refund request for a delayed item

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Seller_UA3OOJD5yRj7x

refund request for a delayed item

I sell chocolate on Amazon. I dispatched the item the same day the buyer purchased it, but they received the parcel two days later than the estimated delivery date due to Royal Mail. The item was meant as a gift, but because of the delay, it didn’t serve its purpose and was no use to them. However, they ate the chocolate, so they can’t return it. Now, they are asking for a refund because the parcel was late and didn’t meet their intended use.

What would you do in this kind of situation?

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11 replies
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11 replies
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Seller_k2X0L9mVRT0pW

You wont win this - late delivery always wins . Refund before they raise an A-Z and your metrics are affected.

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Seller_bzRkeDMMsE3Is

I would leave them to open an A-Z, unless your metrics can't take the A-Z or at the most offer them a partial refund. Cheeky people, tend to tell other cheeky people, if they think they have found an easy mark.

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Seller_badzzXwDdmDnU

tell them to open a return and a refund will be issued when you received the item back in a resale condition

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Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn

This is becoming more and more common on Amazon. An item arrives late and the buyer claims it is no longer needed as it missed the occasion etc. I believe a lot of this is fraudulent behaviour from customers.

As per others I would leave this to an A-Z case. Tell them the item has been delivered and hope they enjoy their delicious chocolate. They may leave negative feedback in this scenario, I find this more common than A-Z.

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Seller_HwaQlgFnhSuGS

The failure to meet the delivery promise is something Amazon hold you 100% responsible for. It is for this reason our handling times are "buffered" by extending them by 2 days.

Amazon message us pretty much weekly to change handling times as most of the orders we send out the same working day, but the buffer zone saves us a lot of losses due to slow delivery by RM. It also allows us to send via a slower but cheaper postage service.

The irony is that if the fees where not so crippling or the expectations so high, I am sure more orders would be made as we could send by faster methods.

eBay however quote dates as estimates and enforce/support them as estimates.

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Seller_HwaQlgFnhSuGS

One thing, did you send using Buy Shipping?

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Seller_QFivb25YBNqBc

Selling on Amazon these days has become 'sell at your own risk''

Whenever these fraudulent buyers cross your path, there is no way of winning. Amazon has opened the floodgates for criminal buyers.

Before making any decision, bear in mind that these buyers can start an A-Z claim for any reason. Your buyer may not even claim due to late delivery.

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Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh

Another issue might be if the item is in a returnless refund category, which some grocery items are.

So the customer might open a return request and just get a refund.

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Seller_ONEVwsDrK1cQM

I would take the chocolate bake then refund even though I know I'd dump the chocolate, some of the customers want the product and their money.

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Seller_tcjTAYWS9J4EP

You should be fine if you stick to saying you will refund on return. Amazon usually close the A-Z which can be reopened if they have any issues after the return.

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