Neutral feedback because of no returns

[shopkiger]

Hi all, 

I got a neutral feedback today that says "no returns & it didn't fit" 

It's in my description that I do not accept returns but I usually do anyway when someone asks. If she would have just reached out I would have accepted a return or even sent another item free. I will usually go out of my way to fix any problem.

Should I even bother to try to have it removed & can a buyer leave a neutral or even a negative because you don't accept returns?? 

It's not a big deal & i'm not going to lose sleep over a neutral. It just seems like it would be unfair for a buyer to leave a neutral feedback because a seller doesn't accept returns when they are aware of that.

[shopkiger2]

Well of coarse carriers charge for their services! I wasn't insinuating that they don't.
Offering free shipping can have a negative affect on your profits depending what you sell, how you run your business, etc. I take a lot of offers since that is what has really increased my sales in the last few years. I price my items a little higher to leave some room for decent offers. I'm not adding an additional $5 - $8 for the shipping. My items would be way overpriced & buyers wouldn't want to give my listing a second look. After offering free shipping last year I didn't notice an increase in sales, the offers I was receiving were lower than usual & my profits were declining. By the time I sold an item & subtracted ebay fees, paypal fees, shipping cost & the cost of goods, there was very little profit. I decided this does not work for me & started charging buyers for shipping costs. My sales keep improving & my profits are increasing. This is just my opinion & experience.

[mam98031]

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@shopkiger2 wrote:
Well of coarse carriers charge for their services! I wasn't insinuating that they don't.
Offering free shipping can have a negative affect on your profits depending what you sell, how you run your business, etc. I take a lot of offers since that is what has really increased my sales in the last few years. I price my items a little higher to leave some room for decent offers. I'm not adding an additional $5 - $8 for the shipping. My items would be way overpriced & buyers wouldn't want to give my listing a second look. After offering free shipping last year I didn't notice an increase in sales, the offers I was receiving were lower than usual & my profits were declining. By the time I sold an item & subtracted ebay fees, paypal fees, shipping cost & the cost of goods, there was very little profit. I decided this does not work for me & started charging buyers for shipping costs. My sales keep improving & my profits are increasing. This is just my opinion & experience.

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I think you missed the point.  Free Shipping should NEVER have a negative affect on your profits.  If it is having that affect, then the seller is not pricing their products correctly.  It is just that simple.  

If a seller chooses not to include the price of shipping in their product price when offering free shipping, that really isn't a fault of offering free shipping, it is just that the seller is not setting the proper price of the product.  Certainly a seller's choice to make.  

If a seller is offering a product that would be overpriced if shipping was rolled into the price, then it stands to reason that product was still overpriced if shipping was stated separately.  And if that is the case, then it would be the product itself that is the issue.  You either need to get the product cheaper or move on to some other product.

If you offer an item for $10 plus $5 S&H or you offer the item for $15 w/ free shipping, the price you get paid is the same.  So it is just figuring out if running Free Shipping is a good thing for you are sticking with stated shipping is better.  

It is fine if free shipping doesn't work for you, it isn't for every product.  I have things I sell with free shipping and others have stated shipping.  Whatever works best of you is the right thing to do.

[bsarafian]

Wouldn't you want a seller to accept returns if an item is SNAD?

If an item is SNAD then the buyer can return /get a refund regardless of seller terms.

[parkersparrow]

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@city*satins wrote:

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@couldabeenworse wrote:

I'm sure you can get the neutral removed, but I think you're missing the boat by not accepting returns.

Good luck...

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When Paypal announced its decision not to refund the 2.9% fee they charge for accepting the payment I moved to NO RETURNS. 

Then they held off on that and I'm accepting returns again.

If the implement that planned change, I expect to go back to no returns again.

We'll see.

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I did the same. 

[city*satins]

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@shopkiger wrote:
That's why you should provide measurements in the listing. When I'm buying I always check measurements or ask if they're not provided & i've never recieved an item that doesn't fit. Unfortunately some buyers do not know their measurements & buy anyway knowing that a seller doesn't accept returns & wants to blame the seller. All they have to do is measure one of their favorite tops or jeans & compare to measurements in the listings.

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I provide measurements but I'm not sure it's such a great idea.   When you provide measurements, you give a buyer who doesn't want to pay for return shipping and wants a refund on original shipping, a basis for opening a SNAD case instead of just a simple return for non SNAD 'doesn't fit'

The way this works is the buyer takes one of the measurements you provided, say for instance, that the length is 36", and claims that it's wrong, it's 34" or 39" and that this difference makes a difference.  So it's SNAD and they win, they get all their original payment back and return shipping.

You get the item back and measure it again.  Length = 36"  just as you said.

No appeal possible.    A photo showing the 36" length in the listing won't help either, ebay will say that "well, we don't know that you sent that particular item.  You could have sent a different item".

[shopkiger]

I was told not to provide measurements for that same reason but luckily I've never had that issue YET. I had so many requests for measurements that I just decided it would be easier to include them in the description. I figure either way a buyer will open a SNAD case for one reason or another if they really want the return.

[shopkiger]

I don't think it's a matter of not pricing the items correctly. Offering free shipping will have a negative affect on profits for those who do not want to price items higher to cover shipping, especially when they buyers are paying the same cost regardless. Sadly, they just don't realize this. You also have to consider large, heavy or bulky items that can be expensive to ship & the cost can vary. I do not want to add extra shipping cost to the cost of the item. That's my point. When someone purchases an item from me, I want them to know what they are paying me for the item & what they are paying for the shipping service. That's just how I prefer it.

[mam98031]

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@shopkiger wrote:
I don't think it's a matter of not pricing the items correctly. Offering free shipping will have a negative affect on profits for those who do not want to price items higher to cover shipping, especially when they buyers are paying the same cost regardless. Sadly, they just don't realize this. You also have to consider large, heavy or bulky items that can be expensive to ship & the cost can vary. I do not want to add extra shipping cost to the cost of the item. That's my point. When someone purchases an item from me, I want them to know what they are paying me for the item & what they are paying for the shipping service. That's just how I prefer it.

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Well of course.  But then the seller has full control over that.  It would be silly for a seller to do free shipping and then not cover the costs in how they arrive at their product price.  

As I said before Free Shipping isn't a good idea for some types of products and for large, heavy or bulky items, calculated shipping is likely to be a better choice.  Especially with recent changes with USPS and other carriers.

"I do not want to add extra shipping cost to the cost of the item."  If you are offering free shipping, you would NOT be adding "extra" costs to the price of the item.  It isn't like it is optional.  You will have to ship the item, so it is a cost of doing business and one that needs to be covered if you intend on making a profit.

It sounds to me like you would be better off doing separately stated shipping because it is how you prefer to do business.  There is NOTHING wrong with that.  But clearly Free Shipping isn't for you.  That too is not or should not be an issue.  These are your choices, no one elses.