Need some Warrior Wisdom on a damaged returned item...

by Fred E

Posted: 15 years ago 15 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hey all,

I've been running a successful retail business online for the last 2-3 months. This is the first I'm dealing with this issue so I'm looking for some input from people who have experience in this area (retail).

A customer returned an item to me for refund, and taped the shipping box (12x12x12) with THREE small pieces of scotch tape. Consequently when I received it from USPS Parcel Post the box was completely open. The merchandise was still inside but received a rather large blemish which I'm convinced probably happened from falling out of the box during transit.

SO, I'm deliberating as to how I should handle this. I have a disclaimer in the Returns section of my site that refunds may not be issued if merchandise is not in new condition when received. I feel I am completely justified in issuing a partial refund to account for the damage, since I will have to sell this item in the future at a tremendous discount. However I'm wondering if this guy turns out to be a jerk about it, if a disgruntled customer potentially spreading slanderous words about my website all over the internet is worth the effort. The item in question goes for $100. I will not be able to get more than $50-60 for it in the future, which is close to my cost.

I'm so irritated at this guy's idiocy in packaging up the item so poorly that I want to refund him less and teach him a lesson, as well as account for my future lost profit, but do you think it's worth it in the long run?

Thanks for any input, this is my first venture in retail, so help is very much appreciated!

#damaged #item #returned #warrior #wisdom

Sleaklight 15 years ago

It's a pickle. I used to sell on ebay and once sold a $450 coin. The person sent it back stating he changed his mind. My return policy said you can return it for any reason what so ever as long as it was mailed in the same condition it was shown on the pictures in the auction. He sent it back with a fingerprint on the coin, the coin's value went down to about $100 just because of that person's fingerprint. I contacted the person and sent him pictures of it. After arguing back and forth and him not agreeing to a 15% restoration fee, I mailed the coin back to him with delivery confirmation and did not refund him since. He left me negative feedback but I had a couple hundred sales all with potive feedback. It didn't tarnish my future sales.
I suggest you contac him and email him pictures of how it arrived and tell him you can no longer sell it for full value and that it was indeed his fault for not securely packing the item. Ask him if he is willing to comprimise X amount since it was returned damaged. If he does not agree, mail it back out to him with signature delivery confirmation. Just my opinion. I would not worry about one bad apple posting negative reviews of your site as long as you have a lot more positive reviews that reflects on your comany.
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- Killer Joe 15 years ago
  
  Hi Fred,
  
  Welcome to the wonderful world of retail. I own an ecommerce webstore (since 1998) and the best advice I can give you is to learn to take these situations in stride. Not all transactions can be winners.
  
  Chalk it up to a cost of doing business, and then get on with your business. Let this one go, apply whatever lessons you can learn from this incident in the future and consider it an educational experience.
  
  Don't let your energies get sapped by this. You could easily end up trading opportunity resources that can help you grow your business for time spent and wasted chasing yesterday's mishaps.
  
  Learn how to use Postal Insurance to eliminate these problems. If you stay in business any length of time you will experience these from time to time. Stuff happens, so learn to roll with the punches. It will make you a better businessman.
  
  KJ
  
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  DavidO 15 years ago
  
  I fully agree with Killer Joe. Maybe you could put a note in your product documentation to pack the item as it was on arrival. That might avoid future problems. As for this one, just take it as a cost of doing business. Except in the most extreme case you can never question customer refunds.
  
  Every time I get a return I lose money because I have to throw the item away. It's a CD set and I'm not going to take any chances on recycling it, even if it looks perfect. I get some back that are totally wrecked but I still have to do the refund.
  
  Thanks
  
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Fred E

15 years ago

Thanks for the responses guys, I'd appreciate anymore input before I make a final decision on this. Up until now I've been thinking to offer the customer a choice:

(A) Partial refund to account for damage

(B) The item shipped back to them free of charge

Their choice.

Is this reasonable?

Thanks
1 reply

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Kay King

15 years ago

I'm so irritated at this guy's idiocy in packaging up the item so poorly that I want to refund him less and teach him a lesson, as well as account for my future lost profit, but do you think it's worth it in the long run?

No - not worth it in the short run either. If you told him "return for a refund", refund him quickly.

Going forward require items returned to be sent by UPS (automatically insured for up to $100) or be very clear that customer should insure or may be liable for damages.

kay

Thanks

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Shane N 15 years ago

Fred,

Like you said above... What if he goes around posting bad reviews bout your business on sites like "rip-off report" that show up on the front page of Google all to often for keywords that might be related to your business, etc.

For $50, it's just not worth it... Especially since you mentioned that you've "been running a successful retail business online for the past 2-3 months."

If it was $500, I would say stick him the bill!

In the end it's up to you, but I say it's always better to be on the safe side and in the future you can make sure you let the customer know (on the phone or in a separate email) that if they return the item damaged they will not get the full refund.

My 2 cents.

Best,
Shane

P.S. - If you insist on giving him a partial refund to make him pay for the damages... Try doing so in the most professional and kind way possible.
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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

Refund. Preserve your reputation.
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Don Schenk 15 years ago

I owned a retail business for 38 years, and always gave their money back if there was a problem. Some of these people became good, continuous customers.

Some 16 years ago I got the wild idea to put a large, no-questions-asked guarantee in my Yellow Pages Ad. When the new phone books came out I saw an immediate jump in business from that Ad. I tracked how every customer finds out about that business.

So I began putting my guarantee everywhere I could. It paid off well in new, increased business.

Would you rather be right and not refund, or would you rather be happy and have a happy customer who may turn out to be a good, repeat customer?

:-Don
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Fred E 15 years ago

I ended up giving the customer the full refund. Thank you all very much for your experienced input. Sometimes it's hard to see the big picture past one customer's idiocy, so I appreciate you guys weighing in!
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- Killer Joe 15 years ago
  
  Fred,
  
  Congrats on doing the right thing. What comes about goes about and your business will be more prosperous for you taking the high road.
  
  Much success,
  
  KJ
  
  Thanks
  
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Andy LaPointe 15 years ago

The return of the product is something that is the cost of doing business. The best thing to do about this is issue the refund with a smile. In addition, you may want to remind the customer of the swiftness of your refund policy and if handled properly you may even get a testimonial.

Hope this helps,

Thanks,

Andy
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willzoboy 15 years ago

For the amount of money that was involved you did the right thing by refunding his payment. I would have done exactly the same thing. Many a time in my old offline business I refunded customers when I wasn't obligated to do so. I saw it as a gesture of goodwill. Many such customers actually bought from me again.

I totally agree with Killer Joe's last comment about what comes about.......
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kindsvater 15 years ago

There's a lot of unknowns to try and charge the buyer for damage to your product:

- Is the damage why the buyer returned it? (I'm assuming not given the post.)

- What was the packing inside the box?

- What care was labeled on the outside of the box?

- Maybe the shipper is at fault for lack of care, even though the buyer put on minimal tape.
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Johnathan 15 years ago

Fred,

It's a judgement call. You can take certain steps to recoup your cost, and if he agrees to it, super, you don't need to worry about that. But if it turns out it's going to be a pain/arguing, providing you are doing at least say $3-$5k/month, chalk it up to a cost of doing business.

Otherwise, yes, you will waste a lot of time and energy.

I once ended up arguing with a customer over the course of several weeks when I was starting out, and in the end decided to just refund him because he was such a pain in the butt. It would have been easier if I had just realized what kind of character he was after a few e-mail exchanges, and focus on building my business instead of worrying about him.

So if you can, move on, and build your business instead.
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- armadillo 15 years ago
  
  Bite the bullet, take the loss, sell it at a discount and move on. You don't have the time to try and train idiot customers... they will always have you outnumbered.
  
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Need some Warrior Wisdom on a damaged returned item...

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