Thinking of allowing returns - thoughts, hints, tips?

[zoesam]

I know it's been discussed before, but it's been awhile, so I decided to start a new thread b/c so many options & policies have changed from the Ebay side.  

I know I have to decide the return time period & who pays for returns, is there anything else I will have to decide to set it up?  I know that some sellers are allowed to do partial refunds in case of damaged returns?  Does anyone recall what level you have to be at to do that?  I am TRS, but not the super TRS that has to have 1 day handling. 

Any thoughts, tips or suggestions I should take into consideration?  Or any experiences to share?  I'm one of the few here who has stayed with no returns & honestly it works fine for me, I don't get many SNAD's for ppl trying to get around my return policy.  My motivation is simply to try & increase sales via the supposed boost in search.  TIA. 

[chapeaunoir]

I went from no returns to returns quite a few years ago and would never go back. I've found that the vast majority of my buyers who return are honest - if it's for fit or they don't like it, they state that and are willing to pay return shipping. My shipping is pretty cheap - I charge capped flat rates - and roll the rest into the item so it doesn't look like such a hit.

If one takes 30-day returns (buyer pays) and is regular TRS, you can deduct up to 50% for damage - I've never had to do that yet (knock on wood). People wrap their items nicely and sometimes even include a nice note thanking me for taking the item back. I really have a lot of great buyers.

[frakinfashion]

I have never taken returns. I won't, won't, won't. I don't want people trying on the clothes. I don't want all the extra labor. No, just no.

[somany]

I have been considering it, too, and have actually put it on a few listings so far. It's probably dangerous to do it in pieces, though, since I might forget if someone actually opened a return. I have just been swamped with real life stuff lately and have spent little to no time on ebay except to get things shipped over the last 3-4 weeks. That should change next week, hopefully.

One thing I noticed when I had to open a return for a damaged item is that ebay only shows the "doesn't fit", "didn't like", etc. reasons on the first screen, and you have to click on "show more" to see the "item arrived damaged", "not as described", etc. reasons. That might help limit inadvertent not as described returns, but probably wouldn't stop scammers from using it.

[denise15601]

I have been doing 30 day returns for years now with no problems at all. I don't do the free return shipping, however.

I might have 2-3 returns a year for fit or whatever. It doesn't fit, so they return it and pay for the return shipping.

It has been years since I had someone dispute an item for a color or size discrepancy, which I think happens more when the seller has no returns.

[kritter]

Aug 13, 2021 3:02:05 GMT frakinfashion said:

I have never taken returns. I won't, won't, won't. I don't want people trying on the clothes. I don't want all the extra labor. No, just no.

Me either.  No way!

Once it leaves here, I don't want to see it again.

[Desire]

I don't want ANYTHING coming back here once it's gone. Too many people like to order a bunch of stuff from different places/sellers and pick out what they like and return the rest. They need to go to the store to do that.

[frakinfashion]

I'm phasing out all my clothing and will eventually (I hope) just have jewelry and collectibles to sell. Still I don't want any returns. Gone and forgotten.

[kritter]

I will be gone for the most part by the end of this year. It was fun while it lasted. I can tell my interest has slowly disappeared plus I want to get all this shipping stuff out of my house.

[val2525]

I haven't listed in over a year, but I'm starting back up Labor Day weekend with fall stuff. I have a nice stash of Catherines NWT that I bought on pre-bankruptcy clearance that should do well. Plus the rest of the winter stuff I moved with me. I've done returns and no returns, and really didn't notice any difference in sales. Returns stayed under 5% (usually more like 2%) and that's very reasonable for online, so I'll probably take returns when I start listing in 2 weeks. I'm not doing free shipping AND returns though. That's just asking for people to buy/try/return. IMO anyway. The only time I won't do returns is the 3 weeks before Christmas. The holiday eBay buyers suck with their entitled attitudes and they are BAD about returns.

[jesmelric]

Aug 13, 2021 17:51:56 GMT val2525 said:

I haven't listed in over a year, but I'm starting back up Labor Day weekend with fall stuff. I have a nice stash of Catherines NWT that I bought on pre-bankruptcy clearance that should do well. Plus the rest of the winter stuff I moved with me. I've done returns and no returns, and really didn't notice any difference in sales. Returns stayed under 5% (usually more like 2%) and that's very reasonable for online, so I'll probably take returns when I start listing in 2 weeks. I'm not doing free shipping AND returns though. That's just asking for people to buy/try/return. IMO anyway. The only time I won't do returns is the 3 weeks before Christmas. The holiday eBay buyers suck with their entitled attitudes and they are BAD about returns.

I started taking returns again in April, after some years of no returns. This was after ebay told me after I got a SNAD for a wrinkled garment that they weren't going to back me up. But I couldn't afford to do free shipping AND returns (losing the restocking fee was what made me go no returns in the first place). So I decided to stop free shipping and add returns. I was really worried I would lose sales due to shipping fees, but I have noticed NO DIFFERENCE. I took a note from Chap and I just do a flat fee; I try to gauge it based on the weight of the garment, sometimes I lose a bit, sometimes I gain so it pretty much works out evenly. For priority padded flat rate I do $7 and eat the change. For anything awkward (very heavy, non clothing, etc) I do calculated because it really depends if someone is near or far so that's too hard for me to gauge.

I'm SO RELIEVED about not having SNAD's hanging over me!!! Knock on wood, so far returns have been low and the buyer pays to send it back and I don't lose original shipping so it's no big deal. I was so worried about it but it turned out to be a big fat relief for me so I would recommend it.

[denise15601]

I do a flat fee for FC and FR too. I just charge $4, $5 or $6 for FC depending on the weight. Then when USPS raises the prices, I can just increase the prices.

FR is $8.

The rest is calculated.

Since I am in PA, PR to the West can be really high. So no way will I do free shipping for those.

[val2525]

I took a note from Chap and I just do a flat fee; I try to gauge it based on the weight of the garment, sometimes I lose a bit, sometimes I gain so it pretty much works out evenly. For priority padded flat rate I do $7 and eat the change. For anything awkward (very heavy, non clothing, etc) I do calculated because it really depends if someone is near or far so that's too hard for me to gauge.


I did flat fee for years, but I usually charged $7.95 for PMFR envelope,$5 for FC and calculated for heavy unless it fit in a PM flat rate box of some sort. I'll have to check postage rates and what other sellers are charging before I start listing again, to figure out what to charge this time.

[jellybeanscloset412]

Taking returns never increased my sales and only caused my return rate to go up. I tried and it just wasn't a good fit for me. I know there are alot of sellers that will turn on returns to get a sales boost and then switch back.

Two things increase my sales; listing and sales, if that makes sense. Sometimes I take a lowball offer or just sell something and the flood gate opens!

I forgot to add that I rarely have requests or Snads. Much less then when I took returns.

[zoesam]

Thank you everyone for your input! I wanted to try it BEFORE the holidays, as that's a lousy time to try it out! I've had a couple of experiences lately that made me think about it more. One was a return I had accidentally hit approve when I didn't mean to & she never even bothered to return it. The process was all automated, smooth & easy. I liked that. It was too long a wait for the funds to be freed up, but that's not really a big deal to me. Also, I had several ppl wanting to exchange for another item b/c the item didn't fit them. One was so sweet, that I actually approved it & it turned out to be a hassle in the system, so I wished I had just let her return it.

Also, I had 2 really bad weeks of virtually no sales, so that def got me thinking about it more. That has ended & my sales are back to normal, but that entire time, I was listing more than I usually list, so it was very discouraging.

I did try this once before & didn't see much increase in sales, but it's been quite a few years, so I thought it was worth another try. I'll see how it goes, I don't have to stick with it & I don't have to do it on every item.

Also, I like that since I'm TRS, I can do a partial refund if necessary, though it never has been.

[denise15601]

Although I have very few returns, there have been times that they forgot to send the item back. I have the 30 day return policy, which seems to lessen the urgency for the return.

Works for me.

[val2525]

A 30 day return policy doesn't really increase returns, IMO, and like Denise said, many times the buyer forgets. I have two things I'm stuck with because I didn't pay attention and missed the 30 day return mark by 1 day (not eBay). Oh well, it was my mistake. If I REALLY don't like something (or it doesn't fit), I return immediately. My two items above were things I was iffy about and forgot to pay attention to the date. THat happens to other buyers too. Although for specialty seasonal getting close to the end of their season, 30 day return on those items might not be a good idea. And definitely don't offer during the holidays, or you WILL be slammed with returns in January.

[denise15601]

I have been really lucky around the Holidays since I don't get last minute rush orders or Jan returns. Maybe that is because I don't have the right items???

[chapeaunoir]

I take down party/seasonal items about two weeks before Christmas if I decide to keep my various stores and closets open through Christmas. One year, though, on Etsy I had a 35% return rate in December. I almost shut down completely, then suddenly I was back to my once-in-a-while returns.

[val2525]

Aug 16, 2021 16:39:39 GMT denise15601 said:

I have been really lucky around the Holidays since I don't get last minute rush orders or Jan returns. Maybe that is because I don't have the right items???

I think sellers who sell NWT and gift items have more holiday returns than those of us who sell mostly used. Our stuff is being bought for personal use most of the time. Or that's been my experience, anyway. One year I continued to offer returns but took down my NWT stuff around the first of December, and popped it back up Christmas Day for after-Christmas shopping. Worked quite well

[jesmelric]

Well I spoke too soon, I have had 2 returns in the last two weeks, lol. Both for fit, one is a jumpsuit and those are definitely hard to fit. The other is a size L Fresh Produce dress and the buyer said:
I have had many Fresh Produce dresses over the years and usually take a M or L. I’m surprised this is so tight.
Measurements were given, but oh well. Buyers paid initial shipping so nothing lost there, and they pay return shipping so no loss there. It's a bit of a hassle but no funds lost so I'm ok with it. I can relist, no strikes against me because the buyer made something up to force a return. So to be it's still preferable.

[kritter]

Fresh Produce is one of the worst with their sizing inconsistency even between the same style dress. If she buys a lot of FP, she should know that and pay special attention to measurements provided by the seller.

[zoesam]

I've had it on most items (except new & few others I exempted) for 1 1/2 weeks now. No returns, but def no increase in sales either, as this was one of my worst weeks in years.

[chapeaunoir]

zoesam - I have returns because it's easier, rather than for a boost in sales, though due to the fact that I sell a lot of unbranded items I do think in my case it might help sales just because people are willing to try my unusual wares when they can tell if they fit or not.

Also, sales are in the crapper for a lot of clothing sellers right now (at least the ones I chat with) - it's always that way with me*, though I haven't really been listing much lately on eBay, for instance. I usually do well on Posh and it has been very slow there, too. I might sell 7-8 things a week on eBay max these days, though I don't have a lot running, either.

*ETA: This time of year. 

Oh! Someone just bought a coat!  I sold a coat last week, too. Just started listing them again. 

[kat]

I take returns and rarely have any and very few issues. (I tried free returns when eBay had the promo that they’d pay them and I don’t recommend that at all. The one that took me up on it used SNAD for fit.)
I’m not selling much now, so I haven’t had any returns in a long time.
t’s a pain and I’m often baffled someone is willing to be out $16 shipping both ways because the jeans don’t fit.
If there is a bit of lint, smudge of deodorant or wrinkled up - anything that requires me to re-prep for sale again I take full advantage of deducting up to 50% from the refund, which has been most of them.

[zoesam]

Aug 28, 2021 19:10:39 GMT kat said:

If there is a bit of lint, smudge of deodorant or wrinkled up - anything that requires me to re-prep for sale again I take full advantage of deducting up to 50% from the refund, which has been most of them.

Just curious, has anyone questioned you on that or gotten pissed & taken it to Ebay?  

I'm getting my first return & while I don't expect anything to be amiss, I thought I'd ask.  It's a fit issue & she shipped back the next day, so I think it'll be fine.  

Thanks for your input.  No way will I do free returns, I'm against it just on principle :-)  Though I love it when Zappos does it LOL.  I don't have Zappos money.  

[kat]

I have never had anyone complain and if they complained to eBay I wouldn’t know. They say less than positive feedback will be removed too.

[zoesam]

Sept 9, 2021 23:51:22 GMT kat said:

I have never had anyone complain and if they complained to eBay I wouldn’t know. They say less than positive feedback will be removed too.

That's good to know, thank you so much!  I had my first return & it's been over a month.  She was lovely & the item came back immediately & in perfect condition.  On the down side, I have noticed no change in sales from it, though it would be hard to know exactly why, if there was an uptick.  I have been selling more expensive items, but mostly they've been new & so I didn't have returns turned on for them.