Amazon sellers know that with orders, there must be return problems, which are unavoidable .
As long as the return rate is controlled within a reasonable range, it is still acceptable. The most fearful thing is that the return rate remains high. In addition to causing a great loss of profits to the seller, the return may also generate additional packaging and transportation costs. If the goods are damaged in transit, the seller will not be able to sell it again, which is too lethal! So do you all know how the Amazon platform handles returns and refunds?
"The customer applied for a refund for the product he bought a month ago, but Amazon actually agreed?! "
Don't worry, it all starts with Amazon's return and refund policy.
According to Amazon's return policy, customers can request a return through Amazon's online return center within 30 days of receipt . However, Amazon often makes judgments based on the particularity of the product category and the reasons for the return application, whether to approve the return application for orders that exceed 30 days.
In some special cases, buyers not only receive a refund, but are also allowed to not have to send the product back. In other words, the buyer gets the product for free, and the seller needs to pay for the transaction. What kind of process is this?
After the buyer sends the product back to the Amazon warehouse center, Amazon will evaluate the saleable state of the product, and if it meets the conditions for resale, it will be sent to the next customer again; or damaged), it will be listed as an unsellable product, and the outcome of waiting for it is destruction or removal within 30 days.
Amazon also evaluates the party responsible for the damage (Amazon or the buyer) and decides who is responsible for the damage. In most cases, sellers are required to pay refunds for customer returns and pay Amazon for certain return costs such as order processing fees, delivery fees, etc.
Returned items are listed as unsellable for the following reasons:
Item is in a different condition than when it was previously posted
The product is defective, damaged, opened, lacks required labels, prohibited, or otherwise unfit for sale
This includes items that may pose a health or safety risk to our employees or future buyers of the item
When Amazon agrees to the buyer's return and determines that the seller is the responsible party, the Amazon Center will automatically process and complete the refund for the customer within 2-5 days.
Of course, this part of the policy is for FBA fulfillment orders from our sellers, and self-fulfillment transactions have their own return and refund policies.
FBM sellers can pre-set the third-party warehouse as the buyer's return address, cancel Amazon's automatic processing authority, and choose themselves as the return handler. When the customer decides to return the item, it will be up to us to approve the request and issue a refund. It is recommended that self-delivery partners try to process each return application within 24 hours, and coordinate who will bear the logistics costs incurred by the return.
"The item has been returned to the Amazon warehouse, but the amount returned by Amazon is incorrect . "
Moving on to this question, let's first look at how the amount in the seller 's Amazon account is displayed when a product is sold.
Take the US station as an example. If the price of a product is $ 29 , then when the buyer pays for the product, the amount you receive is $ 29 ( orders may be subject to tax in some states, but the tax is also paid by the buyer, so not here tax is discussed ) .
But not all of that $ 29 will go into your Amazon account.
First, Amazon will charge a platform commission called an " introduction fee . " The commission rate for most categories is 15% , as shown :
After deducting commissions, Amazon also deducts FBA shipping fees.
Regarding this delivery fee, Amazon also has a detailed fee schedule in the background. If you are a standard size product, the rate table is as follows ( larger items vary):
Then, after Amazon deducts commissions and shipping fees, the remaining amount will be allocated to your Amazon account and shown in your store balance.
So the question is, if the customer chooses to return the product after receiving it, can you get all your money back?
I'm afraid there is no standard answer. From our long-term measure, this is related to three factors :
First, how much you can refund depends on your product category.
If your product falls into one of the following five categories :
l Watches
l Apparel clothing
l Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses
l Jewelry
l Luggage luggage
When a return occurs, Amazon will first charge a " return fee " for these five types of products , which includes: order processing + package pickup + weight processing, etc.
Second, the amount of money that can be refunded is also related to the reason why the customer chooses to refund.
When customers choose to refund, Amazon gives 12 reasons for refund :
l Wrong bought
l No Inventory
l General Adjustment
l Buyer Cancelled
l Merchandise Not Received
l Different Item
l Pricing Error
l Merchandise Not As Described
l Delivered Late by Carrier
l Shipping Address Undeliverable (the buyer's address cannot be delivered )
l Not need
l Missed Fulfillment Promise
If the reason for the customer's choice is related to the product itself , then Amazon will refund 80% of the sales commission, and the FBA fee is also borne by the seller.
That is, if the customer returns the item, the seller will lose 20% of the commission and FBA fee. At this time, we can see the importance of product quality. For a product with a high rate of return, this fee alone is a big burden.
However, if the customer chooses to return for their own reasons , then the FBA fee can be paid by the seller and the product commission does not need to be deducted 20% .
But Amazon still charges a " return management fee " regardless of the reason for the return.
Finally, it also depends on your operating model, there is a big difference between FBA returns and FBM returns.
Therefore, in many cases, the calculation of return fees is not comparable. Horizontal comparisons are only possible when two products belong to the same category, are the same size, and have the same reasons for refunds.
But in any case, as long as there is a return, the seller will definitely face a certain loss, but the loss is big or small.
Moreover, our above calculation method has a big premise, that is, the returned products can continue to be put into storage and sold.
Just imagine, if the customer returns a product that is already slightly defective, or the returned product simply doesn't sell, then the cost of the item itself will add to your loss.
In short, sellers are always in a relatively “ weak ” position on Amazon. Any rulemaking is from the perspective of the platform and the customer, and there is very little where third-party sellers can be considered.
Therefore, sellers still have to learn more and arm themselves more in order to survive in the harsh environment.
