Buyer requested replacement (NEVER received!) Once replacement was sent Amazon refunded the customer in full.
Buyer requested replacement ("NEVER received!") Once replacement was sent Amazon refunded the customer in full.
Despite the photo proof of delivery from an Amazon partner carrier, the customer claimed the item was not received.
As soon as we provided the tracking number for the no-cost replacement, Amazon gave the customer their money back.
We're out (2) higher value items, and handled per the Amazon TOS. We now know that we've been scammed. How do other large sellers handle this type of scam with Amazon, as Amazon handles all of the proceeds of the sale.
7 replies
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
ANYTHING you do with a customer outside of Amazon will bite you in the butt.
If a customer has not received their product and tells you so, you need to respond the Amazon way. That means if you used Amazon shipping and it is covered by policy, you ask them to open an A-Z claim. If it is not, you refund the customer and ask them to repurchase if they still want it. Simply sending a replacement is not honored by Amazon and they will treat the case as if that never happened.
Seller_bISqy3UGgtzho
A seller once shared this response and it works great. In all but one occurrence, I never heard from the buyer again. One the one that did reply, Amazon handled it and I received my money.
Hi, thanks for reaching out! Tracking indicates that the package was delivered at the provided address at <date & time>; of course we cannot independently verify that, relying on the <carrier> reporting of the event. We ship all orders to the shipping address provided in the order.
Since this order was shipped using Amazon's own shipping service, however, you may be eligible to file an A-to-Z claim using the following steps:
How to Request an A-to-z Guarantee Claim:
1. To request a refund on an eligible order using a LAPTOP or DESKTOP device go to Your Orders
2. Locate your order in the list and click Problem with order.
3. Select “Package didn’t arrive” from the list.
4. Select Request refund.
5. Enter your comments in the text box.
6. Select Submit.
To request an A-Z Claim on an eligible order using a MOBILE device or CELL PHONE:
1. Amazon’s mobile app to connect to Customer Support.
2. Report that you “did not receive” your order.
3. Request a refund.
NOTE: Refund requests can take up to one week to investigate. Amazon will notify you of their decision via the email address associated with your account.
Seller_XjolGGpui9INo
This is definitely a hole in Amazon's policy. The Scam Buyers have figured this out. You ship a Buyer a product under one sales order number. The Buyer requests a replacement at zero cost. The 2nd, zero cost order has a different Sales Order Number and now although the orders are directly related, in Amazon's system they are not related. At this point, we usually get a return on the 1st item, which is usually not an item that was purchased from us. The Buyer gets a credit, we lose two items for free and the inbound freight for the item that was not purchased from us.
You file a claim with Amazon and 50-50 you get one credit back, so you are out one item and the freight for the fake item.
Terrible system. Amazon should not allow free replacements. When it happens to us now, we zero out our inventory on the item in question and cancel the second order for zero dollars and take the hit on shipping. Almost 80% of the time, when the Buyer requests a free replacement and has not attempted to return the original order, its an attempted scam.
Seller_PtGpxENzPXvh8
Same thing happened to me. SMH Amazon should flag customers who take advantage.
Seller_R2dP7Hunjcdj0
You are going to want to "Shoot the messenger" here, but this one was entirely on YOU.
You have fallen for a common trick here on Amazon, where a Buyer attempts to intimidate or Con the Seller into giving them either a Replacement or a Refund, simply based on their request.
What you SHOULD have done when the Buyer requested a Replacement for "Never received" is to direct them to file a Claim on Amazon of "Item Not Received", which will result in an A-Z Claim.
Then, IF you purchased postage using "Amazon Buy Shipping" and Shipped "On-Time" as defined by Amazon, then you just sit-back and let the system work, and provide the order details when the claim is filed (if needed).
If you did NOT follow the above procedure, it would be THEN that YOU refund the Buyer before Amazon completes their investigation. At that point, the Claim would be Closed with No Impact on your metrics because you refunded the Buyer.
In either scenario, the Buyer receives a REFUND, NOT a Replacement.
A Replacement order can ONLY be generated on Amazon, and is only created in the case of an item arriving Damaged/Defective, NOT for "Item Not Received".
NEVER ship a replacement unless you receive a "Replacement" order officially through Amazon.
And while I agree that attempted theft by a Buyer on Amazon SHOULD be sufficient cause for Amazon to permanently suspend the Buyer's account, Amazon sees it differently.
As far as Amazon is concerned, if a Seller has not learned proper Policy and Procedure, and then makes a mistake that costs them, then it is the Seller's problem, not Amazon's problem.
Learn from your mistakes so as to not repeat them.
Good Luck!
