What do sellers think about offering returns?

[jane-de-cluttering]

[Not free returns.  And obviously not talking about ‘not as described’.]

I feel under some pressure by Ebay to offer this service, and due to my sales falling away vastly over the last couple of months (everyone seems to be saying that), am considering.

I guess no-one is going to pay to return an item unless they really don’t like it, because clearly they’ll end up out of pocket.  But I suppose there is a tipping pointing in terms of value of the item & the cost of the postage.

What have others experienced in terms of increased sales, if any?  Or were expenses the only increase?

Are there some classes of items with which it is better to include this offer, than others?  Or more high risk?

Thanks for talking to me.

[purplemon18]

I wouldn't do it if the majority of my items were things like makeup that can't be re-sold once opened for health and safety reasons. Other than that, I don't  see any reason not to try it, personally I find that almost no-body does a change of mind return if they have to pay for it. I feel that helps keep people genuine.

The problem is that you can never really know whether it is generating extra business or not, and you will always loose some money on every return. So the unanswerable question is whether the extra sales offset the costs. For me at least, I think it does.

Probably helps that I have worked in retail for more than 20 years, so not having a change of mind policy would feel alien to me.

[davewil1964]

I'm not a library, nor a book exchange, so I don't and won't do it.

If somebody only reads a book once, it would still often be cheaper to pay return postage than to keep it. And I would be out fees at the minimum.

[twyngwyn]

ditto...I don't offer returns either

[curraone]

me too, most of my items are books so I don't offer returns for change of mind.

[jellybirddesigns]

I've always offered returns under certain circumstances.

Although the majority of my items are handmade, I do allow buyers to return if they have not used the items in any way and are in the same condition as when they were sent.

I do aprox 1000 transactions a year between Ebay and another platform I sell on and I might get 2-4 return requests a year between the 2 platforms, which is pretty marginal.

Also, those buyers do pay the return postage (I tell them that is due to buyers remorse/change of mind) and no buyer has ever complained when told this. Some buyers choose not to even return the items when they realise that they're going to cough up about $10.00 in return postage as they are required to send back with tracking.

Yes, it's a pain to have to refund and lose that income, however, these items do get sold down the track, and a negative is avoided.

Lastly, if the whole thing is resolved pleasantly to the buyers satisfaction, some do come back and shop with me again and they inevitably keep their subsequent purchases.

I had a look at your shop and the one thing that struck me is that your photography could really be improved which should help your sales. Some of your images are blurry or dark. When I look at your Royal Doulton Pansy Serving Dish for $600, I would never pay that as it just doesn't look visually spectacular. For that price, I would want to see photo's that are a feast to my eyes, not just a dish on a wooden table. Make a visual stage for your items - add flowers and a lovely background, for example. I have attached a picture of what I am talking about.

[brerrabbit585]

I've thought about it just to try and get more visibility from ebay but I don't really think I lose visibility by not having it so I haven't bothered. I don't believe in giving in to blackmail anyway so I'd have to be desperate to offer returns.

A lot would depend on your products but if you sell anything fragile, can you be sure it'll be packed properly before it's returned? Can you be sure it won't be exposed to smoke or dirt?

You might start offering returns and find you still get no more visibility and no more sales. The more people who do offer them, the more ebay will push it. The more we resist it, the more chance we have of ebay being fair to all of us.

[brerrabbit585]

My pet hate is other stuff in pictures, especially if it distracts you from the actual item, as is the case with your photo of the vase. If there's anything else included in the picture it has to enhance the item, not take away from it. The 'frills' might put someone off who would have otherwise liked the item.

[jellybirddesigns]

brerrabbit - We will have to agree to disagree. I would always pay money for something that looks like care and attention is taken with an item to show off its best parts. In this case the seller has found a lovely spot and has enhanced the item with supporting decor. They've taken the time to make an item look its most attractive and if I was in the market for a vase, I would be willing to pay the $200+ dollars they're asking (on another site).

You have to appeal to a buyers eyes as they cannot physically examine the item for themselves.

[purplemon18]

never mind, forget this post.