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Return shipping costs
I know this has been tossed around on the forums but I need to say my peace with the customer auto authorized return shipping costs. We offer free shipping for all purchases on Amazon which cost us up to $5 domestically. Our items weigh less than .05 oz and are packed in 5x3x1 bags. The cost of auto authorized returns used to be around $7 which was super high for our items size/weight but we dealt with it but now its doubled. This is not fair business practices- not that Amazon is ever fair- but seriously how do they expect us to afford this cost? WE want our customers to be able to return items if something is wrong but the FACT that sellers are now dealing with these insane extra costs is wrong. We cannot afford this. What are sellers supposed to do? And furthermore many customers return items that are not eligible for a refund but yet they return them anyway- so then we are dealing with this ridiculous overage return cost and the fact that the item returned is used/worn/disgusting. Forget getting any assistance with this issue too- no one knows anything.
Sellers are cornered- needing this platform to sell our items but yet getting robbed with the return shipping costs. Where do we go from here?
24 replies
SEAmod
Hi @Seller_Hnlu6g4gouSmp
Thank you for posting your honest critique of selling on Amazon. I am sure there are others out there who feel the way you do. I don't have any fixes for you, but I feel for you.
Susan
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX
Hopefully, you are selling FBM, because FBA sellers paid Amazon to handle everything for them.
First, offering free shipping is a mistake. It does not allow you to collect any reimbursement on most returns. Thak your shipping cost out of the product price and display it separately. Amazon displays the offering price from lowest to highest, combining the product cost and shipping cost added together.
Second, when filing a return Safe-T claim you ask for the return postage as reimbursement.
Seller_NxQTyL4zOqAYv
This is a problem unique to Amazon. My returns on other venues are negligible to non existent. Here, we have thousands of dollars of returns each year. Our solution, as we do list with free shipping, is that we add up the cost of our losses for each quarter, calculate how many items we average sold in a quarter and we add the cost of the loss to our prices here on Amazon. Unfortunately the honest customers have to pay for the dishonest. Don't know if your pricing will allow this.
Seller_1ZjQmvBmVkYSs
The answer is simple: Amazon is overcharging you for return shipping and pocketing the difference. One more thing to add to their FTC charges if it already isn’t in there.
Seller_13iqqbfByXFOI
Something tells me your margins are too thin. You might need to change your business model if the return postage cost is taking you into the red.
Seller_ceTdeaxmeiBON
I sold a book with a shipping cost of $4.49. The return shipping cost was $13.45. I used USPS Media Mail. They used UPS. We are living in Amazon's Bizarro World.
Seller_Sram36TnVt73c
Amazon uses UPS for all returns. That is why the costs are higher.
Seller_J4xdAQedDDg8G
I do experience this on occasion but not normal. We ship a vast variety of products with different weights and dimensions. We include shipping cost in our selling price because my experience is that buyers don't like seeing a separate shipping cost. I just wish that Amazon would charge us their discounted return rate. But, instead, they charge us the full rate and pocket the difference. They make money coming and going!
Seller_Cg2vqroNBCOrt
Raise your price or charge for shipping. It's the only way in the Amazon world.
Seller_RClwXXLQjUdPk
The mistake you are making is believing that you need Amazon to sell your product. There are other platforms. Diversify where you sell products and move to selling on platforms that you can be profitable on, uphold their policies to protect sellers from fraud and treat you like a partner rather than a disposable ATM.
In the meantime, raise your pricing to cover your average monthly return/refund costs. If that prices you out of the market, then move onto selling something that is profitable. Amazon could care less about your profitability or whether you stay in business or not. They have not realized it yet, but sellers are not a limitless resource.
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