What Do Sellers Think About The New Free Returns Policy?

[ohsogifty4]

What Do Sellers Think About The New Free Returns Policy?

Greater visibility with retail standard returns policies

To help you grow your sales and attract buyers, starting this summer we will increase exposure of free returns and 30-day or 60-day returns without restocking fees by:

• Giving buyers options to search for and filter by these returns policies
• Highlighting these returns policies when buyers visit your listings
• Featuring listings with these returns policies in eBay marketing campaigns

Additional control when you offer free returns

Starting this fall, sellers who offer free returns can decide if they want to offer less than a full refund in cases where an item is returned that is not in the same condition that it was in when you shipped it (e.g., a damaged item or an open-box return).

[ohsogifty4]

There seems to be more and more new policies that if you do this or that, you will get better visibility.
Free ship - better visibility
30 - 60 day returns - better visibility
Promoted listings - better visibility
Free returns with no restock fee- better visibility

Pretty soon I wont show up at all. What's next for the Fall updates?

[phcd1]

It's not cost effective for used/vintage goods.

[tarpedge]

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@ohsogifty4 wrote:

Starting this fall, sellers who offer free returns can decide if they want to offer less than a full refund in cases where an item is returned that is not in the same condition that it was in when you shipped it (e.g., a damaged item or an open-box return).

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And starting this fall, sellers will fall for this hype.

Because the buyer will simply PayPal dispute or credit card chargeback for the rest of the refund, which both are outside the purview of eBay.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Adding filters is a good idea for any parameters.  We already have filters for free shipping, local pick-up, colors, sizes, geographic location, etc.  Why not returns?The more specific, the better!  

Some sellers already offer prepaid shipping for "remorse" returns, especially for clothing or other relatively small items that need to "fit."  A restocking fee helps cover at least part of that cost, although the fee really is intended to replace original packaging or a price reduction for now-used goods.  

Allowing partial refunds for "not in the same condition as received" returns as well as items that don't have a restocking fee is a big plus for sellers -- we've been pleading for that for years!  (Whether "empty box" or junk/garbage" returns are covered by the policy is not clear, however.)

I'll also be interested to see how a 60-day return policy will mesh with eBay's current "return within 30 days or too bad, so sad" policy.

Bottom line:  "Picky" buyers should have the opportunity to be very selective BEFORE they buy.  Sellers who don't offer "free returns" won't have to deal with these pesky problem children!

~~C~~

[southern*sweet*tea]

I've had one for quite  a while now, long before the search filter was mentioned. I've never had a return, so...I see no reason to not have one. Free returns isn't magically going to cause a problem when none existed before. Most of the items I sell aren't consumables, don't have fit issues, etc.  If I sold clothes or electronics I'm sure I'd feel differently.

As a buyer I wouldn't pay any attention to a free returns filter. I buy stuff to keep it, not to return it.

[ohsogifty4]

I sell children's formal wear (NWT). I thought about trying it with light weight items such as ties, socks, shirts, pants, hats, etc. I would leave my restock fee in place. Losing original shipping costs and paying return costs would give me a way lower profit, if any. Having the restock fee will not give me more visibility from ebay either.
Most of my returns are fit issues, which usually buyer wants to exchange for another size.

[Anonymous]

I will NOT be chasing the carrot, I doubt anyone in my category will.  If a buyer wants to buy the sort of widget I sell, they will have to remove the filter.  On the other hand, if eBay tries to "trick" the buyer into using this filter, the buyer will probably go to Google for their search and they will find me on other venues there.  My experience in the past has been that when eBay sales go down, sales on other venues pick up. 

As always, eBay may not have thought this whole thing through and there may be some unintended consequences.

[deep-garnet-red]

Starting this fall, sellers who offer free returns can decide if they want to offer less than a full refund in cases where an item is returned that is not in the same condition that it was in when you shipped it (e.g., a damaged item or an open-box return).

LOL...yeah...right.

[missjen831]

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@deep-garnet-red wrote:

Starting this fall, sellers who offer free returns can decide if they want to offer less than a full refund in cases where an item is returned that is not in the same condition that it was in when you shipped it (e.g., a damaged item or an open-box return).

LOL...yeah...right.

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Yep they forgot to mention that if the seller chooses not to refund in full, the buyer can ask eBay to step in and force the seller to refund the rest of the refund.  

[phcd1]

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@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:

Adding filters is a good idea for any parameters....

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Filters are a waste IMO, that is what "SEARCH" is for to "FILTER" my results to exactly what I typed in the search field (something eBay is unable or unwilling to do). I now find myself using eBay's filters to search for my items which is much more time consuming and less effective.

[the_fancy_fox]

I am not interested in participating in this coming train wreck. It doesn't fit my business model and I don't want those buyers that are window shopping on my dime. Any buyer that is going to specifically search out those sellers that offer free returns is just looking for an issue.  

is eBay going to monitor and boot buyers that abuse returns? THAT is the industry standard. Most online retailers also limit what kind be of items can be returned and some you can't return at all once opened. eBay is setting up a free for all. I feel sorry for electronic and clothing sellers.

[phcd1]

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

...is eBay going to monitor and boot buyers that abuse returns? THAT is the industry standard. Most online retailers also limit what kind be of items can be returned and some you can't return at all once opened. eBay is setting up a free for all. I feel sorry for electronic and clothing sellers.

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EBay is a buyers returners haven. You can return ANYTHING on the sellers dime. Everybody know it and there seems to be no limit (from what I have seen posted here) on how many return you can do. The River is launching try and buy for clothing. If ANYTHING is a big red flag for clothing sellers, this is. Time to get out of clothing or you'll soon be shipping your goods both ways for free. Book mark this quote, you watch. It will come to eBay. I wouldn't be surprised if they even try it for used clothing!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/business/amazon-shopping-retail-fashion.html

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/20/15837656/amazon-prime-wardrobe-try-clothes-before-you-buy

[bluegreen333_3]

Almost everything I sell is preowned or vintage. Profit margin is thin enough with fees, shipping, etc. Returns would end up costing me money.

Customers need to pay attention to what they are buying and not expect us to be a free try on service. It sounds like a snowflake policy for people who can't take responsibility for their decisions and expect someone else to pay when they change their mind.

[terrycanarsky]

- Free shipping - we do this already under a certain weight/size, so no big deal

- 30-day return - yep.

- Promoted listings - we tried this, did absolutely NO good whatsoever.  The listings still got lost in the visual mess eBay has become.

- Free returns with no restocking fee - Many sellers may not have an issue with no restocking fee, but we deal with industrial surplus --- and some of this stuff is heavy or bulky. Despite a rather cantankerous buyer's comment recently about how I probably "only had to go 2 feet from the door to the shelf", we actually have multiple buildings at this location.  Heck, the printer is farther from my desk than 2 ft!

eBay seems to think sellers should provide all these services to buyers free of charge regardless.  It's all part of their rather skewed idea of the best buyer experience, but it comes at the expense of the seller.  Maybe that works for a hobby seller, but this is a business.  And most businesses cannot afford all the freebies eBay demands while it (eBay) continues to charge the business for the privilege of providing the freebies.

~Melody R