restocking fees, does this piss you off?

[tony286]

I ordered a bunch of flo bulbs from a company I ordered from before. By mistake I ordered bulbs with e39 socket when I need a e26. So I want to send them back and swap them out with the same bulb different socket. They cost exactly the same. I know I will have to eat the shipping Im a idiot so I understand that. Then Im told they will be charging me a 20% restocking fee. There is nothing she can do. I just find that annoying especially Im a repeat customer.

[MetaMan]

LOL why should they spend money on man hours because of your mistake? You're lucky they even have a return policy.

[tony286]

I forgot where I posted, thank you for reminding me meta. lol

[Sly]

I had this issue a couple months ago, I ordered the incorrect size of something. I told the supplier that if they wanted me to buy the proper size from them they would would have to waive the restock fee. And they did.

Try it. It should work.

[MetaMan]

LOL no prob, i run shipping in my mainstream. it is not easy to deal with customers trust meeeee. and costs alot of money to re process orders. more so than people realize, you have to hire someone to give support to people who need to know how to return, you need someone to look at the billing to issue any refunds on price changes, you need someone to physically re stock items. lot more to it then people realize.

[SteveHardeman]

It does piss me off. But as a business owner I get it. It costs them money and time to deal with the return. 20% sounds a bit high but whatcha gonna do.

Congrats on 286.

[dyna mo]

an exchange like that should not have a restocking fee, regardless of what metatard says.

[Sly]

Originally Posted by MetaMan

LOL no prob, i run shipping in my mainstream. it is not easy to deal with customers trust meeeee. and costs alot of money to re process orders. more so than people realize, you have to hire someone to give support to people who need to know how to return, you need someone to look at the billing to issue any refunds on price changes, you need someone to physically re stock items. lot more to it then people realize.

Refunds are acceptable. Exchanges are not. It's fine if that's your policy, but I would never buy from you again.

[u-Bob]

<--- used to charge a 30% restocking fee. (computer hardware stores).

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by MetaMan

LOL no prob, i run shipping in my mainstream. it is not easy to deal with customers trust meeeee. and costs alot of money to re process orders. more so than people realize, you have to hire someone to give support to people who need to know how to return, you need someone to look at the billing to issue any refunds on price changes, you need someone to physically re stock items. lot more to it then people realize.

you talk like you're the only one around here who runs a tangible products business.
those people are already on the payroll, and their wages should be calculated into the cost of doing business, not as an add-on.

you must not know how to run a business properly, not that i expected you to know.

[signupdamnit]

Be a return customer no more and use a competitor who is more reasonable.

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by signupdamnit

Be a return customer no more and use a competitor who is more reasonable.

exactly.
amazon doesn't charge a restocking fee and they cover return shipping.

those guys are making great profits, billions even. i wonder how that is if it's so expensive to put something back on the fucking shelf.

[MetaMan]

Originally Posted by Sly

Refunds are acceptable. Exchanges are not. It's fine if that's your policy, but I would never buy from you again.

well you dont know what I run so we will see about that.


we offer refunds we are not an exchange business per say. we even send a pre posted package to our users if there is any problems. so :P

[MetaMan]

Originally Posted by signupdamnit

Be a return customer no more and use a competitor who is more reasonable.

LOL when you order a Ferrari (I'm not that rich figuratively speaking) and it is delayed you wait for it because it is one of the best.

When you want the best you have to play by the bests rule.

If you have to kiss ass to customers to get ahead you are in a bad business in the first place. Customers will rape you any chance they get. I care about ME and my profit. Customers can suck my cock.

We have our policies in place you don't like them you should have read things more closely.

[dyna mo]

there you have it, words of wisdom from a business genius.

[tony286]

Originally Posted by MetaMan

LOL when you order a Ferrari (I'm not that rich figuratively speaking) and it is delayed you wait for it because it is one of the best.

When you want the best you have to play by the bests rule.

If you have to kiss ass to customers to get ahead you are in a bad business in the first place. Customers will rape you any chance they get. I care about ME and my profit. Customers can suck my cock.

We have our policies in place you don't like them you should have read things more closely.

When I worked for Mercedes Benz we were taught without the customer we are nothing.

[Kenny B!]

I understand why some companies do it but it does piss me off when i get stuck losing money because of it.

[munki]

I used to hate them, until I ran a company shipping large, heavily packed items all over the country. If you didn't want it in the first place, you shouldn't have ordered it. Mistakes happen, company and customer side. I never asked a customer to eat a company mistake, I don't think companies should have to eat customer mistakes either.

[woj]

Originally Posted by MetaMan

LOL when you order a Ferrari (I'm not that rich figuratively speaking) and it is delayed you wait for it because it is one of the best.

When you want the best you have to play by the bests rule.

If you have to kiss ass to customers to get ahead you are in a bad business in the first place. Customers will rape you any chance they get. I care about ME and my profit. Customers can suck my cock.

We have our policies in place you don't like them you should have read things more closely.

what do you sell? or if you don't want to get too specific, at least what niche is your product in?

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by tony286

When I worked for Mercedes Benz we were taught without the customer we are nothing.

exactly. i honed my sales skills in high-end merchandise, marketed to very wealthy individuals. treat the richies like retards and you'll soon be out on the street.

they demand quality service.

[MetaMan]

Originally Posted by tony286

When I worked for Mercedes Benz we were taught without the customer we are nothing.

We all know how customers are. They really do not give a fuck. They want the best price, they want it now, and they do not care who from.

This isnt 20 years ago, this is the age of a ME ME ME society. and i love using that against people in my marketing campaigns.

And i could care less if i get complaints ill close shop and toss up a new template the next day.

Example: my buddy had a customer make around $1000+ off a single transaction, then the next day the site was lagging. the customer came in and told him he was going to sue him etc etc. even though he didnt spend another dime or lose a dime.

Do not think for 2 seconds just because you have good support people will not jump ship to the cooler newer place "across the street" because they will.

i spend my time and money getting policies in place that protect me. not worrying about what customers ihave to say.

I can SEO my website name over top their listings need be anyway. fuck them.

[DeanCapture]

Tony, I had a situation similar to that happen to me recently. I got on the phone with the customer service rep and reminded her that I was a loyal customer and that I felt ripped-off by this policy. I told her that in this economy, it's much easier to keep a current customer happy then to be out looking for new customers.

I then asked that they "reconsider" charging me a restocking fee and if they insisted on charging me a restocking fee, I would return everything and call my bank, do a chargeback and start doing business somewhere else.

Now I actually had no intention of doing a chargeback because I needed the items but sometimes you have to call their bluff

Needless to say, everything worked out to everyones satisfaction. I wasn't charged a restocking fee and I'm still a customer.

Chargeback fees are in place to safeguard against people who like to return shit all the time. I have a friend who buys stuff all the time and returns most of it. But for a customer who rarely if ever returns, you should be granted a pass on the restocking charge.

Good luck!

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by tony286

By mistake I ordered

Can't complain if it was your fuck-up.

Originally Posted by tony286

When I worked for Mercedes Benz we were taught without the customer we are nothing.

Shame they don't seem to teach their dealers that around here.

[tony286]

Originally Posted by DeanCapture

Tony, I had a situation similar to that happen to me recently. I got on the phone with the customer service rep and reminded her that I was a loyal customer and that I felt ripped-off by this policy. I told her that in this economy, it's much easier to keep a current customer happy then to be out looking for new customers.

I then asked that they "reconsider" charging me a restocking fee and if they insisted on charging me a restocking fee, I would return everything and call my bank, do a chargeback and start doing business somewhere else.

Now I actually had no intention of doing a chargeback because I needed the items but sometimes you have to call their bluff

Needless to say, everything worked out to everyones satisfaction. I wasn't charged a restocking fee and I'm still a customer.

Chargeback fees are in place to safeguard against people who like to return shit all the time. I have a friend who buys stuff all the time and returns most of it. But for a customer who rarely if ever returns, you should be granted a pass on the restocking charge.

Good luck!

I agree and I can see that. I wasnt going to give the lady on the phone a hardtime its not her call. But I will look for someone else. I have ordered from them 5 times. Its 5 big bulbs not a washing machine so I doubt its going to take hours of manpower. oh well it annoyed me Im now over it. Its like group therapy here. lol

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by DeanCapture

Tony, I had a situation similar to that happen to me recently. I got on the phone with the customer service rep and reminded her that I was a loyal customer and that I felt ripped-off by this policy. I told her that in this economy, it's much easier to keep a current customer happy then to be out looking for new customers.

I then asked that they "reconsider" charging me a restocking fee and if they insisted on charging me a restocking fee, I would return everything and call my bank, do a chargeback and start doing business somewhere else.

Now I actually had no intention of doing a chargeback because I needed the items but sometimes you have to call their bluff

Needless to say, everything worked out to everyones satisfaction. I wasn't charged a restocking fee and I'm still a customer.

Chargeback fees are in place to safeguard against people who like to return shit all the time. I have a friend who buys stuff all the time and returns most of it. But for a customer who rarely if ever returns, you should be granted a pass on the restocking charge.

Good luck!

there ya go. also, it's true about keeping current customers happy. it costs 8x more to get a new customer than it does to keep a customer. a restocking fee might get a few bucks in the till but the price of that transaction supersedes the return.

[DeanCapture]

Originally Posted by tony286

I agree and I can see that. I wasnt going to give the lady on the phone a hardtime its not her call. But I will look for someone else. I have ordered from them 5 times. Its 5 big bulbs not a washing machine so I doubt its going to take hours of manpower. oh well it annoyed me Im now over it. Its like group therapy here. lol

I wouldn't give her a hard time. Just tell her to talk it over with her supervisor and get back to you on it. Tell her that she has 24 hours to let you know before you contact your bank. No need to be an asshole, but be firm.

It's worth another try. Tell her that the more you think about this charge, the more disappointed that you are in their company. Ask them to reconsider the charge - perhaps even giving you a credit for that charge towards your next order. If they really appreciate you as a customer, they'll take care of you on this. If they don't appreciate you, they'll take every opportunity to get a dollar out of you - including restocking fees.

[mynameisjim]

If the items were not special ordered and the packages (if any) were not opened, then you shouldn't pay a restock fee.

Restock fees are a pretty old fashioned method to make money, most retailers don't do it anymore because you lose more in the long run. Online retailers have learned that the easier it is you make it for the customer to commit to a purchase without risk, the more they will order. It beats out any revenue from restocking fees but some companies are still shortsighted and try to make money on returns. The trend has definitely been towards more liberal return policies for the most successful on line retailers and even brick and mortar stores.

[ArsewithClass]

Originally Posted by tony286

I ordered a bunch of flo bulbs from a company I ordered from before. By mistake I ordered bulbs with e39 socket when I need a e26. So I want to send them back and swap them out with the same bulb different socket. They cost exactly the same. I know I will have to eat the shipping Im a idiot so I understand that. Then Im told they will be charging me a 20% restocking fee. There is nothing she can do. I just find that annoying especially Im a repeat customer.

I ended up doing the same! The sockets are huge!

It probably would have been cheaper to buy a new light box, which is what I did for my Metal Halide bulbs. The casing is only £40 plus quid...