Amazon’s Return and Refund Policies

There are so many options to choose from and the best part is that it can be done in the comfort of one’s home, online shopping offers something for all. Any business can endorse their products or services online by creating their websites.

Ecommerce became possible in 1921 after the advent of the internet’s use to the general public. Businesses have flocked to establish their business online after that. Ecommerce is the action of buying or selling a product or service online.

For most of us, life without e-commerce seems unthinkable but it was just a few decades back that this practice came into existence.

Amazon Return and Refund Management

Amazon is among the first internet names that started the practice of electronic transactions. Amazon, Inc is by far the most famous e-commerce website. Founded in 1994, it was one of the first companies to sell products over the internet.

A definite leading company, it was also one of the first companies to set up an affiliate marketing initiative. Amazon, through its associates and third-party sellers who sell their goods on the website, gains about 40% of its sales.

Amazon is a giant company with gigantic operations running all the time. Any oversight or mistakes done by the company when brought to its notice is duly noted and there is either a refund or reimbursement for the problem caused.

The Amazon Refund Management is in place to offer refunds or reimbursement to customers or sellers for any problems caused.

When can a seller claim reimbursement from Amazon?

Here are some common Amazon Seller Reimbursements claims that the seller can apply:

• If a seller’s inventory stored in Amazon’s FBA warehouse is missing units, is damaged or lost in transition or the quantity of the items is differing, the seller is owed a reimbursement. It is under Amazon’s purview to protect the inventory under the Amazon FBA terms of services. The reimbursement offered is generally the average sales price of the time and not the price listed by the seller.
• When a seller’s product is charged at a higher dimension or increased weight size than it should. It means that the seller may have been charged with the wrong fees, possibly for months. This type of reimbursement can turn into an expensive claim opportunity for the seller.
• Sometimes customers are refunded for more items than originally returned or purchased. After finding out the irregularity, the seller can apply for reimbursement.
• Sometimes, after a customer returns a particular seller’s product, it is credited to another seller’s inventory by accident.
• Customers are charged a 20% restocking fee of the price of the item. This applies to returns on high priced items or products of certain categories. After this item is returned, the restocking fee should be credited to the seller. This type of claim cannot be reimbursed if a customer has not returned the product.
• This type of mistake is a frequent occurrence where the customer is credited with a refund despite not returning the product. This refund is taken from the seller who loses out on both money and the product.
• If a seller’s product is damaged by a carrier or in the Amazon warehouse and is not in a good condition to be sold, Amazon reimburses the price of the product. It is advisable to take a photo of an item in its original condition for proof.
• Depending on the category, commission fees can range from 6 to 45%. Amazon device accessories have the most expensive commission fees. A seller’s product is generally in the 8 to 15% range. If a seller’s product is charged wrong commission fees, it becomes a huge loss for them. Sellers can later ask for a reimbursement.

When can a customer get full or partial refund?

When a customer pays extra for expedited delivery of the product and if the package does not arrive on time, customers are eligible for a refund.

To claim this refund, the customer can either be on call for hours or use applications that have a delivery monitoring system. A refund of the total shipping fee of the particular product is refunded to the customer.

Customers also receive partial refunds in the following cases:

• 80% of the product’s price as a refund if the product is not returned within the return window.
• 50% refund for CDs, DVDs, Vinyl tapes, etc which are removed from their cases or wraps when returned
• Upto 50% refund when products are not in original condition, missing parts or damaged without the fault of Amazon or the seller

Amazon’s refund policies

Many companies lack even the policies of returns or refunds. This leads to weak customer interactions when customers approach a company for a problem concerning a return or refund.

Comparatively, Amazon has one of the most customer and seller-friendly refund policies:

• Amazon has a separate page addressing ‘Returns & Replacements’. It also has a lot of content that provides answers to any queries that the customer might have. Amazon has easy to read and detailed FAQs regarding returns available on their website. The advantage to the customer is that they don’t have to wait for hours on end to talk to someone about the issue they are facing.
• There is no need to contact a representative of Amazon to return a product. Returning an item is a fairly simple process made even easier with detailed instructions available on Amazon’s websites.
• Amazon also has different refund policies for different products to aid the customer. The Amazon Seller Reconciliation program also provides varied reimbursement options to the third parties who sell their products on Amazon. This is very different from the non-specific policies of other retailers.

Amazon’s main objective with these policies is to retain its customers and have long-lasting relationships with them. Their return policies are designed keeping this in mind. With easy returns and reimbursements in case of any problem, Amazon actively tries to keep its customers and sellers happy with their services.

Conclusion

There are many reimbursement or refund claims that one can make on Amazon. It is important to know what makes one eligible to apply for a refund so that they can follow due process later to be credited with the amount.