Moose
I can see that a chap might change his or her mind, but my point is that the
facility to return on a whim is costing the retailer margin which he will have
to recover somewhere. In this country you have to pay for the return postage
if the itiem is not faulty, but where that is not the case the retailer will
raise the margin somewhere else in the world.
One of the ways that Amazon has got ahead is by employing its workers on
punitive wages and conditions (in this country the taxpayer tops up such wages)
and by avoiding tax.
I haven’t cancelled my account with Amazon, but I use other online retailers
if at all possible; Bezos (or his ex-wife) doesn’t need my money, I know.
Chris
> On 13 Jun 19, at 22:07, Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> was "Changed my mind."
>
>> It must cost someone a lot of money for people to be allowed to do that.
>
> Pre Amazon - - -
> =========================
> On-line retailers (and before that, mail-order) know they have a disadvantage
> compared to local stores, where one may try out/play with gear before buying.
> OTOH, they have cost advantages and perhaps buying power advantages. So they
> simply build the cost of a friendly return policy into their margins. ALL
> retailers have a difference between starting gross and final gross. One
> component of that is mark-downs/promotions, another is shrinkage (breakage,
> theft, and so on, endlessly). Cost of returns is just another one.
>
> Note that big shippers pay for their mass business nothing like what you or I
> pay for single package shipping.
>
> Post Amazon, and esp. today - - -
> =========================
> One reason Amazon seems likely to rule the world is that they never stop
> finding ways to improve service and decrease costs.
>
> Recently had to return a lens adapter that was the wrong length. I ordered
> another, different brand, - OK, then did the return. I was offered several
> options, all free:
>
> -Print a UPS label and drop the package off.
>
> -Drop the item off at a UPS location, no packing or label required.
>
> -UPS comes and picks up unpackaged, unlabeled item, but, an adult must be
> present.
>
> -Was there another option? I don't recall.
>
> So, I took it to a UPS store. Guy took it, gave me a receipt when I asked; I
> was in there less than a minute. I received my refund within about an hour of
> dropping it off.
>
> Do you see what's going on here? Amazon is making returns even less painful
> for me AND, AND, reducing their costs. Obviously, the UPS store is putting
> all the returns in one combined package for shipping, and Amazon is paying
> less per than before, likely a lot less. (Why would UPS do this? FedEx, DHL,
> etc.)
>
> So, what are other on-line stores to do? Make their returns policies and
> procedures any less attractive than they must, compared to Amazon? R.I.P.
>
> My Adorama return, of a $409 used lens, was as painless as anyone other than
> Amazon. Print a free shipping label and a page to include in the package,
> Package it up well, stick on the label and drop it off at a UPS point.
>
> Then wait several days for ground shipping across the US, and get a refund,
> less a $5 restocking fee. Perfectly acceptable, but not a patch on Amazon.
>
> The competition is such that no one can afford NOT to have liberal returns.
>
> Ex Retailer Moose
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