What items have the highest return and Inad rates?

[onefootflipper]

Just doing a little bit of research here. What items have you found to have extremely high rates of returns or item not as described claims?

[mam98031]

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@rugerskick wrote:

Historically clothing and shoes have some of the highest return rates.  Womens clothing and shoes are highest.

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Jewelry and Electronics rate right up there too.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     The following contains some pretty good information. 

https://savemycent.com/ecommerce-return-rate-statistics/  

@onefootflipper 

There is all kinds of research you can find with a Google search that covers retail returns (on  or off line), the best ones with the most detail and best analysis are usually behind a very costly paywall.

     Yes, well aware of that. 😁 This was about the best free source I had available. 

The link above is reasonably good for a general broad picture, note that all the info there is scraped from other online sources (sources listed at the bottom).

     Agreed and it will vary from ecommerce site to ecommerce site. Only eBay actually knows for sure the exact statistics and they will probably never release those to the public since those returns are actually never deducted from their GMV figures they present to shareholders. I have always been curious what eBay's NMV is. AK the GMV - (returns, refunds, chargebacks............. ) 

[kalyoth]

Clothes, items with subjective conditions such as trading cards & collectibles or electronics in my experience.

A size aims to work, but, production doesn't equal size & everyone is not the size they think they are & things do not fit.

Trading cards are a living nightmare as those who collect have the worst expectations possible - even worse than the coin/stamp collecting community. The authenticity program has only made it worse as the fake protection is not applied as written.

Electronics - have all kinds of legal implications when shipped outside of the US - doesn't seem to stop ebay from violating US Law & allowing the transactions. Buyers love to claim damage after opening up & breaking or taking items apart for parts to fix their existing items. Another losing situation for buyers.

Be very careful when selling anything of value above $100.

[evelyb30]

Clothing manufacturers are among the chief culprits.  Tall/regular aside, I've tried on blouses that were fine at the waist, too big at the bust, and two sizes too small across the upper back.  The last is not a measurement included in basic/standard measurements, so I can't know until I try it on.  Womens' sizes especially are not standardized even within one manufacturer.    

Card grading and authenticating...  I have a lot of words, but none are printable.  

As has been said early and often, do NOT sell anything on eBay that you can't afford to toss into the trash.  

[annadryl]

For some reason, just from the boards here, the Pokemon card community is pretty much a war zone.

*edit* speak of the devil, there's currently an example just four posts down. Yeah, I wouldn't sell those...

[onefootflipper]

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@annadryl wrote:

For some reason, just from the boards here, the Pokemon card community is pretty much a war zone.

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There are a lot of children or near children in that community. All my problem Pokemon customers have been the ones buying completely worthless cards. The ones who buy cards with actual value tend to be just fine.

[annadryl]

Just edited my post when I noticed there's a $3k post in the recent mix.

[wilsonharborsales]

Shoes, clothing and wedding related items.

[johnson_junk_company]

All items! when you make it to easy to file bogus claims, it’s impossible to get an accurate picture of what items are most prone to returns. 

[lonebuck-books]

For me it is electronics.  I stopped selling almost all electronics because the return rate and scammer percentage is so high.  Womens clothing and shoes are also pretty bad.

[mam98031]

There are categories that are more prone to returns that others.  It has always been that way.  For example I sell in craft categories, I rarely get a request for return.  The same does not hold true in other categories no matter how well written the listing is.  However a well constructed listing should help to prevent them.  But some categories just have more issues than others.

Electronics

Clothing

Jewelry

Often times in clothing and Jewelry, the sellers are treated as a rental company with one big exception, the seller looses.  They make no money, in fact the returns cost them money.

[byrd69er]

Clothes.

I have no experience selling clothes, so I could be wrong.  It would be the first time.

[byrd69er]

I have that part number 09-334455b. Notice there is a b at the end of the number, but rest assured, it's the part you need.  No returns.

I provide a 10% discount to anyone who claims to be the best ebay seller in the world.