Pushing the 30 Day Free Returns

[wamegun]

Got this promo a few moments ago in my eBay messages. If I offer 30 day "Free Returns" they will cover the label cost. How nice of eBay to offer this to people like me who have no intention of offering this! 

The second part of that message says it increases sales. I would absolutely love to see hard data on that too! As an analyst in the day job, the numbers matter more than a blanket statement anyone can create. Sigh.

[libertyestatefinds]

I'm sorry this happened to you. You may want to check your settings in Site Preferences for Returns.....I discovered a few days ago that I had been "auto opted" into automatic returns, but you can turn that off. Ebay also opted me into GD, which I didn't want either.

[ceara2002]

I received it, too. The same exact promo push as the OP.
I am ignoring it.

[carcass_collectibles]

Nope!  They just tell you that the buyer has 'x' amount of days to return to the item to you.  Once they do, you are automatically charged for the shipping label.  For some reason, I did NOT get one of those invitations where eBay covers your free shipping costs until August.

[crownsfieldcellular]

I think if theyre going to force people into this policy and they find it so "beneficial"?  They should be permanently paying for the return labels, not temporarily...Why should I eat the cost of labels as a small seller, when they believe this policy is so great for everyone all around??

[tkea49]

I am in the same boat. I have sold teacher guide books with blackline masters that can be copied on a copy machine. In one week, I sold  books to two different buyers. They waited 25 days before deciding that the books were "not what they needed" and returned them.  Of course, they bought the books, made copies of all the pages and sent the books back to me. If I had offered free return costs to these buyers, they would have, in essence, "rented" the books for free, made copies and returned them. I will not offer free return for books that can be copied on a copy machine. In school supply stores in my town there is a policy of no returns for these type of books at all. I  will not be offering free returns to my buyers.

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

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@rockmafia5 wrote:

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@jason_incognito wrote:

So, I can increase my sales by 15% if I allow 20% of my buyers to return stuff for free at my expense?

What a deal.

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"Up to 15%"...0.1% falls under up to 15%

I already get enough **bleep** free returns with false SNADs.  No thanks ebay (again)

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Yes, and also you know that asterisk means bad news. 

You know who else has a asterisk....Barry Bonds.

[marinermikes]

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@carcass_collectibles wrote:

Everyone, this is already happening in some cases.  I've already had two returns go through without even getting so much as a head's up; I just get a notification from eBay telling me that a return has already been approved and to get ready for it whether I like it or not.  Without my consent. Try this on for size, and get used to it... because this is where we are heading:

A buyer buys an O.E. auto part from me; item cost is over $100.  With free shipping, that's about another $15 out of my pocket.  Item was brand new in factory packaging unopened, my listing shows images of the exact part w/factory diagrams and part number interchange for the exact vehicle in question.  Buyer does NOT do any research & just buys the item anyways.  Opens the package and proceeds to install the part and realizes that the part doesn't fit.  BUYER'S FAULT, right?  Nope.  He just opens a return with the reason 'Doesn't Fit' and it gets approved and sent back to me without any communication with me at all whatsoever.  The buyer gets a guilt-free refund and I get left with a no-longer factory sealed item that is now covered in grease and quite probably unsellable.  Even if I did sell it again, it would need to be at a much lower cost and I would have to pay shipping on it again.  But this is all going to increase our sales in the long run, right?

Wrong.  With this new process, the buyer does not even have to contact you. There is no communication with you at all; they simply return an item to you and that's it, like it or lump it. The buyer does not need to accept ownership for their actions at all and those of us who have been bullied into offering free shipping lose even more money on every return.

I'm wondering if simply going back to not accepting returns at all will make things any easier as a seller.  You see, I'm not on the same page as eBay...  I don't really care about making returns easier for the buyer.

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Yep. Buyers don't really have to read the description any more. The see free returns, no problem. They have no responsibility to make sure the part fits any more because it's so easy to return it. They don't even have to contact the seller any more to explain their mistake!

[headvasegal]

I sell books and media items.  I would rather not become an eBay lending library.

[drusalina]

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@ymeagainlord wrote:
Yeah, VERY hard to keep up with it all, and from what I've been seeing it seems eBay's system is having some issues with all the changes as well.

It's just WAY too many all on top of each other.

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It is eBay's way of keeping the sellers confused, so they will follow like sheep.  But the sellers are smarter than eBay's purposeful convoluted ways. 

[bdc_sales_llc]

I have been offering free returns since march and sales have increased. Have even raised prices by 10 percent and people are still paying it. I believe this is due to the confidence that free returns offers. Not a single return so far.