Customer says they put the wrong address on the order.
Am I allowed to charge a restocking fee of any kind?
Do I eat all of the shipping / packaging costs?
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So you shipped the item to the address on the order.
- Did you ship on time?
- Did you use Amazon Buy Shipping?
- Does tracking show that the package was delivered?
If you answered yes to all of the above, then the package is covered by Amazon as a INR claim through A to Z and we would tell the customer that the item was shipped and delivered to the address on the order. We would then direct then to file an A to Z claim with Amazon as an INR.
If you answered no to shipping on time and/or you didn’t use Amazon Buy Shipping, then you will need to make the decision.
The item was shipped to the wrong address (not by your fault) and it came back to you?
- Did the package get returned to you as a non-deliverable address?
If the item was returned to you … because it was not your fault, you could charge a restocking fee.
- Did the customer pay for the shipping?
- Was shipping included in the price of the item?
If you got the item back, then we would probably just do some type of restocking fee to cover the hassle and shipping cost as just the restocking fee.
Finally, if the customer is being nice and you got the item back, it is the holiday season and you could take care of the customer by having them reorder with the correct address and then refund them on the first shipment. Yes you would loose the shipping costs but you might make a customer happy and thankful.
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No.
Yes.
Since the buyer never got the item, it is assumed that you got it back in the same condition, so no restocking fee. The item was never delivered so there is no return shipping. If you charge free shipping, your SOL for the outgoing as well. If you charge for shipping you can try to file a SAFE-T claim, I have heard that they sometimes work but I have no experience with this and I am not so hopeful.
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It is not INR if the package is returned to sender. If the buyer opens an AtoZ @Setalpz will lose since he received the item back and did not refund.
Amazon policy prohibits restocking fees for returned items.
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That isn’t entirely true but that gets into the definition of returned … returned by customer or returned by shipper.
We don’t know if it was delivered to the address on the order.
We don’t know if the customer (or the person receiving at address) refused the order upon delivery.
We don’t know if the OP has the item back yet or is waiting.
We don’t know if the item came back damaged (by customer or by shipper).
We don’t know if the package has a return shipping cost (USPS wouldn’t on a return to shipper).
We don’t know what the tracking shows for the package.
We don’t know if the customer asked for a refund.
We do know that, if it was sent to the wrong customer provided address and the customer hasn’t received, then the package is INR to the customer.
Guidelines for charging restocking fees
That is the part that puts the [if / then] into the answer.
Guess bottom line is that we need more info from the OP.
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If the item was returned to the seller, whether it was delivered to the address on the order or a different one is not relevant. The seller got the item back either way, they must refund in full. This is true regardless of what the tracking might show. The seller is holding the item in their hand, and the OP states the item was “refused” so legally and according to Amazon’s policies, a refund must be issued.
For refused delivery, the seller cannot withhold restocking fees for damaged items either. The assumption (all assumptions here are Amazon’s assumptions, not mine) is the items were damaged in transit as the buyer never had possession of the item. If it was damaged by the carrier, that would be an insurance claim or carrier issue, not a restocking fee.
If there is a return shipping fee, there might be room to charge the buyer for it, but I wouldn’t bet on winning that argument with Amazon.
If the buyer wants a replacement shipped instead of a refund, that is a different issue. In this case, I would still refund since the buyer wants the item shipped to a different address than shown on the order, which is an Amazon no-no all on its own. Refund the order, tell the buyer to place a new order with the correct address.
INR is when and only when the item tracking shows it was delivered to the address on the order and the buyer claims that it was not. If the buyer put the wrong address and the item was delivered to the address on the order, INR does not apply, even if the buyer didn’t get it. It was shipped where it was ordered to be shipped.
In this case, the seller has the package. It’s location is not in dispute, everyone knows where it is. If a seller has a package refused and returned to them and the buyer opens an AtoZ, the seller will lose without Amazon asking for information, and they will lose again on appeal. Amazon knows they have the package and they know the buyer is entitled to a refund.
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According to the customer, they entered the wrong address on the order. To my knowledge, USPS attempted to deliver to the address on the label. The tracking shows that the package was “REFUSED”. Item appears unopened. If damaged I can file a USPS claim (haven’t opened it yet).
USPS final tracking shows it was “Notice Left” for me, but they ultimately delivered it to me but did not scan it upon delivery.
The item was returned to me. Customer has asked for a refund.
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Shipping was free to the customer.
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For an item with Free Shipping, when the USPS marks a package “Refused” or “Recipient Moved” and returns the package to us as “Return to Sender”, we issue a full refund upon delivery to us and inspection. After inspecting the item, any damages would be claimed with USPS, if needed.
Side note: Double whammy if UPS or FedEx is used because they charge a return shipping fee when a package is returned to the shipper. USPS does not apply a fee for Return to Sender packages.
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It was returned to us as “refused”. Although USPS tracking doesn’t show it made it all the way back to us.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
No, it shows it was refused, and sent back towards me, but not finally delivered to me.
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Take a picture before opening it.
Take a picture of contents inside shipping box.
Inspect the item to be sure unaltered / undamaged.
Take a picture of item returned next to a the item new.
There is only one way a restocking fee would apply and that is if the item returned was outside the return window. This most likely doesn’t apply because of the holiday extended return.
Shipping doesn’t apply as shipping was included in the price of the item and USPS returned shipping had no cost.
Full refund to customer if the item returned is the correct item.
The lost of the cost of shipping is part of doing business and should be accounted for in your future pricing.
If the item returned was wrong, we would notify the customer that a refund is not due as the item returned was not the item sent.
If the item was sent to the “wrong address” as provided by the customer and the person at that address refused shipment, kudos to that person for being honest. If “wrong address” was used as an excuse by the customer because they changed their mind, you can only chalk that up as part of doing business.
Since you got the item back, take care of the customer. If you had not got the item back and no final deliver scan, then there would be a case to have the customer do the INR. We all know that USPS doesn’t always scan correctly.
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Please update @Setalpz ! FWIW, I would have simply refunded the Buyer (in full* because free shipping) and told them that if they still want the item, to reorder with the correct delivery address because Amazon requires us to ship exactly to the address provided.
“Refused” might simply have been due to the recipient (not your Buyer) putting it back out upon realizing it was not theirs.
*If it was a custom order, then I would direct the Buyer to ordering a replacement through Amazon, without refunding and without charging more for a second delivery attempt.
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I refunded the customer in full. They never received or opened it. Despite my mild frustration, I have no proper recourse to do anything else.
Looking ahead, I’m in process of modifying nearly all of my listings to be customizable products for other reasons. Buyers will not be able to return a custom item, as I’m more than willing to send them a replacement because it costs less to do that than eat a return.
This won’t help me with refused / non-deliverable items, but it improves internal morale 
My non-custom products already have a premium baked into the pricing to account for Amazon’s higher return rate than any other sales channel.
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You can also make your listings returnless refund, if the return is a problem.
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I like the idea of a returnless refund, but I don’t want this to be known to customers before they decide to return a book. UPS rates for book returns are so high that I would rather the customer keep or donate the book.
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