[Seller speak] “Amazon’s return policy has loophole!” Seller throws light

The return policies of online marketplaces have come under much scrutiny off late, causing many a woe for the online sellers on these platforms. In this IOS article, we tried to approach and understand the issue from a seller’s POV.

Although they remained quiet last year, sellers have begun to question marketplaces on why they should be burdened with the entire amount for product returns. In this interview, seller Mayank echoed everyone’s thoughts on the need to change return policies.

Interestingly, so far we heard that Amazon’s returns policy is better out of the lot. So when Mr. eSeller (Name withheld on request), reputed online seller of mobile phones, wrote to us about a certain loophole in Amazon’s policy, we had to share the experience.

Mr. eSeller shares ..

Amazon’s return policy for damaged/defective mobile phones has a serious loophole:

• Amazon does not verify if the product is damaged/defected. They just accept open box items and return it back to seller.

• Sellers are asked to get test certificate from manufacturer, but no certificate is asked from buyer before returning product. Buyer might have used product for 10 days or dropped and damaged it themselves, which is not checked. Also, they can remove a spare part from the product and get away with it since no checks are done anyway.

• Amazon doesn’t check the product being returned. A customer of mine sent a totally different product. The claim has been open for 3 months with no action.

• Sellers don’t get any protection from fraudulent buyers. The SAFE-T claims person will ask for a manufacturer test certification. In our case, when we contacted Samsung, they mentioned that no such certificate is issued. How can Amazon ask for something that does not exist? Who has the time and money to create something that manufacturer does not provide?

• The support just copy-pastes responses without understanding issue. A customer mentioned that he is returning the product, as he is not happy with performance, which is equivalent to not liking the product. Amazon auto-approved the RMA without even checking the details.

I feel eBay is better of the lot when it comes to return policies as the customer is questioned equally like a seller.

All marketplaces should verify the packages from customers before accepting returns to ensure the right product is being sent back. Otherwise sellers will continue to incur huge losses. High-ticket products like mobile phones can suck away entire month’s profit.

Buyers (who want to scam) are always on the lookout for such loopholes to capitalize and make money. Marketplaces should take immediate actions to curb these fraudulent activities.

Disclaimer: Views/opinions expressed in this article are solely of the online seller.