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So…I decided to turn off the free returns on all but 1st class shipping items. My return rate has seen a huge spike and I have to believe that it is due to the free returns policy. A few savvy buyers have put in dubious INAD claims so that they can get their original shipping back too. Has anyone else taken this step? Notice a drop in sales?
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We’ve had Free Returns on for at least a year now. Whenever eBay first introduced the program.
I was also worried about a rise in returns, but it’s stayed steady. Maybe 3-4 a month. Clothing always has the highest rate of returns because people change their mind.
I think its fine to turn off Free Returns. Shouldnt affect your sales IMHO. You wont be considered for Top Rated Seller, though that program has diminishing returns.
Buyers who are going to abuse the INAD system will abuse it whether or not we have Free Returns turned on. Even if we had No Returns, buyers can still return items if they complain.
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That’s a good point about the buyers abusing INAD regardless. Initially when I turned on the free returns I didn’t notice much difference but 2 of the last 3 months have been among my highest return rates in the past 6 years. Could be a random blip. Hurts on the heavy items. The situation is fluid. I’m going to leave the free returns off on heavy items for now and re-evaluate in 90 days.
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Thanks for the feedback guys. Looking at the returns over time was an interesting exercise. The last 3 months have definitely been among the highest in the last few years. What’s your personal weight limit for “too heavy for free returns?”
April 2019 – 8 April 2018 – 5
March 2019 – 6 March 2018 – 6
Feb 2019 – 10!!! Feb 2018 – 2
Jan 2019 – 3 Jan 2018 – 5
Dec 2018 – 5 Dec 2017 – 8
Nov 2018 – 5 Nov 2017 – 4
Oct 2018 – 2
Sept 2018 – 2
Aug 2018 – 5
Jul 2018 -1
Jun 2018 – 2
May 2018 – 2-
Free returns is my default. I start considering whether to uncheck it at 2 lbs and up, but it depends on the type of item and price. With heavier items I’ll still offer free returns if it fits in a Padded Flat Rate Envelope (or Small FR Box) or if it is high value and low return risk and fits in a Priority Medium Flat Rate Box I’ll consider it. Also I do not offer returns at all on ephemera, books, and media. So I end up with no TRS on a small percentage of my store because my inventory is mostly smaller items.
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@Temudgin: Similar here, only the one downside to PFR, Flat Rate, or Regional Rate shipping is that Priority Returns are all based on weight. So while a PFR costs $7.33 to ship, the return will be $8-$9 depending on weight and distance.
Just a heads up for those that didn’t know that…
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Thanks, I did not know that. In March I processed a return for an item that shipped in a PFRE and it came back in mine, taped back up, and eBay only charged me the same $7.33 for the return label. It was from Minnesota so I think the shipping by weight would have been more, but maybe not. That’s been it for returns for me for probably 12 months or more.
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@GreenDragon: I think for us it is over 6lbs on Hard Goods. All Clothing and Shoes have free returns (fit matters here, and if we want a global reach, we accept the limitation that the buyer can’t try the item on, no matter how many measurements we provide).
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Jay, I don’t have free returns on any of my items (as far as I can recall), and I’m a Top Rated Seller. So I don’t think free returns is a factor for TRS status.
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You don’t need to offer free returns to be a Top Rated Seller but you do need to offer free returns on a particular item to receive the Top Rated Plus icon on the listing and to receive the FVF discount for its sale. I think many of us have been sloppy about distinguishing the two and I know I have, but they are two different things. You could be a Top Rated Seller and not receive any discounts on your listings if none of them have free returns, the way I understand it. On the other hand you do have to be TRS to get TRP on a listing.
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This is correct. Its weird. You can be a Top Rated Seller even if you don’t offer free returns. All this gives you is a badge.
But if you want your items to be Top Rated Plus, then you must offer Free Returns. This gives you the 10% off your final value fees (more important to us).
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I’m wondering if having Free Returns is a good reason to offer free shipping too? You’re paying for return shipping anyway – perhaps build in an extra 50c per item (or something) to cover the returns cost. I’m seeing more and more comments on how buyers are actively going for free shipping. In fact, I noticed that when I changed my fridge magnets to free shipping, they sold fast.
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Yeah, someone did the math on this a while ago. If you sell small, light, easy-to-ship items, then adding Free Shipping can make sense. Scarves, postcards, t-shirts, magnets.
But if you’re like many of us, I’d never do free shipping on boots, dinnerware, larges boxes, even mildly heavy items.
And even sellers that do add free shipping, just add the cost into the price. So I sell the item for $10 + $5 shipping. You sell the item for $15 Free shipping. Its not free, but priced in. Now its all about how much more you think you’ll sell vs how many free shipping returns you’ll eat.
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I only do free returns on first class items that don’t have a high likelihood of being returned. For most of my items I do buyer pays returns. I don’t quite yet have a high enough percentage of my items that would allow me to pay for return shipping and still profit after I sell it again. I’m sort of nickel and diming at this point, but money is money.
Temudgin beat me to it, but I’m a top rated seller and willingly give up the top rated plus discount in exchange for the security of buyer pays returns. Thankfully nobody has abused the INAD policy with me yet. Just a matter of time I suppose…knock on wood.
We do get at least one, perhaps two, benefits for being top rated. The first is that we get a $20 per month credit for promotional listings. So far, that has more than paid for all my promotions. The second one may just be happenstance, but I used to pay the same rate for shipping through eBay as on Pirateship. When the rates changed back in January, the same time that I got top rated seller status, the ebay pricing became a quarter or so less than Pirateship. (Not counting cubic pricing or international, for which Pirateship is a true blessing.) I’m not sure if the extra small discount was a result of being top rated or if they just changed their prices for everyone when the post office raised prices.
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I offer free returns on clothing but have few returns. Once every month or so for doesn’t fit even though I provide detailed measurements.
Anything “dimensional,” buyer pays return.
I tried free shipping. Got no boost in sales, so stopped. I don’t feel that my clothing items can absorb the cost of free ship both ways.
The free returns offer a certain level of protection from INAD.
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I’m “Top Rated Seller” and have “no returns” on all of my items. So it does not seem to affect that status at all
That said, I always take care of customer issues immediately. If someone really wants to return something, I just ask them to send it back. So I still accept returns (granted, they could force a return even if I “disallowed” it). I just don’t advertise it, as not to encourage those buyers most prone to buying with returning as a plan B.
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Jay, I have returns off on all of my listings. That is, the box checked to not accept returns. And when people see my listings, it indicates “seller does not accept returns”.
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Fortunately, I don’t sell clothing (though I do have a handful of shirts that have been sitting in my store for years now) or other high return items. On rare occasion, some electronic item or game I sell might not work properly, in which case I resolve the problem quickly and make the buyer happy. So far I’ve have good luck. Then again, my sales volume is much lower than yours and many other sellers.
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