We are interested in allowing some returns outside the normal 30 day window on a case by case scenario, but done by setting up the return requests officially through Amazon. We are FBM and prime. However, after the normal 30 day return window, our customers orders no longer have the option to easily request a return (which we can then approve or deny on a case by case basis).
Our reason for wanting the ability to set up out of policy amazon returns this is that for returns outside the 30 day window, depending on the case, we want to allow the return and charge up to a 20% restocking fee for the late return. We are in a high return, giftable category and many customers want to return outside the window.
We often allow these out of policy returns, but only by providing a return label ourselves. Then we can not withhold the 20$ restocking fee (that we are aware of) because we can only do so through an official Amazon return request. This fee would allow us to accept more of these returns, hopefully creating a happier customer.
For these late returns, we just send the customer a return label ourselves and attempt to refund them on our own. Doing this, the only option for partial refund is to refund up to 50% of the order, but realistically we are looking to refund 80% of the order and do not see an option for this except when the return is done through Amazon.
Does anyone know of a way to create a customer return, or allow a customer the option to request a return outside the return window? Or, even better, to refund 80% of the customer order, holding onto the 20% restocking fee?
I haven’t had to do one in a long while … but I you sure it’s not allowing you to withhold up to 50%?? Because that’s how I’ve always understood it.
We can withhold up to 50% when there is a return request and we are refunding through that, but when initiating a refund from the order management screen there is only a partial refund up to 50
Have you tried an 80% refund on this screen? While it’s worded weirdly, this sentence is supposed to mean that you can withhold up to 50% of the cost. Whether it actually works that way for you is another question…
I issued a partial refund of less than 50% as recently as last week from this screen, and it worked fine.
ETA: I just went and looked, the refund was about 9% of the original cost.
i can issue the desired 20% refund on the returns refund management screen shown in our second photo, but not on the order management refund screen shown in the photo above that one.
On the order management screen, i get a warning that we can not refund the customer in the amount we want to. see attached.
We can always perform the desired partial refund if there is an open return, but the problem we face is that after 30 days, the customers can not open a return (even if we would approve it).
We found out that if we use the order adjustment file we can refund as needed. I really hoped this wouldn’t be the answer, this file is awful and touchy, but at least it worked.
You do not need to use a feed to issue a refund with a restocking fee of 20%.
I am not sure how you are navigating to the refund screen on the order where you do not have the option of issuing a restocking fee. I opened an order from late July that did not have a return request at random from Manage Orders > Shipped Orders, then clicked Refund Order. The refund screen that came up was the one that allowed for restocking fees.
I haven’t tried it in a while but I remember when Amazon first instituted the new refund page that it didn’t always look the same, depending on how you got there.
