Do I have to refund the shipping that the customer paid? They paid about $38.54USD shipping. My actual cost for shipping was about $36.00
I purchased the label from ShipStation using GlobalPost so that we could include the flat rate duty pre-payment instead of getting back-charged by DHL.
I thought about just re-shipping the order on my dime, but there’s no mechanism for that in Amazon.
No you don’t as long as it was shipped to the address provided to you by Amazon
I am under the impression it partially depends what the Subject of the buyer message was titled/worded about the order.
Or, are you proactively investigating the delivery before any buyer communication?
Edit:I probably should have waited until the morning to reply.
Buyer sent a “Where’s My Stuff” message (see below). The item was returned to me, but USPS never scans returns as delivered back to me, so to the customer it appears to still be out there somewhere in the postal ether.
Their inquiry to me:
Good day. On March 4th an attempt to deliver was made. Not sure why it was not left to pick up at post office if they couldn’t deliver. Then shipped to California, which makes no sense to me. Looks to be back on its way up to Canada again. If I don’t get it this week, I will cancel order and reorder plate. Does that sound reasonable to you?
Yeah I would refund minus shipping paid
Item already returned to you is good. At least you know where the package is located. Thank you. I see your mention about a tracking glitch.
I will give a better reply in the morning.
Unfortunately, you cannot charge the buyer any additional shipping.
Is your goal to defend the order, or would you be open to absorbing the second additional shipping charges?
I’d prefer to not refund the shipping charge they paid. If I’m allowed to do that.
I started working on my reply today but I am a little overloaded with daily tasks and could not finish my reply. This reply is a work in progress, but I hope others can help find policy info and provide a answer. (my next update may be on Monday)
It is a little tricky without having the Buy Shipping Protections with the Claims Protected Badge.
Since you are in the USA and shipping to Canada with DHL, I do not think your order has the Claims Protected Badge. If it does, please let me know and I will have a different reply.
If you want to have the buyer agree in Amazon Buyer Messages to a replacement order, then let me know and I will have a different reply. This is usually a decent compromise between seller and buyer and rarely has an AtoZ afterwards but possibly may and would be defend-able.
The Return Reason codes for Prepaid Returns [link] does state the seller is responsible for the return shipping costs, but does not mention anything about the original shipping charged. It mentions “I haven’t received this item yet = Seller fault”.
It stinks that the buyer paid money and did not receive anything, possibly not their fault.
It stinks that the seller paid shipping fees and received the package back, not their fault.
I will add more but ran out of free time.
My next part is about how Amazon does not indicate exactly what you are required to refund, but the buyer can file an AtoZ claim if not satisfied.
A chargeback or an AtoZ claim without a delivery scan and without Claims Protected if very difficult to win.
Below is just some notes for me to remember.
Reasons for Undeliverable Packages
An undeliverable status occurs for various reasons including, but not limited:
Undeliverable Orders Shipped and Sold by Sellers
If your order is shipped and sold by a third-party seller, contact the seller directly for assistance.
If you’re not satisfied with the seller solution or you don’t hear back from them within two business days, you may be eligible for a refund through Amazon’s A-to-z Guarantee.
For more information about third-party sellers, visit Ordering from a Third-Party Seller.