The package is being returned. The buyer is asking where it is. Should I refund now or wait until the package is in my hands?
We have a email template that goes something like.
Dear Customer,
Tracking shows the order is coming back to us due to an incorrect address.
Once we receive the package back we will issue a full refund.
Please update the shipping address associated with your Amazon account before reordering.
We have another where we switch out line 2 with:
You have been refunded.
Depends on the price of the item for us on which one we will use.
We probably use the âYou have been refundedâ 95% of the time because they will win an a-to-z anyway but with he undeliverable part of the tracking, Amazon usually does not let is effect your metrics.
Use what @Sundance has noted for one simple reason.
I had one wise guy who got refunded by Amazon after failing to sign for a package. As it was coming back to me they actually got the PO to intercept it and return it to them. And they picked it up then without a signature and I was out the $80 on the order.
Scammers scam and schemers scheme. Your buyer may be innocent victims of a bad address OR it could have been intentional.
I was unaware the recipient could intercept a package. Usually only the shipper is able to do that.
Yeah, thatâs what I thought too. At the time I suspected they might have some âinsideâ help at their PO but who knows.
Apparently USPS allows the recipient to do it
Costs $17 + priority mail postage.
Iâm surprised they did that, wouldâve been cheaper to just open an A-Z claiming you sent them a brick.
He also had to watch the tracking like a hawk to intercept it at the right time to get it held at the post office near him (because the options are to hold it where it is or return to sender), and spend the time to go there.
Itâs not just a scammer, itâs a dumb scammer.
Hereâs the thing with RTS/undeliverable - it takes the slow boat back to you. Weeks, easily. Depending on the price of the order, and the annoyance of the customer, gambling on refunding once you can see it is really on its way is up to you.
My standard way to handle this would first be to explain that:
Package shipped on MM/DD to address on order 123 ZYX street - ask buyer to confirm, but explain that USPS is returning it to us for whatever reason, as they can see in the tracking.
Then you have to kinda feel what your customer wants. You say they are asking âwhere is it?â - so thatâs different from âi want my money backâ as they may want to reorder, so you get to decide where you take risk here, but Iâd probably respond with the info first and see.
Well, priority mail is a minimum of about what, 8 bucks?
So figure if the refundâs < $25 you can just give it to them, since itâll cost them $25 to intercept it to rip you off.
Please update us when you can @Amazon_Seller
I sent a message telling them the tracking number and that it is being returned. I asked whether they would like a refund or replacement and to let me know. I told them to please check the address listed on Amazon, since I canât just change that on our end (especially with Buy Shipping). They have yet to respond. I wonder if they felt bad about putting in the wrong address.
May I ask if you are aware of how to track whether or not an Amazon-anonymized email address for the Buyer Account which produced your 17-digit Order ID has opted-out of B-SM (âBuyer-Seller Messaging Service,â aka âBuyer-Seller Messengerâ) communications from a 3P Seller?
I didnât think of that. Figured Amazon would ignore the opt-out if the buyer is sending me messages. I mean, they must want a response, right?
I clicked on the buyerâs name to contact them and did not see anything indicating they opted out. Is there a way to do find out?
I found out once that a buyer opted out because Amazon sent me a message that the email could not be delivered because they opted out.
You will sometimes get a bounce back from amazon if they opted out after you sent your reply.
Yes, but they also may well have turned off messages and not remember, but amazon STILL lets them message you with questions. Which is quite stupid of amazon.
Yes ⌠exactly
Yes the customer wants a response and the Amazon system is set to let the email response go thru even if the customer has turned off messages. However, if the customer has an email filter on their end that sends certain Amazon emails directly to the trash, then the email may not get through.
If the customer emails you and you reply and the customer has an email filter on their end sending Amazon emails to the trash, your email reply will still be in the Amazon email system for the customer to view. So if the customer really is looking for a response AND knows where to look on Amazon for buyer/seller emails, the customer will have access to your response email. (Note: the average customer probably has no clue about where the Amazon email section is and Amazon doesnât make it easy for customers to find it either.)
Thatâs a lot of dots to connect in an Amazon world where the dots are rarely on the same page.