Who Bears the Costs?
Hi Guys,
Your advice is needed, recently we have had a situation where some of our products have had their images changed to something else by another supplier all of which were on our European websites and of course we were unaware that this had happened and lord knows how it is done.
The item in question was one of our ladies golf gift sets comprising of socks, visor, scorecard holder a glove and ball markers, the main title and description of each item remained unchanged, however, the image presented which we found out sometime later was a very nice 26 piece Vacuum flask set!
The order came through in the normal way and we duly despatched the item and of course, the customer expected a Vacuum flask set, this is when we found the error with the item, we asked the customer to return for a refund which we did, however he now also wants another 12.50 euros in return costs, as this is a mistake by Amazon allowing this to happen my question is should they pay these charges and who do I ask?
I may also add that Amazon took almost 5 weeks to correct this with us contacting all departments and in the meantime, we received a number of other orders with the same problem causing us with all sorts of problems.
Your advice would be welcomed,
Who Bears the Costs?
Hi Guys,
Your advice is needed, recently we have had a situation where some of our products have had their images changed to something else by another supplier all of which were on our European websites and of course we were unaware that this had happened and lord knows how it is done.
The item in question was one of our ladies golf gift sets comprising of socks, visor, scorecard holder a glove and ball markers, the main title and description of each item remained unchanged, however, the image presented which we found out sometime later was a very nice 26 piece Vacuum flask set!
The order came through in the normal way and we duly despatched the item and of course, the customer expected a Vacuum flask set, this is when we found the error with the item, we asked the customer to return for a refund which we did, however he now also wants another 12.50 euros in return costs, as this is a mistake by Amazon allowing this to happen my question is should they pay these charges and who do I ask?
I may also add that Amazon took almost 5 weeks to correct this with us contacting all departments and in the meantime, we received a number of other orders with the same problem causing us with all sorts of problems.
Your advice would be welcomed,
37 replies
Seller_dIr6C90Nwx99b
This is Amazon. No refunds, no smiling, no laughing, no running jumping or having fun. They will take ages to solve a problem, however unfortunately are not known for the reimbursements. Suck it unfortunately.
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
yes, but they won’t
See earlier
Unfortunately you will have to bear the cost. I don’t see any way that Amazon will take the hit.
Seller_YIuxLB6FPyaGJ
I would think as technically the item wasn’t damaged or incorrect and as it’s the customer that has ordered the incorrect item as they didn’t read the listing properly you would not be required to pay the return costs.
I suppose you’ll need to weigh up the benefit of saving 12.50 compared with the possibility of negative feedback.
We’ve seen computer processors with images of cook books, unfortunately as it’s not really curated by Amazon this will continue to be a potential issue.
You could attempt to get a reimbursement from Amazon but I can’t see that getting very far as this is likely an issue caused by another seller uploading the incorrect images so I really doubt they would take responsibility.
Personally I would think it wouldn’t be worth the hassle and use a pre-paid mailing label.
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
It is very likely that another seller updated the description to advertise a different product on another Amazon site, to take advantage of it’s reviews. In such case, the images will get automatically updated across all marketplaces. This is a very common practice with which I am having issues as well.
Unfortunately, you need to ensure that your listings are displaying accurate information. Since you already accepted an processed orders for the incorrect product, you will need to handle any customer service issues or returns in accordance with Amazon policies.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
The thing that slightly puzzles me is why the buyer needs any postage refunding at all.
As this was not a change of mind return, but a seller issue [whether you lay that blame at Amazon’s door or not] shouldn’t the buyer have had a pre paid return label sent to them so that they were not out of pocket? And if they did have a prepaid return label there would be nothing extra to refund now since you would already have paid for it…
Seller_K8edOfPu9HEmN
I was always under the impression that any major changes to a listing would alter the ‘Status Changed’ Date in the ‘Date Created’ section of the manage inventory page.
So assuming this is correct, and if the ‘newest change’ is chosen then any major change such as a merger that item would jump to the to of the list, again, I would assume that a wholsale change to a listing such as a new photo and/or description would be classed as a major change and work in the same way.
I know it works with mergers.
Seller_y7wlA8Npjq1Or
Unfortunately Amazon will not Pay you a penny. Or take ownership of the massive photo switching issue.
I have been effected and still have a open case as I’ve asked if they can put in a system where if changes are made to a listing all sellers on that listing receive details of the change.
Seller_qHzcAWcsPVCfg
I really need to make a template of the following as I have posted it scores of times over the years.
" Amazon state we as sellers are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of every listing we use, ensuring that it is correct every second of every hour of every day for 365 days a year,"
We all know a listing can change on any of those 31,536,000 seconds. We also need to know we will be held responsible if any single minuscule detail of the listing is the slightest bit inaccurate.
So… an A-Z in this case for not providing a refund of the return cost WILL go against you.
Seller_sFEUMUfeW5484
Amazon expect you to be aware of when and what etc your listings are changed. You need to be able to check teh 21K listings you have (for example) making sure all the titles and images, bullet points etc have not been edited by Amazon at the request of another seller.
This is one of the biggest faults with teh Amazon catalog system, allowing edits from multiple sources, asking for big problems.
Seller_ugiIC6Uads3Rv
There is a way to get Amazon to reimburse you/ reimburse the customer, but it would require the customer to be onside. I realise that this is anecdotal, but this is my experience.
I ordered a book from an American seller, the catalogue details were confusing but I bought on the basis that there was enough evidence that I could expect it to be volume 2 (which was pictured) although the title did not specify which volume it was. And of course, when it arrived it was volume 1. I contacted the seller and he was perfectly willing to refund without return (to offset the inconvenience) but I actually took it up with Amazon. They initially attempted to throw the responsibility onto the seller, but I persisted in pointing out that they (Amazon) should take responsibility for the accuracy of the platform which they provide, and that neither I nor the seller should suffer loss because they did not ensure the accuracy of the catalogue.
Of course, they’d have fobbed me off if I’d been the seller, but as the customer I did eventually get them to accept the responsibility and got a refund funded by amazon without needing to launch an AtoZ or causing any impact on the seller.
But like I said, it depends on whether the buyer would be persuaded to work with you…
