Home collection required for heavy and bulky item returns
Starting on August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for Fulfilled by Merchant returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.
This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop Fulfilled by Merchant heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring that they have a returns experience that meets their expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.
You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”
To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or an impact to your order defect rate, you must:
- Authorize or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
- Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to Upload a prepaid return label.
- Arrange for the collection from a customer’s address.
- Ensure that the collection is successful within three attempts based on the scheduled time you provide to the customer.
For more information on the requirements for heavy and bulky item returns and how to avoid A-to-z Guarantee claims, go to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee claimand About A-to-z Guarantee claims.
For more information about the returns process, go to Manage Returns.
Home collection required for heavy and bulky item returns
Starting on August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for Fulfilled by Merchant returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.
This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop Fulfilled by Merchant heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring that they have a returns experience that meets their expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.
You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”
To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or an impact to your order defect rate, you must:
- Authorize or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
- Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to Upload a prepaid return label.
- Arrange for the collection from a customer’s address.
- Ensure that the collection is successful within three attempts based on the scheduled time you provide to the customer.
For more information on the requirements for heavy and bulky item returns and how to avoid A-to-z Guarantee claims, go to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee claimand About A-to-z Guarantee claims.
For more information about the returns process, go to Manage Returns.
18 replies
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
But it isn't clear if the Seller is allowed to deduct the cost of the return from the customer.
Unwanted item/Buyers remorse returns, Currently a customer pays/arranges the return at their own expense, thats fair.
What happens if the item is damaged on it's return? Currently when a customer returns an item it is their responsibility, so now the Seller takes all the risk for an unwanted (Buyers remorse) return?
Mod's, can you provide any answers to the above?
Thanks
Seller_CJAn9FclIoBJn
Another nightmare.
Collecting an item is a real drag.
- The customer must be in at the arranged time date which will be a window of time. They will probably be at work?
- Collections are really expensive so we now have to increase prices to cover.
- Collections windows are just estimates the courier might arrive before or after.
- The customer needs to be in - often they go out or claim they were in even though they were not.
- The reason for the return is in our experience any reason that means they do not pay i.e. they just pick a reason regardless of whether it is true or not to not pay to return.
- Is the customer going to enage with us to keep trying to arrange a collection up to 3 times? One attempt is a task. See below.
Only in the world of Amazon would this procedure seem easy. I suspect it just means more free goods as the customer can just say they are not happy - A-Z and we lose.
In our experience we are finding the customers use this logic - Lets say someone sells a bottle of wine, the customer buys it, tries it and has half the bottle. They then say its not as described or some such thing and obtains a free return label and is refunded at first scan. The seller receives a useless product back and disposes of it - the process to unpick this situation is clunky and generic. The process cannot differentiate between someone buying a pair of trainers and carefully returning it so the seller can resell them - and a half drunk bottle of wine.
Its even better now as an example we have to try and get it back!
The process of Safe T is not complex enough to be applied across all products and the nuances of all returns. Particularly when the customers use the reason for returns as a pick and mix process to find a reason to obtain a return for free or now collection.
Is the team that deals with these issues up to it? If the customer just describes the item as too bulky or too heavy do they default to it should be a collection regardless? They will probably just agree witht he customer. The CS services usually just repeat back to us what the customer says or wants! If the customer says I want the seller to send round Santa Claus with his elves thats exactly the message Amazon CS would email to us!
Where does customers expectation come from? I have an Amazon account as do many people I know- none of us expect a collection service!! Never even thought about it....until now.
Seller_QqE6CBbuZ6CzN
A bullish policy no doubt putting sellers in negative.
@Winston_Amazon@Sarah_Amzn
If someone can speak for sellers!
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
@Maja_Amazon @Julia_Amazon @Julia_Amzn @Winston_Amazon @Ash_AMZ @Spencer_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Abella_AMZ
Can any of the mod's (or anyone from Amazon) please reply to my message I sent here, in relation to this topic.
If the Mod's/Amazon can't reply because they don't know the answers then how are sellers supposed to adopt this new policy?
Thanks
Julia_Amzn
Hello Sellers,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and questions regarding the new policy. I have addressed them to the partner team, who are working now on answers. I will publish the FAQ as soon as I have it.
Best regards,
Julia.
Seller_H1Iho3c24Wva5
"use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection" - what if the buyer has paid via Invoice by Amazon, will there be a way to contact them specifically for this instance, or will it go to A-Z as it does now?
Seller_WDBlM63N2MqW9
I suspect that as buyers get to know about this smaller items will suddenly become bigger items!
Home collection required for heavy and bulky item returns
Starting on August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for Fulfilled by Merchant returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.
This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop Fulfilled by Merchant heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring that they have a returns experience that meets their expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.
You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”
To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or an impact to your order defect rate, you must:
- Authorize or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
- Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to Upload a prepaid return label.
- Arrange for the collection from a customer’s address.
- Ensure that the collection is successful within three attempts based on the scheduled time you provide to the customer.
For more information on the requirements for heavy and bulky item returns and how to avoid A-to-z Guarantee claims, go to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee claimand About A-to-z Guarantee claims.
For more information about the returns process, go to Manage Returns.
Home collection required for heavy and bulky item returns
Starting on August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for Fulfilled by Merchant returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.
This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop Fulfilled by Merchant heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring that they have a returns experience that meets their expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.
You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”
To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or an impact to your order defect rate, you must:
- Authorize or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
- Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to Upload a prepaid return label.
- Arrange for the collection from a customer’s address.
- Ensure that the collection is successful within three attempts based on the scheduled time you provide to the customer.
For more information on the requirements for heavy and bulky item returns and how to avoid A-to-z Guarantee claims, go to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee claimand About A-to-z Guarantee claims.
For more information about the returns process, go to Manage Returns.
Home collection required for heavy and bulky item returns
Starting on August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for Fulfilled by Merchant returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.
This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop Fulfilled by Merchant heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring that they have a returns experience that meets their expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.
You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”
To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or an impact to your order defect rate, you must:
- Authorize or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
- Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to Upload a prepaid return label.
- Arrange for the collection from a customer’s address.
- Ensure that the collection is successful within three attempts based on the scheduled time you provide to the customer.
For more information on the requirements for heavy and bulky item returns and how to avoid A-to-z Guarantee claims, go to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee claimand About A-to-z Guarantee claims.
For more information about the returns process, go to Manage Returns.
18 replies
18 replies
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
But it isn't clear if the Seller is allowed to deduct the cost of the return from the customer.
Unwanted item/Buyers remorse returns, Currently a customer pays/arranges the return at their own expense, thats fair.
What happens if the item is damaged on it's return? Currently when a customer returns an item it is their responsibility, so now the Seller takes all the risk for an unwanted (Buyers remorse) return?
Mod's, can you provide any answers to the above?
Thanks
Seller_CJAn9FclIoBJn
Another nightmare.
Collecting an item is a real drag.
- The customer must be in at the arranged time date which will be a window of time. They will probably be at work?
- Collections are really expensive so we now have to increase prices to cover.
- Collections windows are just estimates the courier might arrive before or after.
- The customer needs to be in - often they go out or claim they were in even though they were not.
- The reason for the return is in our experience any reason that means they do not pay i.e. they just pick a reason regardless of whether it is true or not to not pay to return.
- Is the customer going to enage with us to keep trying to arrange a collection up to 3 times? One attempt is a task. See below.
Only in the world of Amazon would this procedure seem easy. I suspect it just means more free goods as the customer can just say they are not happy - A-Z and we lose.
In our experience we are finding the customers use this logic - Lets say someone sells a bottle of wine, the customer buys it, tries it and has half the bottle. They then say its not as described or some such thing and obtains a free return label and is refunded at first scan. The seller receives a useless product back and disposes of it - the process to unpick this situation is clunky and generic. The process cannot differentiate between someone buying a pair of trainers and carefully returning it so the seller can resell them - and a half drunk bottle of wine.
Its even better now as an example we have to try and get it back!
The process of Safe T is not complex enough to be applied across all products and the nuances of all returns. Particularly when the customers use the reason for returns as a pick and mix process to find a reason to obtain a return for free or now collection.
Is the team that deals with these issues up to it? If the customer just describes the item as too bulky or too heavy do they default to it should be a collection regardless? They will probably just agree witht he customer. The CS services usually just repeat back to us what the customer says or wants! If the customer says I want the seller to send round Santa Claus with his elves thats exactly the message Amazon CS would email to us!
Where does customers expectation come from? I have an Amazon account as do many people I know- none of us expect a collection service!! Never even thought about it....until now.
Seller_QqE6CBbuZ6CzN
A bullish policy no doubt putting sellers in negative.
@Winston_Amazon@Sarah_Amzn
If someone can speak for sellers!
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
@Maja_Amazon @Julia_Amazon @Julia_Amzn @Winston_Amazon @Ash_AMZ @Spencer_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Abella_AMZ
Can any of the mod's (or anyone from Amazon) please reply to my message I sent here, in relation to this topic.
If the Mod's/Amazon can't reply because they don't know the answers then how are sellers supposed to adopt this new policy?
Thanks
Julia_Amzn
Hello Sellers,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and questions regarding the new policy. I have addressed them to the partner team, who are working now on answers. I will publish the FAQ as soon as I have it.
Best regards,
Julia.
Seller_H1Iho3c24Wva5
"use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection" - what if the buyer has paid via Invoice by Amazon, will there be a way to contact them specifically for this instance, or will it go to A-Z as it does now?
Seller_WDBlM63N2MqW9
I suspect that as buyers get to know about this smaller items will suddenly become bigger items!
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
But it isn't clear if the Seller is allowed to deduct the cost of the return from the customer.
Unwanted item/Buyers remorse returns, Currently a customer pays/arranges the return at their own expense, thats fair.
What happens if the item is damaged on it's return? Currently when a customer returns an item it is their responsibility, so now the Seller takes all the risk for an unwanted (Buyers remorse) return?
Mod's, can you provide any answers to the above?
Thanks
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
But it isn't clear if the Seller is allowed to deduct the cost of the return from the customer.
Unwanted item/Buyers remorse returns, Currently a customer pays/arranges the return at their own expense, thats fair.
What happens if the item is damaged on it's return? Currently when a customer returns an item it is their responsibility, so now the Seller takes all the risk for an unwanted (Buyers remorse) return?
Mod's, can you provide any answers to the above?
Thanks
Seller_CJAn9FclIoBJn
Another nightmare.
Collecting an item is a real drag.
- The customer must be in at the arranged time date which will be a window of time. They will probably be at work?
- Collections are really expensive so we now have to increase prices to cover.
- Collections windows are just estimates the courier might arrive before or after.
- The customer needs to be in - often they go out or claim they were in even though they were not.
- The reason for the return is in our experience any reason that means they do not pay i.e. they just pick a reason regardless of whether it is true or not to not pay to return.
- Is the customer going to enage with us to keep trying to arrange a collection up to 3 times? One attempt is a task. See below.
Only in the world of Amazon would this procedure seem easy. I suspect it just means more free goods as the customer can just say they are not happy - A-Z and we lose.
In our experience we are finding the customers use this logic - Lets say someone sells a bottle of wine, the customer buys it, tries it and has half the bottle. They then say its not as described or some such thing and obtains a free return label and is refunded at first scan. The seller receives a useless product back and disposes of it - the process to unpick this situation is clunky and generic. The process cannot differentiate between someone buying a pair of trainers and carefully returning it so the seller can resell them - and a half drunk bottle of wine.
Its even better now as an example we have to try and get it back!
The process of Safe T is not complex enough to be applied across all products and the nuances of all returns. Particularly when the customers use the reason for returns as a pick and mix process to find a reason to obtain a return for free or now collection.
Is the team that deals with these issues up to it? If the customer just describes the item as too bulky or too heavy do they default to it should be a collection regardless? They will probably just agree witht he customer. The CS services usually just repeat back to us what the customer says or wants! If the customer says I want the seller to send round Santa Claus with his elves thats exactly the message Amazon CS would email to us!
Where does customers expectation come from? I have an Amazon account as do many people I know- none of us expect a collection service!! Never even thought about it....until now.
Seller_CJAn9FclIoBJn
Another nightmare.
Collecting an item is a real drag.
- The customer must be in at the arranged time date which will be a window of time. They will probably be at work?
- Collections are really expensive so we now have to increase prices to cover.
- Collections windows are just estimates the courier might arrive before or after.
- The customer needs to be in - often they go out or claim they were in even though they were not.
- The reason for the return is in our experience any reason that means they do not pay i.e. they just pick a reason regardless of whether it is true or not to not pay to return.
- Is the customer going to enage with us to keep trying to arrange a collection up to 3 times? One attempt is a task. See below.
Only in the world of Amazon would this procedure seem easy. I suspect it just means more free goods as the customer can just say they are not happy - A-Z and we lose.
In our experience we are finding the customers use this logic - Lets say someone sells a bottle of wine, the customer buys it, tries it and has half the bottle. They then say its not as described or some such thing and obtains a free return label and is refunded at first scan. The seller receives a useless product back and disposes of it - the process to unpick this situation is clunky and generic. The process cannot differentiate between someone buying a pair of trainers and carefully returning it so the seller can resell them - and a half drunk bottle of wine.
Its even better now as an example we have to try and get it back!
The process of Safe T is not complex enough to be applied across all products and the nuances of all returns. Particularly when the customers use the reason for returns as a pick and mix process to find a reason to obtain a return for free or now collection.
Is the team that deals with these issues up to it? If the customer just describes the item as too bulky or too heavy do they default to it should be a collection regardless? They will probably just agree witht he customer. The CS services usually just repeat back to us what the customer says or wants! If the customer says I want the seller to send round Santa Claus with his elves thats exactly the message Amazon CS would email to us!
Where does customers expectation come from? I have an Amazon account as do many people I know- none of us expect a collection service!! Never even thought about it....until now.
Seller_QqE6CBbuZ6CzN
A bullish policy no doubt putting sellers in negative.
@Winston_Amazon@Sarah_Amzn
If someone can speak for sellers!
Seller_QqE6CBbuZ6CzN
A bullish policy no doubt putting sellers in negative.
@Winston_Amazon@Sarah_Amzn
If someone can speak for sellers!
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
@Maja_Amazon @Julia_Amazon @Julia_Amzn @Winston_Amazon @Ash_AMZ @Spencer_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Abella_AMZ
Can any of the mod's (or anyone from Amazon) please reply to my message I sent here, in relation to this topic.
If the Mod's/Amazon can't reply because they don't know the answers then how are sellers supposed to adopt this new policy?
Thanks
Seller_W0UadCH7lVBVG
@Maja_Amazon @Julia_Amazon @Julia_Amzn @Winston_Amazon @Ash_AMZ @Spencer_Amazon @Sakura_Amazon_ @Abella_AMZ
Can any of the mod's (or anyone from Amazon) please reply to my message I sent here, in relation to this topic.
If the Mod's/Amazon can't reply because they don't know the answers then how are sellers supposed to adopt this new policy?
Thanks
Julia_Amzn
Hello Sellers,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and questions regarding the new policy. I have addressed them to the partner team, who are working now on answers. I will publish the FAQ as soon as I have it.
Best regards,
Julia.
Julia_Amzn
Hello Sellers,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and questions regarding the new policy. I have addressed them to the partner team, who are working now on answers. I will publish the FAQ as soon as I have it.
Best regards,
Julia.
Seller_H1Iho3c24Wva5
"use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection" - what if the buyer has paid via Invoice by Amazon, will there be a way to contact them specifically for this instance, or will it go to A-Z as it does now?
Seller_H1Iho3c24Wva5
"use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection" - what if the buyer has paid via Invoice by Amazon, will there be a way to contact them specifically for this instance, or will it go to A-Z as it does now?
Seller_WDBlM63N2MqW9
I suspect that as buyers get to know about this smaller items will suddenly become bigger items!
Seller_WDBlM63N2MqW9
I suspect that as buyers get to know about this smaller items will suddenly become bigger items!
