QUESTION: I’m a new bookseller and wondering how to handle cases where the customer claims nonreceipt. For example, I have a customer who says the package arrived open without the book inside. I can’t see how you can give refunds in all cases and stay profitable.
ANSWER: You’ll have to accept a certain amount of mishaps as a cost of doing business. Providing cheerful refunds is just part of the game. I cover most of the Postal Service screwups out of my own pocket. And you might want to consider doing the same in this case, just to protect your new feedback record.
Whether you’re at fault isn’t the issue now, it’s about staying alive to fight another day. If your feedback slides too much, you’ll never be able to compete effectively. And it’s a good idea to give customers the benefit of the doubt, unless there’s a strong reason not to.
Having said that, I distinctly remember when I was a new seller with no track record, and getting lots of dubious demands for refunds. I’d also get regular inquiries from buyers asking if I’d sell the book outside Amazon at a lower price using PayPal. No doubt, a certain number of people try to take advantage of new sellers.
After you get a longer feedback trail, you’ll see a decrease in the weird contacts from customers. I’ve also gotten into the habit of referring customers to Amazon’s A to Z Guarantee in cases where I’m certain I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain.
You don’t have to have a huge confrontation with the customer in referring them to A to Z, if you phrase it this way:
“Let me assist you in getting a refund. Here’s a link to their claim form: https://www.amazon.com/gp/a-z-guarantee/submit-claim.htmlThe form will ask you for your order number, which is XXX.”
Don’t send the customer to A to Z unless you have a tracking number for the package, or the customer’s claim will be approved. Amazon will deduct the funds from your payments account, and you might get negative feedback too.
Whenever I suspect a customer of trying to pull a fast one — which isn’t very often — I refer them to A to Z using the language above. Ninety percent of the time nothing ever comes of it. My hunch is that most people trying to take advantage of a seller think twice about filing a false A to Z report — after they read the language on the form stating it’s against the law to file a false report.
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4 Comments
I had to ship a book to a prison of all places. It was refused and sent back to me. I refunded the buyer the same day, explaining the package was refused. I didn’t wait for him to ask me for a refund. I ate the cost of the mailer and postage. I am still fairly new, and have under 20 feedback (all positive). I know the cost of even one negative feedback could cost me future business. I should definitely start soliciting positive feedback from my customers.
Jim, I have shipped many books to prisons. You need to make sure the return address is from what sounds like a business – so make yours into a business name or put Amazon.com Marketplace as your name on the return address. Don’t overwrap the book so it’s clear that what is inside the package IS a book. And some people recommend checking on the web for the institution you’re shipping to in order to find out what postal regulations exist that you can adhere to. I’ve never had a return from a prison. I ship in clear poly bags and use a professional bar coded label.
:> earthmom
I think generous offers on returns and giving the customer the benefit of the doubt is the right the to do. Recently, within the past few days, however, I received a very mysterious complaint and demand for refund. I investigated and learned that it was unfounded and outlined this to the customer but offered the refund if he/she wanted to return the item. The customer does not want to return the item but continues to complain that it is unacceptable. Is there any way to satisfy this customer and avoid a loss either in profit or feedback.
Hi,
Based on the length of time I’ve been selling on Amazon, I’m relatively a new seller. I have approximately 127 feedbacks with a 92% rating. Recently, I had a person who purchased an item from me for $120.00, used it for two weeks, then claimed it was used and broken. He was not a resident of the United States, which I didn’t open it up to International, and had the item shipped to a friend in the US (fraud). I was never contacted by the buyer and they immediately filed a claim with A to Z. Of course, I responded within the allotted time, and told them based on the tracking information that the item was received within the appropriate Amazon time period and he kept it in his possession for more than two weeks, but a refund was still given.
I don’t have a problem with the refund, my issue is that Amazon is suppose to act as a liaison and if in fact the seller and buyer cannot come to a mutual agreement then they step in. However, the policies and procedures do not provide the seller with a method of receiving the merchandise back. I’ve done a little research and have found that other bookselling sites provides some type of best practices to ensure that all parties and satisfied with the outcome. The merchandise is shipped to them directly and a refund is given upon receipt and the item is shipped back to the seller.
I’ve written several letters to Amazon to try and retrieve my merchandise, they tell me to contact the seller. He lives in Venezuela and says he’s going to send my camera back, but as of yet I have not received it. Please let me know if there is another avenue for me to take to try and settle this without writing to the President of the company to ascertain how they are going to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.
In fact, he received his money back and still left me a negative feedback. Thus far, I have received 4 negative feedbacks, which three due to the time it takes for delivery due to “Media Mail.” I think if Amazon placed as much credence to buyers receiving feedbacks they wouldn’t be so quick to leave negative feedbacks.