I received a tweeted question today from a reader named Jay about how to handle a tough seller situation. Of course it’s hard to give a complete answer in a return tweet, so let’s discuss on the blog as I’m sure it may be of interest to other sellers
“Amazon Buyer claims they never got item usps shows delivered 3 weeks ago amazon refunded them, nothing I can do? @bighabitatcom”
Now there may be things we don’t know about this order, but it sounds like Jay used Amazon to market the product but did his own fulfillment (e.g., he is not using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) where Amazon ships the product to the customer).
Jay did have delivery confirmation, so we can assume that the product was delivered by USPS, but either:
someone else picked it up
the customer received it but filed a claim anyway
It looks like the buyer contacted Amazon and Amazon already refunded his money. This part is normal, Amazon will refund customers at the first stage of a return or A-Z Guarantee claim, they are just that friendly. If the customer doesn’t return the item or if the claim is denied Amazon will re-bill the customer. Will Jay get his money credited back?
Let’s see what Amazon says he should do. Here is the official Amazon guidance on orders not received (found here)
A buyer contacted me saying they did not receive their order. What should I do?
Work with the buyer to reach a mutually agreeable solution in regard to this transaction. How you decide to proceed is ultimately determined by you and your customer service policy, but all sellers are expected to demonstrate a high level of customer service.
Below are some ways you can handle this situation. Please note that regardless of the option you choose,the buyer may still leave you feedback for the transaction.
Refund the buyer. Issuing a refund for a product that was not received is usually the most customer-friendly solution. If the order eventually arrives after you’ve made a refund, Amazon Payments can recharge the customer with their authorization. Learn how to issue a refund.
Ask the buyer to wait a bit longer for their order to arrive. If you choose this option, please be aware that your buyer may file an A-to-z Guarantee claim. Learn more about the A-to-z Guarantee.
Ship or drop-ship a replacement order at your cost. While this may be a financial loss for your business, it is good customer service. If the buyer ultimately receives the lost item, you can work with them to facilitate a return.
Contact your shipping carrier: In some instances, if an order was lost in transit, you may be able to receive assistance from your shipping carrier. If you purchased package tracking or insurance, the carrier may be able to assist in locating the package or filing an insurance claim. If tracking information was not obtained, there still may be options available from your carrier to help locate the package.
Expert Tip: Using tracking information when shipping packages is highly recommended. The small cost of obtaining tracking can significantly reduce the chances of cost associated with a lost shipment. Tracking information on shipments is also your best protection as a seller in the event of an A to Z Guarantee Claim. For more information on how using tracking information can protect you in the event of an A to Z Guarantee Claim for item not received, please see the Fulfillment section of our Seller Best Practices Help page.
How does Amazon Consider Tracking for “Item Not Received” Claims?
Let’s look at Amazon’s guidance again and I’ll summarize each case with a quick translation:
Additional Information about A-to-z Guarantee Claims for Items Not Received (found here)
Sellers are accountable for resolving A-to-z Guarantee claims for items Not Received and the claims will be processed according to the following policies:
Products(s) Shipped without Tracking (Translation: You are definitely hosed)
A seller will be liable for a not received claim if Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) has passed and the order was shipped without tracking information. This policy will apply to all orders, including those shipped by media mail.
Product(s) Shipped with Tracking–In Transit (Translation: You are fine for now)
If a product is not delivered by the end of the EDD range, and tracking information shows an expected delivery in the near future (and the product was shipped by the promised ship date of two business days from the order date) the claim will not be granted and the buyer will be asked to wait for the product. The seller will not be liable. However, if tracking information does not show expected delivery in a reasonable time frame, the claim will be granted and the seller will be held liable. This will apply to packages lost in transit as well.
Product(s) Shipped with Delivery Confirmation Tracking–Tracking Shows Delivery and Buyer Claims Item Not Received (Translation: You are somewhat likely to be hosed)
The A-to-z Guarantee team will investigate the dispute. Amazon may contact the buyer to confirm non-receipt. If no receipt is confirmed, the seller may still be held liable for lack of fulfillment – Amazon will not cover service errors, including loss, theft, or postal/shipping issues. Amazon will, however, continue to protect sellers from fraudulent buyers and A-to-z Guarantee abusers.
Product(s) Shipped with Signature Confirmation Tracking–Tracking Shows Delivery and Buyer Claims Item Not Received (Translation: You are probably fine)
If the name on the signature confirmation matches the buyer, the A-to-z Guarantee team will deny the claim. If signature confirmation does not match the buyer, the A-to-z Guarantee team will deny the claim and ask the buyer to follow-up with the individual that signed for the package. Guarantee claims for packages that are signed for by a freight forwarder or an agent of the buyer (e.g. receptionist, family member) will be denied. However, if an investigation determines that the customer did not receive the order due to a shipping error beyond his or her control, the seller may be held liable. We anticipate that this would be a very rare occurrence
So Jay’s case is one of the latter two situations. If Jay’s shipping method required a signature, it should be pretty easy to point to Amazon’s policies and say that you followed their recommended actions
In any case Jay will need to contact Amazon Seller Support and dispute the customer refund, providing the tracking information and anything else that might be helpful.
Could this have been avoided by using Amazon’s Fulfilled by Amazon services?
Maybe. When Amazon ships things it is harder for the buyer to assert that they didn’t receive it, and if that is the case than Amazon would have the responsibility since they handle fulfillment to the customer. But it doesn’t prevent the customer from trying something else…
Case Study: Customer returns “Defective” tablet from BigHabitat…
Here is a text of a letter I had to write to Amazon Seller Support:
To: Amazon Seller Support
RE: Order #xxxxxxx
This item is a Google Nexus 7 tablet (16gb) sold on xxxxx sold via Fulfillment by Amazon.
Amazon Customer service issued a refund to the customer on xx/xx/xx. The return reason cited by Amazon in the return report was “Defective” and it was returned to my inventory as “Unfulfillable – Customer Damaged”.
I did a removal order for this unit and found that the screen was obviously shattered. This is the result of customer action (accidental impact or drop), not a defective unit. As such, the customer should not have been refunded from my Seller account. Now the order may have been a commingled unit where someone else sent in a shattered unit, in which case I should not be penalized anyway but if you look at the circumstances it is irrelevant as the customer damaged the unit.
If the customer had received it in this condition with a shattered screen they would have returned it immediately as it is completely unusable.
I’m not sure if Amazon tried to power the unit on since the battery was completely drained and I needed to charge it for 10 minutes or so to get it to boot up. Although it now powers on, the screen digitizer is now clearly broken so there is no way to unlock the screen.
While the screen is not clear due to the shattering you can see that the lock screen has been changed from the Nexus 7 standard and that there is a gmail notification in the top left along with notifications from 2 other applications. This clearly indicates that the unit completed setup and the user synced up his gmail account.
Further it is clear that the customer used the tablet from x/x/xx to x/x/xx (3 weeks); this is evident by simply hooking it up to a Windows computer and browsing the directory structure.
I understand Amazon has a very customer-friendly return policy, which I also appreciate as an Amazon customer, but it is clear that this damage is from the customer, not a defective product. In this instance, Amazon should not have accepted this as a customer return, or if Amazon wanted to do so as a goodwill gesture it should reimburse the seller for the unit as there is no chance to have the manufacturer service under warranty given specific exclusions on accidental drops.
Please issue a credit to my seller account for the full amount refunded to the customer for this item.
I’m happy to discuss further.
Here is a picture of the “Defective” unit
I also included screenshots of files that had been loaded onto the tablet, including Scooby Doo and Adventure time screenshots, a Cut the Rope game, etc. over the course of 3 weeks.
While this case might seem a case of obvious return abuse, the customer was refunded the money right away and this took 3-4 calls to Amazon Seller support and an hour or so cobbling together a .pdf file with pictures and screenshots as support. In the end I did receive a credit, but my sense is that the customer was not re-charged (basing that on the customer giving me perfect feedback since Amazon refunded their money for this “defective” unit).
Amazon’s generous 30 days no questions asked return policy
Amazon’s return policy for most items is 30 days from receipt. This is pretty generous since they will take a return for just about any reason, including “I found a better price elsewhere”, “I changed my mind”, etc.
but wait, 30-days is not the end of it…
Amazon’s Secret “Discretionary” 30-day return policy extension
If you are selling through FBA, Amazon can decide to extend the return window for an additional 30 days.
Customer return arrives at our fulfillment center after day the stated returns window
To ensure a great customer experience, Amazon may make case-by-case exceptions and accept returns for units past the stated returns time frame. If Amazon accepts a return within the 30 days following the end of the stated returns window, the return will be processed the same as if the product was received during the returns window.
If Amazon accepts a return more than 30 days following the end of the stated returns window, Amazon will reimburse you for the returned unit in accordance with the FBA Lost and Damaged Inventory Reimbursement Policy and FBA Service Terms unless the return is related to a recall, violation of Amazon policies, or similar reason. If you are credited the Replacement Value, the returned unit will not be added to your inventory.
And it Gets Even More Generous for The Holidays
Items shipped by Amazon.com between November 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014, may be returned until January 31, 2015, for a full refund, subject to our other return guidelines listed below
Theoretically that could mean that Amazon could allow an item shipped Nov. 1 to be returned to you up through February 28th.
Returns are often the biggest PITA of reselling. Amazon’s policies are often exceedingly customer-friendly, which can put sellers in tough situations. Ebay may be a little easier if you adopt a “no return” policy, but has other downsides (like having to deal with customers and shipping products yourself). If you have thoughts on managing returns or bad experiences feel free to share…