Refund on book. No longer needed
Would you give a refund on a book, bought 3 weeks ago, reason for refund, No longer needed. I sell books, I am not a library.
Refund on book. No longer needed
Would you give a refund on a book, bought 3 weeks ago, reason for refund, No longer needed. I sell books, I am not a library.
37 replies
Seller_YSVJTvJFHSin4
Yes if you agreed to Amazon policies, which permit returns for 30 days.
However, this is clearly a change of mind so you are under no obligation to pay for the return. If the item is not in the condition you sent it when returned then you can charge a restocking fee (“you must return each item in the same condition in which you received it. This means that new items must be returned new, unused and complete. Used items must not have any additional signs of use or damage.”)
Seller_Rds42gzScDQFa
If you think that’s bad wait till after Christmas and see how many “No Longer Needed” book return requests you get.
Seller_mBENc0rmDmw5W
Was it by any chance a textbook?
Some Uni students do tend to thinknAmazon is a lending library.
Seller_bhSWqoVh7Pn98
To ensure good customer satisfaction and not annoy Buyers and stop them buying from everyone on Amazon, surely you should learn both the legal standpoint and that of Amazon.
In brief:
Buyers change their mind and even if you are a new Seller, surely you should realise that and also know that you have to accept returns by law and not only if being sold on Amazon.
The law is very clear that a Buyer can return an item within 14 days from the date it was received. Then as long as they ask within that time, then they can return it to you and you have to allow another 14 days for them to post back (or courier), postmark/courier mark the date that applies. You have to refund the item price and any initial shipping cost (not the return shipping cost, which if you provide the return postage label, you can deduct a cost as long as you inform of that cost in advance). As it is not defective then you can charge for gift wrapping and can charge any extra shipping costs for a faster delivery, international delivery, etc. The Buyer can have looked at the item, but reasonable care has to have been taken.
The above applies no matter what, even if bought via Amazon, but Amazon also allow: as above but a Buyer can request within 30 days, rather than 14 days from date received, but you do not have to return the shipping cost if they ask after 14th day received. So if they ask on day 15, again another 14 days to return, would be 29 days, but that would be upped to 30 days as being Amazon’s minimum. If asking day 20, then 14 days from there to return, making by day 34, etc, up to asking on day 30, and adding 14 days, so can be returned up to 44 days from date received. All, plus the time to get to the Buyer and back from the Buyer to you.
If the item is over the legal 14 days requested, then as the return is part of the Amazon voluntary returns policy, Amazon expect the item to look in the condition it was shipped, and if not you can deduct a fee. Amazon expect that fee to be around 20% unless severely damaged and even then they do not expect more than 50% deducted (we have had to agree to that even when the item was totally damaged and the Buyer did not want to claim for transit damage, or they had not packaged correctly etc and the item has had to be disposed of).
Hope that helps, but start building into your margins to cover a % of returns and you having to cover any of those costs involved, including disposing of items and giving the Buyer 50% back still.
Most Sellers surely get some returns on a daily basis, for various reasons, it is part of Selling online.
It is annoying from a Buyers standpoint when not just accepted back and then they may not buy from others. Just accept back, you have to by law and under Amazon terms.
Politely point out that you refund the item price in full as long as it is as new, but return courier/post is at the Buyers cost. If over 14 days of receipt, then again point out that the shipping cost is not refunded. You may also inform if not as new a fee applies of up to 50% as Amazon terms, but don’t assume that they have damaged the item, or just read the book etc, as that annoys genuine Buyers and you get a bad feedback. But, if they know not as new, then they may not return, although most still chance it and give bad feedback of course, which is the unfair and very frustrating part that Amazon allow!
