Returned Products

[Cmuk2019]

How do I deal with returned products when a customer orders by mistake? The products can not be resold new, and if I were to sell at used prices then I will be selling at a loss.

 

[Newchodge]

If they are personalised goods you can refuse to accept a return. If they are online sales of ordinary goods, your business model has to take into account that people are allowed b y law to change their mind.

 

[Cmuk2019]

Hi, no they are not personalised goods. My question was about what do I do with the products after it has been returned and I am not able to resell it due to competitive prices. Do I just write it off and bin it?

 

[Mr D]

Hi, no they are not personalised goods. My question was about what do I do with the products after it has been returned and I am not able to resell it due to competitive prices. Do I just write it off and bin it?

Up to you.

I just resell them as used if they are in no condition to be sold as new. Rather than bin them which should be even more of a loss than selling them used.

 

[GURUCLOUD]

I know of a few places that put their returned stock onto ebay, better something than binning it!

 

[Cmuk2019]

The selling cost are 10% eBay fees, 2.9%+£0.30 PayPal fees, £2.78 shipping (paid twice £5.56), £2.93 mileage (paid twice £5.86). There is no profit it selling on eBay at used prices. It is cheaper just to bin the product.

 

[Mr D]

The selling cost are 10% eBay fees, 2.9%+£0.30 PayPal fees, £2.78 shipping (paid twice £5.56), £2.93 mileage (paid twice £5.86). There is no profit it selling on eBay at used prices. It is cheaper just to bin the product.

So set your prices to cover the fees.

Or sell via some other method whereby you pay lower fees. Onbuy for instance.

 

[Nochexman]

The selling cost are 10% eBay fees, 2.9%+£0.30 PayPal fees, £2.78 shipping (paid twice £5.56), £2.93 mileage (paid twice £5.86). There is no profit it selling on eBay at used prices. It is cheaper just to bin the product.

Do you have your own website?

 

[Cmuk2019]

It's not possible to increase the price, there would be many products below the increased price which means the products will never get sold. Looking at the past transactions the price that I was selling at was the only prices that people were paying, no one had ever paid a higher price. If I chose to sell on Amazon then the fees are higher. I will look into Onbuy

 

[Cmuk2019]

Do you have your own website?

Yes I have my own website but there have never been any sales on there.

 

[Mr D]

It's not possible to increase the price, there would be many products below the increased price which means the products will never get sold. Looking at the past transactions the price that I was selling at was the only prices that people were paying, no one had ever paid a higher price. If I chose to sell on Amazon then the fees are higher. I will look into Onbuy

Ah you want to have the cheapest product.
Ebay isn't a place to sell your rejects then.

Yes, disposing of it appears your only option.

 

[Cmuk2019]

Do I just write it down as a loss in the spreadsheet and bin the product? Can I give the product away instead? Do I need some proof that the product has been disposed of?

Another option would be to sell off the returned goods as one lot, that way the expenses can be shared and they may be a small possibility that there will be a bit of profit

 

[ComPropSolicitor]

if you are selling volume then I think you just need to ignore it and absorb the cost into the wider picture, i.e. over a 100 or so sales the small loss you make on this one item won't matter - but, simply getting rid of the item (or refusing to sell it) will presumably loose you a lot more.

 

[ComPropSolicitor]

can you not bundle the item up with something else? put it into a nice box and sell it as a deal or something or even start selling a mystery box. all depends on what you are selling but I think you need to get creative.

 

[Cmuk2019]

Yes, I was thinking of something like a mystery box

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

what is the product?

 

[Cmuk2019]

Solar fairy lights, garden lights, car Bluetooth FM transmitter, robot vacuum cleaner

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Is the packaging damaged?

 

[tony84]

Put them on your site as returns - discounted.
Or keep a few of them and sell them as job lots on ebay/local traders.

 

[Cmuk2019]

Robot vacuum cleaner - the tape used to seal the box has been cut
Solar fairy lights - Unknown/misplaced - cant check
Garden lights - slightly crushed, no rips
Car Bluetooth FM transmitter - no damage

 

[Paul Norman]

This is a regular part of operating an online store.

Returned goods are often not able to be sold as new. You choose what to do next.

Selling as returned goods at a discounted price often yields a decent recovery. However it is, as you suggest, sometimes just as viable to bin them. Or give them away (clothing returns, for example, go to a charity shop).

It is part of the cost of running an online store. The returns level is fairly constant, and it has to be built into the business model.

 

[ComPropSolicitor]

Robot vacuum cleaner - the tape used to seal the box has been cut
Solar fairy lights - Unknown/misplaced - cant check
Garden lights - slightly crushed, no rips
Car Bluetooth FM transmitter - no damage

sounds like the type of thing you would be able to sell to a local independent electrical store (you know the type) they will probably buy them off you for 75 % of retail or something. I would do that then you don't have to lose money with postage etc

 

[Cmuk2019]

Do you mean something like CeX. I'll have to check the maths if selling at 75% is still a loss

 

[Mr D]

Do you mean something like CeX. I'll have to check the maths if selling at 75% is still a loss

If it is then maybe want to try selling something else.
Lots of items with much greater profit element.

 

[Paul Norman]

Just to clear up one point.

It is highly likely you will be selling returned goods at a loss. But that is better than not selling them at all.

Returns is a cost to online retailers. There is no way to avoid that - you often pay return postage, and then dispose of the items for less than their value.

 

[Nochexman]

How do I deal with returned products when a customer orders by mistake? The products can not be resold new, and if I were to sell at used prices then I will be selling at a loss.

Some interesting advice in this thread - what did you decide to do?