
Horror! The first 150 pages have a large bump, that did not exist before, The back of the book as well has a little bump. The book was not well protected by the return parcel.
Moreover, I did not see any water damage to the pages.
Since this is the 2nd time that the customer asks for a refund for perfect items, I wonder what can I do, to avoid this bitter pill.
Thank you for your measured advice.
Guy
42 replies
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
Are you saying that it is the same customer ? - ? a dropshipper.
Seller_19xPhE8YgkmxW
Hi Guy
There are 2 possibilities - it was bumped on its way to the customer (and she’s honest) or it was returned (for whatever reason) and was bumped on its way back… Was it returned in the original packaging as that might tell you when/where it was bumped
A customer can return anything for any reason and, legally, you must refund. But I believe that if it’s not returned in the condition it was sent in, you can retain some of the refund - rumour says 50% max.!
If it was bumped on its way to the customer, you can claim from your carrier (?the post office), and if on the way back, you’re the one taking the loss, so can claim as recipient
Hope that’s a help
Brian
Seller_RiVN2dcWY6xy9
Couple of points, was it the same book returned as you sent? Secondly, do you pack your books securely? do you wrap in cardboard, if not a large paperback is very likely to get damaged in the post either on its way to the customer or on the way back.
However, I agree with you that if this is the crusader industrial estate outfit the reason for the return is that the original buyer had changed their mind.
The way to beat this is to pack well using bubble and cardboard, and accurately describe your books, warts and all. If this is done other than the book being run over by a forklift truck the book should arrive as sent, and the accurate description hepls prevent a not as described return. Obviously the buyer can return for change of mind but then you dont lose out on P&P charges.
I had a return request for a paperback the other day by a dropshipper staing that it was a mass market paperback and not a paperback. It was a scarce item in very poor condition and a lot lot cheaper than the nearest in price. I refused the return because not only had I described it accurately, but also stated the publisher and published date but also uploaded a photograph. Therefore the buyer knew EXACTLY what they were buying and I did not have to accept the return for the reason quoted. Never heard any more from them because it wasnt worth them paying for the return postage
Seller_HU09FGdJ07Hys
Thanks.P.P.
I usually ask for pictures, in theses cases, but last time a customer sent it after 30 days, so, when I applied to the courier for a reund, the courier said that it was too late.
After reading the message of the customer, I have come to the conclusion that the book has arrived damaged, therefore I’ll start the procedure to refund from the courier, and refund the customer.
Unless someone has a better idea.
Seller_DQUCTWPjSm8fp
Whenever a customer emails me to say that an item is damaged/faulty, the first thing I do is apologise and ask for a picture of the damage. I’ve done this several times and often the customer never contacts me again. Always ask for proof of the damage before accepting a return.
You are a seller providing products. The customer doesn’t own or control you. It’s time that sellers realise that they are in charge of their accounts, no one else. Too often they try to get something for nothing, or change their mind about a purchase, then try it on with us.
Seller_ae51e0CJoHqCX
Hi Guy
I think you know this is all part and parcel of dealing on Amazon. my advice is to just go along with the return and suck it up then move on. I would not advise the customer to shop elsewhere or accuse them of doing anything untoward but I would raise a case to Amazon and request that they flag the issue for any future problems.
You have already said you would rather refund but basically worried that they may come back again and cause further issues.
You can’t really advise customers to use another seller for 2 reasons, 1 is that it does not really solve the problem and just shifts the problem to someone else if they take the advice, they may just ignore it and buy from you anyway and become a bigger issue. Remember they are not your customer, they are an Amazon customer and you have offered to fulfil their orders, you can’t pick and choose which customers you want to deal with.
You answered your own question when you said you don’t want an ulcer over it, correct take it on the chin and flag it for if it returns in the future. You will end up beating yourself up when others take advantage and use the forum to vent, it sounds to me like you already know what to do. It can be quite liberating to just shrug it off, move on rather than trying to fight the losing battle
Seller_D0NOR9bK51iE0
They’ve been buying music items from me for years.
Never had a problem but there’s something about selling to them that annoys me! They must be smarter than the rest of us.
Good if I have multiples of the same titles as they alert me to the fact that no one or very few others have it.
If I get any dodgy return requests I refuse them and ask Amazon to sort it out. Had a nice victory over one scammer last year that way.
