UNREALISTIC RETURNS FROM THE CUSTOMERS AGAINT POLICIES
Dear EXPERIENCED SELLERS,
I would like to understand the return structure for people who specially work in the apparel line of business like shirts, jackets and etc? i am facing huge problems because customers are not understanding the size charts properly or just randomly ordering which results in the tight or being loose issues which leads to loss of sales, customer frustration and many more for us.
We sell on other platforms as well since we dont face so many returns like we do on Amazon. Do you guys think the buyers take an advantage to use and return the products.
i Have seen cases on our returns that the customers orders tears the packaging, the tags and everything and remove some accessories from our jackets and return them since the policy which is in the US that the returns should be done with intact packaging and labels. Who is responsible for such kind of losses? Amazon doesnt wanna own it and the customer doesnt want to own it?
Please give a clear answer to how to deal with such situations?
UNREALISTIC RETURNS FROM THE CUSTOMERS AGAINT POLICIES
Dear EXPERIENCED SELLERS,
I would like to understand the return structure for people who specially work in the apparel line of business like shirts, jackets and etc? i am facing huge problems because customers are not understanding the size charts properly or just randomly ordering which results in the tight or being loose issues which leads to loss of sales, customer frustration and many more for us.
We sell on other platforms as well since we dont face so many returns like we do on Amazon. Do you guys think the buyers take an advantage to use and return the products.
i Have seen cases on our returns that the customers orders tears the packaging, the tags and everything and remove some accessories from our jackets and return them since the policy which is in the US that the returns should be done with intact packaging and labels. Who is responsible for such kind of losses? Amazon doesnt wanna own it and the customer doesnt want to own it?
Please give a clear answer to how to deal with such situations?
29 replies
Seller_AXC06kcsKI1qG
All sellers feel this way, not just clothing sellers.
You are. Amazon has a high clothing return rate.
Amazon is also teaching buyers to Try before you buy see here: https://www.amazon.com/tbyb/huc?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=topnav_storetab_tbyb_l0
So you need to adjust your prices to cover a percentage of loss that will occur when selling items on Amazon.
Quincy_Amazon
Hello @Seller_gxBmifTaa8QEl
Thank you for posting your inquiry to the Forums.
If you receive a return in a used, damaged, or materially different condition, you may charge the buyer a restocking fee. This help page provides guidelines for charging restocking fees.
If Amazon provided a prepaid return label to the customer and issued a refund at first scan, and you receive a damaged or materially different return due to customer fault, you can file a SAFE-T claim on Seller Central within 60 days of a refund charge to your account.
I have included some help pages below on returns for your reference:
Seller Fulfilled Prime refund reimbursement policy
Issue refunds and concessions for seller-fulfilled orders
Please feel free to update this thread if you need additional assistance.
Regards,
Quincy_Amazon
Seller_OlOqT543ou29r
Welcome to Amazon. Buyers have been conditioned by the selling platforms that they have no responsibility whatsoever.
They usually just mark things as "Inaccurate Website Description"
Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d
I am not in apparel but what the biggest problem in the industry is that there is no standardization of sizing. Even worse, some companies will deliberately make their sizes a "little larger" to feed into peoples egos... "look Margaret, I can fit into a size 12 now!" type mentality.
Seller_wbSO7byCuT7Du
We just had a return for the same issue. We put the specific manufacturer size chart in all of our listings but the buyer ignored it and left us a 1-star review and got a return stating that the item was too small. How do we get a negative return for an item that is marked and described exactly correct but the person doesn't understand their own size? First negative review we have had in 5-years.
Seller_xdoDMKpHXJQEc
I am an apparel seller and feel your pain.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Amazon's high commission rate in apparel (I believe) should be lowered a bit to help support Amazon's expectation that apparel merchants bite a very large bullet with every sale. High commissions, high returns etc no fair to apparel merchants and elevates apparel prices unnecessarily on the platform.
2. Amazon is not supportive of merchants attempting to update, correct, or refine sizing. The listing tools for apparel are terrible and not customer friendly AT ALL. It's not just about size charts or reviews. Merchants should be able to provide additional size guidance right in the drop down size selection box. For example instead of "size small" allow us to say "Small - 40-55 lbs" . Much of the apparel catalog is a mess and as merchants we have to "fight" to get anything added to a listing to help customers understand.
3. Since RFS, Amazon is giving customers back money on return labels, outbound shipping, DESPITE the condition of the garment, DESPITE reason codes, customer faulted returns etc. This has taught the customer that if they choose to , they can buy , use and return almost anything for free. I believe it is an unfair business practice to have a policy, not follow it (to the severe detriment of merchants) and make the merchants fight for every penny that should not have been taken from them in the FIRST place. On top of all of those bad returns, we now have to PAY someone to spend hours filing claims - yet another expense. I would like to know why RFS assumes merchant fault - EVERY when the reason code input by the customer is Customer Fault!!
4. I believe Amazon's policies have hurt the apparel business on Amazon tremendously. Customers often pay no attention to size charts, or anything else because they know they can just buy and return for free.
Unfortunately, unfair business practices that hurt third party merchants are the norm these days. We FBM almost all of our apparel now to give us at least some measure of control - but it is still horrendous.
Seller_4mVhfAJSPj93Z
We've been selling on Amazon since 2011 and started selling women's apparel in 2014. Until 2021, we didn't deal with a lot of abusive buyers.
But over the past 2 years, the number of abusive buyers we've had to deal with on Amazon has increased exponentially. They tear the tags off the item, wear the item (but not before spraying plenty of perfume on it or smearing makeup all over it so that it's completely unsellable), intentionally rip seams and break straps, steal belts and buttons (yep, buttons!), or return old stained sweaty tee shirts they grab out of their laundry hamper in lieu of the actual brand new item that we sold them.
We sell largely using FBA. It's pretty clear that Amazon employees don't even bother to inspect returns to determine if the item matches the photos on the detail page. They don't even look at the brand tag to determine if it's even the same brand of clothing shown on the page.
Of 4 items recently returned to us from fulfillment centers, ALL FOUR OF THEM have either had their tags removed or the buyer returned a used piece of clothing instead of the new item they received. Sometimes Amazon will reimburse you for the fraudulent return, sometimes not. Apparently, it depends on the day of the week, the agent who pretends to read your case, or the phase of the moon on the day you open the case. In other words, it's completely random and arbitrary whether Amazon will reimburse you for your losses. They no longer even make a pretense of caring about sellers, particularly small ones like us.
Between all the fraudulent returns, the high fees and thin margins, the lost inventory, the search suppressed listings, the hundreds of cases we've opened over the years that still remain unresolved, it's just not worth the hassle of selling on Amazon anymore. We're slowly migrating back to eBay and other platforms that are not the clownshow that Amazon has become.
So the short answer to your question is: Yes, Amazon buyers take advantage of sellers because Amazon shows little interest in stopping them. We're pretty sure that many buyers gleefully ruin and return apparel because they think that they're sticking it to Amazon. Not realizing that Amazon didn't sell them the item -- a small third-party seller did.
Seller_hMiqBPiu39yiP
By Providing images of the damage along with images of the packaging plus images of the outer package with tracking info etc, Amazon will apply up to 20 % restocking fee to the customer
Seller_aUbEyzlSSnsDJ
You are selling on amazon you bite the bullet while amazon collects the FEEEES.
Amazon want to delight the customer, seller just get in the way. We do not sell apparel and wish amazon would do more to help out sellers.
Seller_T2QM2RkQKZ2bn
Certainly, we share the sentiment. Amazon has fostered a return culture, resulting in a generation of customers who make purchases casually and then return items, often citing inaccuracies in the website descriptions. Incorporating this into the product cost would render our prices uncompetitive. It can be incredibly frustrating.
