Who pays return shipping on international orders?

[ABexW]

We recently made a sale to a customer in China from the UK. The customer claims the item was damaged upon delivery. Who's responsibility is it to pay for the return shipping of the item and also do we have to refund the original shipping costs?

 

[Mr D]

You and yes.

 

[lesliedocherty]

You are, and you are responsible for his shipping costs out the way.

 

[BerberLeather]

You are. But you should be able to claim some of the cost back from your courier; assuming it was covered for damage and you weren't shipping something that they don't cover such as glass.

 

[lesliedocherty]

You are. But you should be able to claim some of the cost back from your courier; assuming it was covered for damage and you weren't shipping something that they don't cover such as glass.

Good luck with that

 

[BerberLeather]

Good luck with that

Not saying it isn't easy but we have managed it before!

 

[ABexW]

Thanks for your replies. Do those rules apply then wherever we ship to in the world i.e. if an item is damaged its our responsibility to get the goods back and refund the full amount including initial shipping costs? Next question then, how does it work, again talking about shipping goods outside of the UK and EU, if the customer simply changes their mind during the cool off period? Are we still required to refund the initial shipping costs?

 

[Mr D]

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Public/Campaigns/cra/ConsumerRightsSummary-GoodsOL.pdf

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Thanks for your replies. Do those rules apply then wherever we ship to in the world i.e. if an item is damaged its our responsibility to get the goods back and refund the full amount including initial shipping costs? Next question then, how does it work, again talking about shipping goods outside of the UK and EU, if the customer simply changes their mind during the cool off period? Are we still required to refund the initial shipping costs?

The consumer act only relates to the EU so no cancellation rights , outside that it depends on your terms and conditions and if you state action may take place under UK law if the customer wants to take legal action

 

[Mr D]

The consumer act only relates to the EU so no cancellation rights , outside that it depends on your terms and conditions and if you state action may take place under UK law if the customer wants to take legal action

And the seller is in the EU.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I think both buyer and seller need to be in the EU for the act to apply

 

[brownpinky11]

Not saying it isn't easy but we have managed it before!

I'm interested to know what courier you used and type of insurance they carry.

 

[antropy]

We recently made a sale to a customer in China from the UK.

Is it worth it?

 

[ABexW]

Is it worth it?

Which part are you referring to?

 

[antropy]

Which part are you referring to?

Selling to China from the UK in general ...

 

[ABexW]

Selling to China from the UK in general ...

As a business we don't pick and choose the whereabouts of our customers. If someone wishes to purchase our products we will fulfill their orders to the best of our ability. I just wanted to know where we stood, legally, on items being returned to us.

 

[antropy]

As a business we don't pick and choose the whereabouts of our customers. If someone wishes to purchase our products we will fulfill their orders to the best of our ability.

Well it depends on how many orders you get from China and what they're like. If you sell a £10 item to China once in a blue moon and then end up having to refund you might as well not offer shipping to that country, but it depends on how much you sell and the returns rate etc.

 

[ABexW]

Well it depends on how many orders you get from China and what they're like. If you sell a £10 item to China once in a blue moon and then end up having to refund you might as well not offer shipping to that country, but it depends on how much you sell and the returns rate etc.

Fair point.

 

[Mr D]

As a business we don't pick and choose the whereabouts of our customers. If someone wishes to purchase our products we will fulfill their orders to the best of our ability. I just wanted to know where we stood, legally, on items being returned to us.

You factor expected returns into your costing you use to set prices.

 

[FrontierMan]

If it's damaged beyond repair or can't be used, get a photo and just refund the money and not bother with having it returned, save on the return carriage cost, so you are just out of pocket for the item and original postage

 

[lesliedocherty]

Selling to China from the UK in general ...

Stupid answer, even better don't ship anywhere outside UK, crazy

 

[RSR Fulfillment (FR & DE)]

Good luck with that

Indeed. We don't pay any extra insurance on anything any more. And no tracking or signed for if it costs extra either. A quid+ a go. We ship 20 boxes a day and about 1 a month are either lost or damaged. That's over 600 Kerchings for the Post Office. Average sale value is £90.

The pain of the claim is just not worth it. And the money saved goes towards situations such as this.

 

[Mr D]

Stupid answer, even better don't ship anywhere outside UK, crazy

There's better part of 7 billion potential customers outside the UK. I'll take your overseas customers if you don't want them.
2 years ago the overseas customers added tens of thousands of pounds in sales to my business a year and they were covering the increased costs.

 

[Mr D]

Indeed. We don't pay any extra insurance on anything any more. And no tracking or signed for if it costs extra either. A quid+ a go. We ship 20 boxes a day and about 1 a month are either lost or damaged. That's over 600 Kerchings for the Post Office. Average sale value is £90.

The pain of the claim is just not worth it. And the money saved goes towards situations such as this.

Where we could set individual country prices we worked out estimated losses and factored that into pricing, where we couldn't set individual country prices we factored those losses into all the prices overseas. And as time went on refined the figures based on actual losses.
Without the time and effort, never mind expense, of insuring everything and claiming on the few items.