selling your stuff on Amazon - part 7 - advice for newbies in the first post

soolin

mishkanorman wrote:

Its funny you should say that teapot but ive now sold 5 books in 2 days, a record only beaten by my 7 in a day last week , somethings not right !!

mishka

Me too! 5 books since going pro on Monday morning..which is very unusual for me.

Soo

pinkpie

Can someone advise me please?

Despatched a cheap book yesterday and sent email shipping notification. Customer then emailed to ask if they could cancel as their child had pressed 1click.

What's the correct thing to do? I am sympathetic but it's already gone!

soolin

pinkpie wrote:

Can someone advise me please?

Despatched a cheap book yesterday and sent email shipping notification. Customer then emailed to ask if they could cancel as their child had pressed 1click.

What's the correct thing to do? I am sympathetic but it's already gone!

You might want to ignore me..I'm being mrs Grumpy at the moment as I am fed up with these people who claim other people bought by accident. Sorry but if someone thinks it is OK to leave their log in details so open that a child can accidentally buy something then they should maybe consider giving up being online at all until they take lessons on security.

So the suggestion from Mrs Grumpy would be to email the buyer very politely and explain that unfortunately book has already been despatched, but should the book not be required then you have no objection to it being resold on Amazon. Yes I know she can return the book at will if she chooses, but if she can't work out how to work her PC she might not be able to work out how to access Amazon help re returns.

If she does work out how to return the book for a refund then at this precise moment I might just suggest that you let her make a claim for the money, as buyer can only make 3 claims in total and it might make her think twice about doing this to someone else. Obviously at som point you will have tor efund if she sends the book back and you lose your original posting costs, I would not suggest for one moment that you keep both the money and the book, but I am suggesting that you make her work for her refund rather than just hand it back on a silver platter.

Soo AKA Mrs Grumpy

In case you wonder I have a book sold for a good price on ebay where the buyer apparently didn't buy it and was merely looking at it and is going to talk to his sons to see if they had bid and want it. In this case though his bid went in 4 days before end of auction and he has bought other items since placing his bid.

apprentice_tycoon

SilverScooby wrote:

Now I'm off to try to figure out book loader, zshops, buyer waiting... Is there a Pro-Merchants "idiots guide" anywhere?

Well, yes, Amazombie and funkyfunkymonkey seem to be our 'idiots guide' :T they have more Pro experience than the rest of us put together

pinkpie

Thanks Soo for your answer, and I don't think you're grumpy at all :-)

I did wonder why someone would try and cancel after receiving a shipment notification - that strikes me as odd.

So if they return it, I have to give the whole payment back?

I thought I could keep the shipping costs as they are a cost. I have even seen proper companies with that as a term of sale.

apprentice_tycoon

Hi pinkpie - Soo's off line at the mo (it took me 18 months to realise that the green spot on the corner of posts is grey when the poster is offline )

If the buyer doesn't want the book they will have to return it to you within 7 days in the condition that it was in when you posted it, they pay for the postage.

Then look at the posts further down - the advice I gave originally (as in Soo's quote) is faulty -

soolin

AT, can I just clarify then that if someone returns an item to me because they have changed their mind I only have to return the 'item' cost ie the 1p they pay for the book, and not the full payment they made, ie including the standard posting credit?

I ask because when my buyer before Christmas returned the PS2 game I'd received something like £9 including the postal credit and that was what I refunded. I was therefore out of pocket by over £1 for the cost of actual cost of posting the game out. I am a bit miffed at myself if I could have with held the £1 odd postal credit Amazon give for games.

Soo

apprentice_tycoon

soo, I'm totally lost and confused on this refund business - I really don't know how it's supposed to work - I've got one of Amazombies posts here so see what you make of it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yorkielass
Help! I knew it was too good to be true. I listed 40 items on amazon the weekend before last and 10 sold in the first week.
The buyer of one has sent me several emails since she gotting which alternate between her buying the book by mistake!!! and not being as she expected (however all her points were in the description, e.g. name written in front). I've emailed to say if she returns it to me at her expense I will refund her etc (I see from AT's very helpful 1st post that I have to do that as she asked within 7 days). However I've never done a refund before so I'm a little confused. I can see how to do a refund but when I do one what happens? How much of the original money does the seller get back and how much of the original money do I get back? I.e. am I going to be out of pocket due to someone changing their mind and 'buying by mistake' as their first message said'? Thanks in advance

Amazombie's answer was -

Welcome to the joys of selling on Amazon! When you issue a full refund the buyer will receive back what they paid ie the cost of the book plus postage of £ 2.75. You will get back what you received from Amazon ie. The cost of the book plus postage less amazons fees. You will be out of pocket by the amount it cost you to send the book.

I know its unfair but that is the way it works and both Amazon guidelines and the Distance Selling Regulations are there to protect the buyer not the seller in any online transaction.

soolin

That says what I had thought:

You will be out of pocket by the amount it cost you to send the book.

So I was right to refudn in full, darn...and for the OP it means that she will be in a worse position than she was before the sale as she will be out of pocket by the postage paid for sending book out in the first place.

I was lucky as my returned item cost only just over £1 to post, I would be mega miffed if someone returned one of the huge books I have been sending recently that can go up to £7 for postage!

apprentice_tycoon

Best change my post then :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: it's a bit of a bu33er isn't it, this refund lark?