Amazon has no qualms about fucking over their customers and closing accounts for unspecified policy violations of non-existent policy. Now they're fucking over their vendors too. Maybe they actually have written policy this time? Anyway, everyone can now get fucked over by Amazon, vendor or customer. In the end everyone stands to lose while only Amazon stands to gain.
Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
101–110 of 196 posts
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#102Earlier 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…
> Why not do a chargeback
Do you really think "I bought something sight unseen and now I don't like it, waah" gets you special snowflake protection? There is no hint that the item is faulty or not as described.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#103> 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 got a pair of headphones from an Amazon seller, that stopped working after a week. The seller said they'd send me a new pair after I download a PDF from their website, that had a stencil of wired headphones cut in 3 parts, cut my own headphones into 3 parts and align them on the stencil, take a photo of that thing with my name attached, and send them the jpg. Not kidding.
The good news: I still have the replacement pair a year down the line, and they work well.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#104Anecdotal 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…
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…
Wow, only 30 days? That's very very low. REI and other stores here in the US offer up to a year no questions asked return policy.
I didn't realize how great that was compared to the UK!
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
In day-to-day shopping creditcards are very rarely used, but I'm pretty confident that for internet purchases creditcards aren't that rare.
And as far as being banned goes: of course you first raise the issue with Amazon. Amazon says its an independent seller, go deal with them. You try to work it out with the seller, he doesn't budge, you show him the law. Still doesn't budge, you raise it with Amazon again. If Amazon doesn't budge, tell them that you are lawfully entitled and will do a chargeback, and that they can deal with the independent seller acting illegally (and if they're smart they just chargeback the seller). If they would still ban you then, that will be one hell of a juicy court case.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#106Are that many people returning items for any reason other than the item not being as advertised in some way? If I don't get the item in the state that it was advertised in, I'm already getting a refund one way or another: either through the seller or by doing a charge back on my credit card if the seller drags their feet for more than a few weeks or is giving me BS. And I just flat out won't buy from a seller that won't shoulder the responsibility if the item is damaged or defective.
I suppose some people might return an item because they changed their mind or misjudged what they needed, but I online shop a lot and I've literally never demanded a refund for something like that. Surely it can't be that bad...
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#107> 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?
How many times can you do that before someone flags your account up for review of some sort?
I went through a period where I was building out an A/V studio where I was returning stuff sometimes twice a week. Never heard a complaint, but I got nervous so I actually reached out to their customer service--"hey, I'm building out this studio, I'm getting a lot of stuff that doesn't fit my needs/doesn't fit what the box says, I don't want to get flagged", the rep put a note in my file, never heard a peep.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#108It is outrageous, but it's not new. About 2 years ago I sold an item through the marketplace, shipped through Amazon, and at +30 days the buyer requested to return (my return policy stated no returns after 30 days). I ignored him, and then he filed a "Did not receive item" complaint with Amazon. They refunded him $250 and billed me $250. I fought it, using email, multiple phone calls (a trial in and of itself), showi…
I'm curious why you ignored the return request. Was the nature of the product one that made you suspicious of fraud?
It was after 30 days, and my refund policy was "no returns after 30 days". I probably should have sent a message back, but I was a little lazy. While I may have made a customer service error, I don't think I was actually breaking the law, or any part of the customer agreement by doing this.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#109Earlier 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…
Wow, only 30 days? That's very very low. REI and other stores here in the US offer up to a year no questions asked return policy. I didn't realize how great that was compared to the UK!
> Wow, only 30 days? That's very very low. REI and other stores here in the US offer up to a year no questions asked return policy.
30 minimum required by law. Not maximum.
Re: Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
#110Anecdotal 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…
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…
Those "protections" come right back at you in your CoL.
I'd rather purchase stuff without being able to return it than pay a price that includes my statistical risk of returning things.