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Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

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Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#91

Post by settsu »

sxates wrote: post #60

Anecdotal experience buying on Amazon recently: Bought a new induction cooking pan. A nice one at $90. Didn't really pay much attention to who was selling it, just bought it like I do everything else from Amazon. It took about two weeks to arrive because it was from an independent seller, and was not 'Prime eligible'. When it arrived, I took it out of the box and was immediately disappointed. It was really heavy, and…

I understand the disappointment and frustration here, but choosing to be out $90 for something that will never be used—vs. recouping some money and having the offending item gone—seems like a questionable decision.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#92

Post by hak8or »

jorvi wrote: post #85
cfn wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be that as it may, I had a similar experience with an independent seller at Amazon UK. I bought a pan that arrived with a small defect and they told me I would have to pay the postage back (25 Euros on a £30 or £40 pan - I was buying from abroad). I also ended up keeping the pan and now avoid independent sellers as much as possible.

Why not do a chargeback on your creditcard (or raise a PayPal claim)? The law is very clear, if an item is faulty or not as described the seller is on the hook for all costs. This includes return shipping and/or sending you a replacement. A lot of sellers will try to strong-arm you but if you just do the chargeback/claim they have no option but to eat the loss. Creditcard companies and PayPal thankfully nearly always…

In Europe, for some sad reason credit cards are very rarely used and many stores don't accept them. Not to mention, if you do a charge back against a store like Walmart or Amazon, you won't be able to shop there anymore because they will ban you.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#93

Post by gt565k »

fenwick67 wrote: post #6

> Additionally, Amazon said that it's introducing "returnless refunds," a feature that the company said is "highly requested by sellers." The change enables sellers to offer a refund without taking back an item that may be expensive to ship and hard to resell. Wow, I can literally just say "I don't like it", and there's a chance they'll literally just give me my money back, but let me keep it?

I recently had this experience. I ordered a pack 5 toyota oil filters for my vehicle. When the box arrived, I was shocked that where was only 1 filter in it.

I contacted amazon customer service and, at first they wanted me to ship the one filter back, so I would receive a full refund. I told them that I'd like the other 4 shipped to me, and that I need to keep the 1 filter as I was planning on doing an oil change that day. BTW, 1 filter costs like $5, so the cost of shipping it back would have outweighed the benefit.

They refunded me and told me I don't have to return the filter.

There are a number of items whose quantity is listed in the title/description rather than the item quantity when you add it to your cart. I think this causes confusion at their warehouses, and the pickers/packers are messing up. I had the same issue happen with a set of 2 pillows, only 1 arrived in the box... amazon shipped me 2 more free of charge.

Their customer service has been spot on. Considering I spend probably a few grand a year buying stuff from amazon, I'd expect no less from their customer service.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#94

Post by Sleeep »

mikepurvis wrote: post #58
koolba wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of the item vs shipping cost matters too. I've had it done a bunch of times for less than $10 items.

I had it happen for a MacBook charger I bought on Amazon which turned out to be an obvious counterfeit.

I was under the impression that since it's illegal to knowingly send counterfeit goods through the postal service[1] they can't accept returns of counterfeit goods.[2]

[1] I don't know about FedEx or UPS but probably against their TOS.

[2] This is also eBay's policy as well - http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.htm...

>If a buyer suspects that an item is counterfeit, and there are strong indicators that the item is counterfeit, we don't require the buyer to return the item to the seller. The buyer agrees to cooperate with us to ensure the proper disposal of the item. In such instances, we refund the buyer for the full cost of the item and original shipping, and the seller reimburses us for the refund. The buyer may not sell the item on eBay or elsewhere.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#95

Post by wolco »

zapt02 wrote: post #41
mattnewton wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's a fair viewpoint, it's not realistic for most businesses to create international commerce powerhouses to sell their bespoke goods. Complaining is the only realistic leverage they have in this game. When you get as big as Amazon it's reasonable to expect some concessions to the people who use your platform, just like if you get as big as GM your workers will want to unionize.

The biggest leverage they have is threatening to leave the platform, which they should do.

If they grouped together it could be more effective. Leaving would be a stronger message.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#96

Post by rbritton »

Sleeep wrote: post #89
nonamechicken wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, recently I received a different color item than what I ordered. Since I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning, I asked them to refund the price difference. They refused to do that and asked me to return. The refund would have been cheaper than returning and shipping a new one.

The two colors were different prices?

I have commonly seen this among products where there is a color choice. Here's a specific example: https://www.amazon.com/Walkers-Game-Ear-Razor-Electronic/dp/...

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#97

Post by msq »

cfn wrote: post #73
richthegeek wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I really am amazed how few consumer protections you seem to have! In the UK we're protected on two levels: firstly the "Distance Selling Regulation" means we have the right to cancel many contracts/purchases made not-in-person within 14 days of delivery. And secondly, if a good is faulty, not as described, or unfit for purpose then we have a right to a refund under those terms also. Probably because of these alr…

Be that as it may, I had a similar experience with an independent seller at Amazon UK. I bought a pan that arrived with a small defect and they told me I would have to pay the postage back (25 Euros on a £30 or £40 pan - I was buying from abroad). I also ended up keeping the pan and now avoid independent sellers as much as possible.

Always talk to Amazon customer support if the independent seller is making a fuss about warranty or return.

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#98

Post by losteverything »

Sleeep wrote: post #89
nonamechicken wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, recently I received a different color item than what I ordered. Since I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning, I asked them to refund the price difference. They refused to do that and asked me to return. The refund would have been cheaper than returning and shipping a new one.

The two colors were different prices?

Very common

Search ps4 dual shock controller on walmart.com.

Beats headphones

Apparel.

Etc

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#99

Post by neo4sure »

settsu wrote: post #91
sxates wrote: post #60

Anecdotal experience buying on Amazon recently: Bought a new induction cooking pan. A nice one at $90. Didn't really pay much attention to who was selling it, just bought it like I do everything else from Amazon. It took about two weeks to arrive because it was from an independent seller, and was not 'Prime eligible'. When it arrived, I took it out of the box and was immediately disappointed. It was really heavy, and…

I understand the disappointment and frustration here, but choosing to be out $90 for something that will never be used—vs. recouping some money and having the offending item gone—seems like a questionable decision.

Please read carefully, it will never be used because it was not as advertised"

Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say

#100

Post by settsu »

komali2 wrote: post #45
currymj wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's a good thing in the short term, but it also feels like an exercise of monopoly power by Amazon, which is going to be bad for consumers in the long run. can a business afford not to be listed on Amazon? in the long term, does Amazon have any interest in listing third parties? at some point I think the answer to both of these questions will be no, and then I'd expect the good customer experience to erode pretty qu…

I would expect that if Amazon stopped listing third party stuff, other sites would pick up the slack there, perhaps sites like Etsy?

Ebay.
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