Amazon Seller Support

A Tale of Two Orders, Part I

Great customer service can save the sale when things go wrong.

Last month I ordered an item, I'll call it Item X. I eagerly awaited its arrival.

In a couple of days, the seller e-mailed that she would not be able to send Item X right away. It turned out to be slightly damaged when she pulled it out of storage to pack it up for shipping.

Worse still, her supplier would not be able to send another Item X for one to two weeks. (Item X is not mass-produced and the supplier already had plenty of orders to fill.)

Was I disappointed?

Yes!

Did I leave negative feedback?

No.

Why not?

Even though a double whammy happened—an item damaged in storage and a backlog at the supplier—the seller did everything right:

• She told me right away what had happened.
• She was polite and she apologized.
• She told me when the supplier would be able to send another Item X.
• She asked if I would prefer to wait or cancel the order.
• She offered a different, more expensive item, but at the same price.
• When Item X did finally arrive (I decided to wait for it), it was perfect!

Buyers want great stuff and great service, but we know that every single order cannot go perfectly from start to finish. An order shouldn't go sideways very often, but when one does, customer service makes all the difference.

Next month
A Tale of Two Orders, Part II: Lackluster customer service can lose a customer forever

Am I required to include tracking information?

Delivery confirmation or tracking information, while not required, is beneficial to buyers. Including tracking information for your shipments can help buyers verify the status of their packages and anticipate the delivery of their items. If you use tracking information, be sure to enter it when confirming the shipment of your items.

 

Signature confirmation is encouraged for high-value items because it helps verify the items reached the buyer. If an A-to-z Guarantee claim is filed for non-receipt, and signature confirmation verifies your item was delivered to the buyer or another recipient on behalf of the buyer, the A-to-z Guarantee team may deny the claim.

Are you taking some time off for the holidays?

Whenever you take time off, you can set your listings to inactive until you are ready to fulfill orders again.

This prevents customers from placing orders that might not be fulfilled right away. Not only is this the right customer experience, it can also help you relax and enjoy your time off.

When you are ready to sell again, just set your listings back to active. Within an hour your listings will again be available for sale on Amazon.com.

To learn more, search "vacation" in Seller Help.

Happy selling (and resting up) as the year comes to a close!

Handling Post-Order Problems

The majority of holiday sales on Amazon.com go well, but occasionally you may encounter a problem. Let’s look at some of the most common things that could go wrong with an order and the ways to handle them.

I:  The buyer has made a mistake with an order and wants to fix it.

Below are the most common things buyers may ask you to do to fix an order and how you can respond:

Cancel the order

• If you have not yet shipped the order, you can cancel it. Buyers only have a 30-minute window to cancel their own orders, but you can cancel them up until the time you ship them.
• If you have already shipped the order, you can't cancel it, but you can ask the buyer to return it for a refund. It's best to wait until you have the item in hand again before you return funds to the buyer.

Upgrade the shipping

• If you have not yet shipped the order, it is up to you to decide whether to upgrade the shipping at the buyer’s request. Sellers aren't obligated to provide a service that a buyer hasn't paid for or to accept promises of future reimbursement from buyers (sellers can't invoice buyers for extra costs, including postage).
• If you have already shipped the order, provide the buyer with information about the shipping method you used, give them a realistic timeframe for delivery, and ask them to be patient. Here's the information Amazon provides to buyers about delivery expectations: Marketplace Shipping Times.

Ship the order to a different address

• If you have not yet shipped the order, and the buyer says they cannot receive the order at the address they provided originally, you should cancel the order. The buyer can then return to Amazon.com to place a new order using the correct address. Amazon policy requires sellers to ship only to the address provided in their Seller Account.
• If you have already shipped the order and the buyer states that they won't receive the package at the address they provided, you can’t cancel the order but it may still be possible for the buyer to get the package re-routed if they know the recipients. Packages should be routed back to you and you can then refund the buyer.

II:  The buyer hasn't received the item they ordered.

As you might expect, buyers are often anxious to receive their holiday orders and will contact you to check on the shipment status.

• In many cases, the shipment isn't late but may not have arrived as early as the buyer hoped. It's possible that the package didn't arrive at the earliest estimated date. In the case of "slow" packages, you will often need to explain the delivery time frames.
• If the outside delivery date has passed, the best solution is to refund the buyer. Compensating buyers for lost shipments is simply a cost of doing business.
• In the case of a "lost" item arriving in an empty box, you should contact the shipper to report the issue and ask about the options available to you. For a "late" item that may be lost, you may want to engage your carrier for assistance in locating the package and moving it along.
• For an item that never arrives and is truly lost, you may be still able to recover your costs if you purchased insurance originally. You will need to determine your own level of acceptable loss when deciding to insure packages.

III: The buyer has received the order but wants to return it.

Here are the basics on handling returns:

• As per your selling agreement, you have to accept returns within the guidelines spelled out in the the current Amazon refund policies, even if the item was exactly as described and the buyer simply no longer wants it.
• Returns of new items are different from returns of damaged/defective/materially different items.
• Buyer returns should be postmarked within 30 days of the original shipment sent by the seller.
• Returns should be posted to the address included on the outside of each package. It's a good idea to also include your return address inside the package and to confirm it with the buyer before a return is shipped.
• In cases where there is nothing wrong with an item, buyers should cover the cost of return shipping.
• In cases where an item is damaged or defective, or when it is materially different than the item described on the product detail page, sellers should cover the costs of return shipping. You can do this by issuing a concession to the buyer in advance of the return.
• Sellers can charge restocking fees (up to 20%) for returned items that are not damaged, defective or materially different. These fees are meant to cover the extra handling costs to take the item back into inventory and relist it for sale.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions about how to deal with order issues, please see our Seller Help pages.

Returns, A-to-z Guarantee Claims and Chargebacks

For most sellers, A-to-z Guarantee claims and service chargebacks are a rare occurrence. However, when they do occur, be sure to take action to resolve them promptly. You may also occasionally need to issue refunds, accept a return, or cancel an order.

Here are some examples of when you may need to refund, accept returns, or cancel orders:

• You can't fulfill an order or part of an order.
• The customer doesn't receive your order.
• The customer returns an item.
• The customer files a credit card chargeback or an A-to-z Guarantee Claim.
• The customer requests you cancel an order.
• The buyer is unable to receive the order at the address provided.

It's a good idea to check your seller account daily during the holidays so you can proactively take action on any order issues.

For lots of information on returns, refunds, canceling orders, A-to-z Guarantee claims and chargebacks, see our Help pages, which are available to you 24 hours a day.

Order Management: The Essentials

You turned a shopper into a buyer—yay!

Soon now the buyer will be paying close attention to your product and the service you provide.

Buyers are less likely to leave negative feedback or file A-to-z Guarantee claims when sellers excel at these three essentials of order management:

1. Ship exactly what the buyer ordered, not a product that is even slightly different.

   If you no longer offer the exact products you originally listed, it is in your best interest as a seller to update your listings, including the product images.

2. Ship the order on time.

   During the holidays this matters to buyers more than ever.

3. Confirm the shipment. After you confirm the shipment, we tell the buyer it's on its way (and we process the payment at that point also).

   Buyers like to know when and how their orders shipped.

   For more information, search on "confirm shipment" in seller Help.

Manage your orders effectively

Order volumes can increase rapidly during the holiday season. To manage your orders effectively, use the tools in your selling account and follow some suggested “best practices”:

• Don't rely solely on "Sold, ship now" e-mails to let you know you have new orders. The Manage Orders tool in your account provides up-to-the minute views of orders.
• The Manage Orders tool gives you lots of information about orders, including buyer name or shipping address.
• If you need to refund an order, do so promptly. You can make refunds through the Manage Orders tool.
• If you have a Pro Merchant subscription, you can download Inventory Reports to help you track open listings, sold items, order fulfillment, and listings canceled by Amazon.
• Get in the habit of shipping your orders right away. You’ll have more time to resolve any problems that might arise.

Check out our Help pages for more information on managing orders.