Forum Moderators: buckworks
The physical stores are quite simple: "No Returns, exchanges gladly."Don't bother commenting on how restrictive this is, it's necessary in our location/market. In order to comply with federal(US) and state(AK) law, we have this posted prominently near each cash register, and printed on all customer receipts. I'd like to focus on online return policies, but I mention this to support this point:
Returning goods is a privilege, not a right.
Obviously, ordering a physical product online is different than buying it in a B&M store. Namely, you can inspect the product before you buy it. As such, many online vendors offer a Return Policy, most commonly 30 days, for the customer to decide whether they want the item(s) or not.
Merchants can write their return policies however they want.
You can write a return plocy that says "All Sales Are Final Except for defective and non-conforming goods." if you want, as long as it's displayed prominently on your site. It is up to the consumer to decide if they want to order from you. Obviously, you could get in trouble if your return policy is deceptive or impossible to honor.
Not all 30 day return policies are created equal.
Because vendors are free to phrase their return policy however they want, the 30 days might start at the date of purchase, the date of shipment, or the date received. It may require that the return be received back from the customer before 30 days from any of the previous start dates, or it may only require that you request a RMA number(Return Material Authorization) before 30 days from the date you received the goods.
Some products have crippling restrictions. As a consumer, these bother me.
Don't even consider removing the shrink wrap on a cd.
Be sure to test if your new RAM works without removing it from it's packaging.
You want to add a larger hard drive to your new computer? Whoops-now it's a "Product that is custom configured to your specifications" subject to a different return policy which stipulates that you must trade your firstborn to get a machine with a working ethernet port.
Don't abuse your customers with a restrictive return policy!
Even though you probably can, they won't be your customers for long.
As an online vendor, we've crafted a policy which offers benefits to our customers, without tying our own hands and openning ourselves up for abuse by the unscrupulous. It's an important balance that must be struck, and varies immensly depending on your product, location, business strategy, and percentage of sociopaths in your market.
Before you write your return policy, there are a few things you should know about your own responsibilities as a vendor.
1. Don't offer anything for sale that you can't reasonably expect to ship within 30 days.
2. If you know an item will take longer than 30 days to reach the customer, you should specify this before the sale.
3. You must honor your statements. Same day shipping means you ship the item the same day you receive the order.
In the US, most customers expect a simple and fair return policy. (Most actually expect a return policy where they can return whatever they want, whenever they want, and have it packaged and removed from their office by the Magical Return Genie.)
Remember: Once you write your return policy, you must post it prominently, and you must honor it.
<disclaimer> These are my opinions, not laws, follow my advice at your own peril ;-) </disclaimer>
Much of the information in this post was gleaned here:
[ftc.gov...]
I highly recommend ecommerce merchants read it in its entirety.
Rules differ from locality to locality, the UK for example requires that online merchants honor a 7 day "cooling off" period from the date the goods are received. Feel free to post your countries/states/counties applicable rules.
[edited by: encyclo at 8:00 pm (utc) on April 7, 2007]
[edit reason] fixed link [/edit]
For example, most will not cover shipping expenses. Let's say that your customer orders something online and returns it but you only refund the difference - minus the shipping. So the customer calls and says he never got the item. If you cannot even prove this, you won't win the chargeback.
The other thing to consider is to sell the chargebacks. A lot of companies will buy them for pennies on the dollar, so add some extra charges on there so that by the time the company buys it, you will have gotten most, if not all, your money back
-Corey
