I wasn’t sure if this question needs to be a new topic, but it’s sort of similar to the existing post.
On FBM returns:
Your return mailing label
I would like Amazon to provide an unpaid shipping label
What exactly does this mean? How do you have a shipping label with no postage? Is it just my address in a text box?
Postage is due when you ship it, so you have to take it to a post office and pay. Otherwise it doesn’t get shipped.
Please clarify “you”. When the customer ships it to me, or when I receive it?
When the person shipping it wants it shipped, they need to pay for it.
It is basically your address in a box. Just insures it is getting returned to the correct address. Avoids it getting shipped to someone else. Now whether the buyer prints it out or not…
It should also have the correct shipping cost associated with it, as well as weight and dimensions. All that should be missing is the movement of money.
Thanks, that’s what I thought. It’s just that we’ve had several posts on SAS about customers shipping back in in a too large box, or using the wrong service.
I just got 2 return requests with bogus reasons. I’ll accept returns and refund the original price, but I don’t want to pay return postage for liars.
When a buyer sends something back in a huge box or sends back something heavier than expected, the return will cost more, regardless of who pays for the label. For prepaid labels, that means the extra cost gets passed along to sellers along with the normal cost of the label. For non prepaid labels, that means the buyer will have to spend more at the Post Office to unload the return. Either way, the post office will just charge up for the huge box, not reject the shipment as not being covered by the purchase of the label, at least unless the difference is considered egregious. These kinds of labels only get returned to sender if the USPS can’t upcharge the sender, and the recipient won’t pay the postage due to get the package released.
Practically speaking, for your purpose the issue is how to deal with return requests. If your items are handmade or customized, or in a category with other than default return rules, I can’t help, that’s all outside my experience.
If Amazon gives the option of an unpaid label I guess there is nothing wrong with taking it, but you might hear about it from the buyer. Negative feedback is a possibility, and AtoZ claims over the return shipping charges are not unheard of. Not saying either is likely, but it happens. Amazon would of course prefer that you pay for the shipping and file a SAFE-T claim for reimbursement after, but that’s a whole thing and it’s not hard to see why you would want to avoid that.
Neither of these items are customized, so they’re eligible for returns. SAFE-T claims were not offered for Handmade in the past, but I don’t know if that changed since Handmade was Borg’d into the larger Amazon area.
I understand that Amazon’s list of reasons may not include the customer’s actual reason.
If a customer is honest, “Nice earrings, but they don’t match my dress,” I’ll pay for return shipping. However, if they flat-out lie in an attempt to get free return postage, I approve the return with a message to read their Amazon account email — where I address their complaints, and include a wall of text with the actual truth, and possibly a few screen shots. I never say “you lied” or “wrong” or anything that could be construed as negative. Just the facts.
If they file an A-to-Z about my lack of postage, this email might help in my defense. Maybe.
As far as I know, SAFE-T claims are not available yet to handmade seller returns. You actually get to review those and go from there.
I was going to point out that at least you get the OPTION of sending a non-prepaid but correctly formatted label because you are handmade. And you get to decide so much more
The rest is automated and the balance is that the SAFE-T process is available particularly for those who lie.
Day one of real hands on training for my Son-In-Law…and he chuckles when I tell him to go ahead and get mad at the customers, cuss them out here at the office/home, and then let it roll. By the time we get the item back, it’s usually sold again. Customers lie, period. But since they are on-line customers, you don’t have to smile and keep a poker face. You just have to watch your fingers on the keyboard.
We get to work through three returns together tomorrow. Four platforms, four policies, four bosses…roll with it because at the end of the day, we do have net income.
This is golden advice. Hope the lesson in returns went well today!
He was chuckling at his mother in law a lot today. It’s dealing with customers that he doesn’t like. Coming from the restaurant industry, I get that. But I keep telling him that overall my customers LOVE me. They are kind and grateful. He got to see some of that when I had an open house about a month ago. This fall I’m taking him with me to my largest craft show and by the end, he’ll be tired, but he won’t be mad at people because they are truly nice.
We also processed two returns today and he sees where I’m coming from when they say item defective – and there’s nothing wrong with it. Then in the comments they say too small and he’s already picked up on it and chuckles.
Little by little each day we’ll do more … so I can step back and sew.