Amazon Sellers Stuck With Return Shipping Correction Charges
Amazon is updating return shipping corrections policy for seller fulfilled orders in what could prove to be a bad buyer's dream for sticking it to sellers on returns.
Amazon_News
Starting January 14, sellers will be responsible for any carrier shipping correction charges on customer returns of seller-fulfilled orders caused by incorrect return label information.
Carriers may issue shipping correction charges after a shipping label has been purchased. This can happen when the dimensions or weight do not match the values you provided, or when your return address is invalid. Return shipping corrections can result in a positive or negative credit depending on whether you over or under paid.
We have previously absorbed these charges, but in line with industry standards, sellers will soon be responsible for shipping corrections for seller-fulfilled returns.
From January 14, your account will be charged, or credited, if:
- The dimensions, weight, or both, of your product return are incorrect: If the product returned by the customer has physical attributes that do not match your product listing or outbound shipping, you will be charged or credited for the difference in cost between the label you paid for and the correct label cost.
- Your return address is incorrect or invalid: If your return address is undeliverable, the carrier will charge a $18 fee for every package that could not be returned. Your return address must be in the same country as the store you sell in, and must accept return packages.
- If any of your ASINs receive a shipping correction charge due to incorrect product attributes, return address, or both, you will receive a monthly email notification with a detailed report. If you do not receive an email, you did not incur any shipping correction charges.
To avoid these charges, make sure your products’ dimensions, weight, and return address are listed correctly in Seller Central.
Sellers in the Amazon forum were quick to point out all the ways bad actors, like competitors or unhappy buyers, could use this to unfairly cost the seller more money.
So another tool for bad actors. Order a product. Get a free return. Repack it in a box 10xs bigger. Seller is out the product, the shipping, the fees, the return fees, and the extra return fees. Is there anything else Amazon can do to screw sellers more than they have? They’ve gotta be running out of ideas at this point!
What about when a customer returns the wrong item. Instead of a door handle they return a massive bumper cover in a box. Now I have to pay for that wrong item and the oversize charges for the wrong item???
this is not going to fly, whats to say the customer is going to use the same packaging and not a larger package? We all have to get off this platform and fast, amazon is just doing everything they can to push us out, this is another scam going into place.
So maybe the solution to this is to TRIPLE your dimensions, and weight for all FBM products, (works best if you do not use BUY SHIPPING), as one may need to make an adjustment each time, while on ShipStation (at least), you can modify the weight for each item within the SS database, and by-pass the bogus weights altogether
I sent out a 9X5X3 package less than a lb and recieved a 60 X 40 X 10 box in as a return (wrong item obviously was returned). I GUESS THATS MY FAULT WHEN THAT HAPPENS NOW
One seller had a very interesting observation - why doesn't Amazon flex their considerable leverage to negotiate with UPS over issues like correction charges.
The interesting thing about this announcement is that AMAZON CAN NEGOTIATE this issue with UPS.
Doesn’t one of the largest, (if not the largest) account of UPS have leverage?
It is probably best for Amazon to pass this through to us, and negotiate this “correction” charge from FBA returns, while obtaining a lower rate card for themselves, and siphoning off the difference.
If you're an Amazon seller, let us know what you think of this update in the comments below!
