Amazon Lead the Way (as usual)

[lesliedocherty]

Got this from Amazon today, customer focussed, makes the customer experience better, no wonder people prefer shopping with them.

---

Starting August 30, 2024, we’re updating the process for seller-fulfilled returns for heavy and bulky items (weighing 31.5 kg or more, or whose longest side when packed exceeds 175 cm). You’ll now be required to offer home collection on heavy and bulky item returns with a refund.

This change aims to make it easier for customers to shop seller-fulfilled heavy and bulky items on Amazon, by ensuring they have a returns experience that meets customers’ expectations. We recommend that you check with your carrier to make sure that home collection is part of your current contract and make any updates as needed.

You can continue to offer customers a partial refund or part replacement instead of home collection if the customer agrees. You’ll be required to share the tracking ID for the replaced part with the customer, and complete the return request using the reason code “Return request cancelled.”

To provide customers visibility into your return arrangements and avoid unnecessary A-to-z Guarantee claims or impacts to your order defect rate, you must:

• Authorise or deny a return request within 48 hours where the request is not auto-authorised.
• Within 48 hours of the return request authorisation, use Buyer-Seller Messages to let customers know that the collection process has started. Make sure to provide the estimated collection time and upload the prepaid return label and tracking ID. To learn how, go to

 

[AmazonGeek]

Yup - Amazon really looks after the customer at the expense of the seller I'm afraid. It affects everyone in the same way and eventually the market adjusts but it's horrible when these things kick in.

 

[lesliedocherty]

Is that a bad thing, you have access to their customer base, it just forces us all to up our game a bit, its given me some ideas as we sell some product that is hard to return, so thininh from a customer point of view, I need to give them a solution.

 

[AmazonGeek]

I agree - lots of positives but when they move the goal posts it can cause bother. It affects everyone in the same way but it is then a question of who can hold out the longest. Some will disappear because they can't keep it up and the more robust sellers will remain and scoop the extra orders.