Help with international buyers requesting returns

[hulkman]

So I have been really frustrated lately with international buyers requesting to return items but then complaining that the shipping is too expensive for them.

They buy an item through these trans-shipment companies located in Florida which then ships the items for them in South America.

A month or 2 months later, if something happens they request a return. I tell them to go ahead and ship the item back for a full refund or exchange and then they bust out the old "shipping is $50-60 so I cannot send it back"

They want me to refund them the shipping cost "so they can send it back" or give them a full refund without returning the item. We are talking about items worth $80-200.

It seems to me that this keeps happening more frequently with these sort of buyers and I'm pretty sure they are using the system to their advantage.

What is the best way to deal with these buyers? I don't want to get negative feedback or any AZ claims.

Also does shipping from S. America to US really cost $50?

[Seppl42]

Hi,

it could really be 50 dollars, especially when your Items are not really light-weight and come with a tracking number.

From Germany sending out to Austria (neighbour state) is possible from 3.45 for a leightweight Item. From Austria to Germany, one has no other option but to send it for 12.50.

Maybe your shipment-operator has a cheaper solution for international returns ?

[yotano211]

I would not ship to South America in the future from now on. If that part of the world is giving you so much trouble, maybe look into excluding them from your selling.

Me personally, I dont ship to certain parts of the world, too much of a high risk for low little returns.

[hulkman]

Originally Posted by yotano211

I would not ship to South America in the future from now on. If that part of the world is giving you so much trouble, maybe look into excluding them from your selling.

Me personally, I dont ship to certain parts of the world, too much of a high risk for low little returns.

I don't think you read the original post. I am not selling to South America. These buyers are using trans-shipment companies. I am sending these items to Florida companies which in turn sends it to them.

There would be no way for me to stop that.

[Artann]

At fist I was gonna say, "tell those buyers to go and have butt sex with monkeys". However, I feel that you are not looking to vent your frustration but looking for a way out. Then tell them to go back to the forwarding company that they used to have it shipped to them and ask the company to accommodate them with the return options. Telll buyers that since this company exported it, they have to imported back in and let them deal with the headache.

[tatersalad]

Ive been dealing with this same problem for over a year now.

Its the the same trans-shipment company that they use when purchasing from me. So i can spot that address a mile away.

I inquired about stopping all my sales in the state of florida. But this is not possible with amazon.

Now i have made a habit to closely check all florida addresses.

When i see this address i cancell the order before i ship it.

Mark shipping address undeliverable when you cancell it. Truth is, they rarely know the proper address anyway.

[Seppl42]

Have you tried to offer them a return label for within the US?

If they say they are not in the US then you can appeal in a A-Z claim stating that you delivered (and only deliver) to a US Adress and hence only provide returns within the US.
Amazon clearly states that you are only allowed to ship to the adress that was provided with the order.

Should not be a problem to win the A-Z claim then ....

Would be worth a try

[rsot]

Stop shipping internationally and avoid the headaches that you are having then

South America shipping is a bit high

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by rsot

Stop shipping internationally and avoid the headaches that you are having then

South America shipping is a bit high

re-read the thread. We are talking AMAZON not ebay.

The buyers are using a FLORIDA shipping address to appear to be USA based....

Sellers are not finding out the items have gone on to South America for some time after the sale has happened and there are hassles.




PS: posts 1 & 6 have bold type now that outlines the problems for sellers.

[hulkman]

Yea it becomes a heachache when it happens.

I can't cancel orders because that lowers your metrics which leads to suspension.

I can't wait for an AZ claim to see who is right or wrong because the whole goal is to avoid AZ claims.

I have tried sometimes scaring them and saying I am not sure how the item got the country they are from because we do not ship international and I shipped the item to Florida. I'll also say something that trans-shipment companies are illegal in Amazon.

Seems like there is no real solution for this.

[zoneout]

It depends on size/weight of the item of course. Something small/light could go for $10. usps medium flat-rate is probably $40-$50 so it could well cost that much - again it depends. If they can use the trans-shipper in the reverse direction it probably will be their cheapest option though maybe not fastest.

What I would do is be polite and say I will refund the domestic postage since that is what they paid anyway. The point being to avoid bad feedback. I would not worry so much about an AZ claim - they probably know they would lose that one.

[Seppl42]

Do A-Z Claims that you "win" even affect your metrics ?

[rsot]

Originally Posted by GreenBean

re-read the thread. We are talking AMAZON not ebay.

The buyers are using a FLORIDA shipping address to appear to be USA based....

Sellers are not finding out the items have gone on to South America for some time after the sale has happened and there are hassles.




PS: posts 1 & 6 have bold type now that outlines the problems for sellers.

Yes - we are talking Amazon I realize that.

Always these kind of buyer issues - tatersalad made a good point about cancelling these orders.

When in doubt, cancel it out.

[hulkman]

I believe the order cancellation rate has to be below 3% so I dont think that would be in the best interest.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by rsot

Yes - we are talking Amazon I realize that.

Always these kind of buyer issues - tatersalad made a good point about cancelling these orders.

When in doubt, cancel it out.

pffft, and damage account standing?

Not sure of the validity of THAT advice.

[zoneout]

Originally Posted by Seppl42

Do A-Z Claims that you "win" even affect your metrics ?

Unfortunately they do. So even if you win you lose.

[biglouis999]

I buy a lot of stuff from USA and being in the UK I used to use the company in Florida.

There are many conveniences with using such shipping companies but some caveats. One is that if the item is not what you expected then returning it is a hassle. So I just write them off as a tax loss for "broken in transit". Or I resell it if I can.

I Once had this happen with a buyer in Russia. She had the item re-shipped by another company (one whose address I recognised at once) to Russia. As soon as I saw that CA address I made sure I sent it tracked and signature required. Later (much later) she contacted me and said she never got the package. There is a very high attrition rate on packages to Russia. However the tracking clearly showed it was delivered in CA and signed for. I just told her to open a case as my insurers would not refund where the post office reported an item delivered. She tried to open one with Paypal but it was well past the 45 day limit so the attempt failed.

From time to time I get a (genuine) USA buyer wanting to return stuff. I accept returns for any reason but my policies clearly state that I dont cover return shipping unless the reason for return is directly related to my error. Usually when they take it to the post office and find out what tracked mail to the UK is going to cost I hear no more of it so I assume they give it to the Goodwill!

[rsot]

Originally Posted by GreenBean

pffft, and damage account standing?

Not sure of the validity of THAT advice.

Account standing will likely be damaged either way - length of shipping, claims, weird situation of non-receipt...

[biglouis999]

Is there no cut off point for A-Z claims as there is for the 45 day limit on EB and PP?

[zoneout]

There is a cutoff time. Dont remember exactly ... think its either 60 or 90 days.