Where Online Returns Really End Up And What Amazon Is Doing About It
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- Опубликовано: 2 май 2024
- Sending back an online order has never been easier. It’s often free for the customer, with some retailers even allowing customers to keep the item while offering a full refund.
Amazon returns can be dropped off at Kohl’s, UPS or Whole Foods without boxing it up or even printing a label.
But there’s a darker side to the record number of returns flooding warehouses after the holidays.
“From all those returns, there’s now nearly 6 billion pounds of landfill waste generated a year and 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions as well,” said Tobin Moore, CEO of returns solution provider Optoro. “That’s the equivalent of the waste produced by 3.3 million Americans in a year.”
Moore says online purchases are at least three times more likely to be returned than items bought in a store. In 2021, a record $761 billion of merchandise was returned, according to estimates in a new report from the National Retail Federation.
That report says 10.3% of those returns were fraudulent. Meanwhile, Amazon third-party sellers told CNBC they end up throwing away about a third of returned items.
“Somebody has to pay for that,” said Micah Clausen, who sells party supplies and home goods on Amazon under a third-party store named Iconikal. “It’s falling back on either Amazon or the third-party seller. It comes out of their bottom line and inevitably makes prices go higher.”
UPS predicts the 2021 holiday season will see a 10% increase in returns compared to the year-earlier period, which translates into more waste - and expense - for all online retailers.
At the head of the pack, Amazon has received mounting criticism over the destruction of millions of items. Now the e-commerce giant says it’s “working toward a goal of zero product disposal.” Last year, it launched new programs to give sellers like Clausen new options to resell returns, or send them to be auctioned off on the liquidation market.
Liquidity Services consumer marketing manager Meredith Diggs explains one way e-commerce has normalized shopping habits that lead to more returns.
“Wardrobing [is] where people will order the same thing in three different sizes to see which one fits and then they return the other two, not realizing that those other two most of the time don’t go back on that retailer’s shelves,” Diggs said.
“Categories like apparel see really, really high return rates in the 10s of percents,” added Raunak Nirmal, who used to work at Amazon and now runs an Amazon aggregator, Acquco, with more than 40 third-party brands. His return rate is closer to 3%.
“If it’s a new product, Amazon would allow that product to get resold on the listing as new, but it really needs to be in pristine condition for that to happen and that’s more rare than you would expect, even if the customer hasn’t used the product at all,” Nirmal said.
When an item can’t be sold as new, Amazon gives the seller up to four options for what to do with returns: each with a fee: Return to Seller, Disposal, Liquidation, or (by invitation only for now) Fulfillment by Amazon Grade and Resell.
With the Return to Seller option, the return leaves the Amazon warehouse for several more legs on a truck, plane or cargo ship. It heads back to the seller for further processing, then it could go off to another Amazon warehouse for sorting and repacking, then on to a new customer, who could always choose to return the item again.
“You’re essentially forced to decide if you want to recall that inventory to your warehouse - which is an expensive process - repackage it yourself, and then ship it back into a warehouse to sell, which doesn’t make sense I would say 80% to 90% of the time. Or you could choose to dispose it,” Nirmal said.
Disposal is an all-too-common fate for returns from many of the biggest online retailers. In a statement, Amazon told CNBC, “No items are sent to landfill. We are working towards a goal of zero product disposal and our priority is to resell, donate to charitable organizations or recycle any unsold products. As a last resort, we will send items to energy recovery, but we’re working hard to drive the number of times this happens down to zero.”
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Where Online Returns Really End Up And What Amazon Is Doing About It
A big problem with online retailers who sell clothing is that there is no real standardization in sizing. A "medium" size can vary greatly. They should instead measure in standard units, like inches or centimeters.
I completely agree. The fashion industry could use some big disruption on their sizing. This would help with international sellers too. Using standard units and not letters (S, M, L) or numbers (2, 4, 6, etc) would provide so much better understanding. The disparity between a Japanese small and a US small is a travesty of their societal expectations. But 90 centimeters is 90 centimeters. I love when sellers provide extensive measurements of their garments.
Exactly. Amazon should at least enforce uniform sizing standard.
This is why I try to avoid buying clothes online. I don't understand why we have numbers for shoe sizes but T-shirt etc only have small medium and large...
@@ShaudaySmith Global Sizing Metric - GSM. Single standard by size number.
The solution is to only buy brands where you know your size. This is what we do and we now rarely return any clothes.
Amazon should open a few return stores everywhere like a second chance store ! Where you can walk in and buy items and have a feel for the items
Excellent idea!!
There are A lot of return stores, but it is not through Amazon
yeah get electronics that don’t work 😂😂😂
Once problem is that if a brand's clothing, for example, were sold that way, consumers would flock to the return stores and not purchase the items new, that's why expensive retailers destroy their merchandise rather than flood the market with severely discounted items.
They have the money to do so!
This is heartbreaking because you know there are people out there that don’t have a winter coat or supplies for their baby And these items are just getting trashed, when they could go to people who need them. I volunteer at a non profit that helps families with small children, and it’s incredible all the little things that we take for granted each day -they don’t have them.
The inability to try clothing on, fake reviews (huge problem on Amazon), and poor quality control equals enormous return rates.
I'd never buy clothes on amazon. There are still plenty of clothing stores around.
@@grandmalovesmebestYes, I have never bought any clothes on Amazon. I buy skin care, DVDs, and other non clothing items.
Especially when buying for children
@@tarynmiller-bell347f them
I know someone who is paid to make fake reviews, recruit others to make fake reviews, and answer emails for a book author. People think they are emailing back and forth with the author, but it's his employee and people think there are all of these great reviews for his books, but most of them are fake.
It is appalling that so many of these companies would rather destroy their products to "protect their brand image" than donate or resell them at lower prices.
SAD!
The problem would be that if the market were flooded with their severely discounted merchandise, people would flock to the resales instead of purchasing new, and that would cut deeply into their profits. I'm enraged at the corporate greed in the U.S., but this one I can understand.
@@sunshinelizard1 I think the environment is more important than profit, but of course, thats not how companies think. They'd burn the entire Earth if it meant to make an extra dollar.
The clothing items should go to homeless shelters.
Not only "appalling", but Highly Suspicious, Illogical, Counter-profuctive, Bad Business choices for Corporations ... and ridiculously out of the control of the public at large.
Amazon and other online merchants should crack down on trash merchants who sell garbage items which lead to the majority of the returns
In my country we also had a popular e-commerce, sadly a lot of illegal stuff also sold at the platform since anyone can sell stuff. They really need to check the what they sell and products quality for people who wants to be merchants 😔
Exactly!!!
Amazon should crack down on fraudulent buyers who swap out the item they bought for something else,buy multiple items and return most of them or say the item is damaged or not as described when the item was perfectly fine.
I agree too. Amazon doesn't seem to have quality checks over who they allow to set shop as a merchant. And I don't think they care. (Fake reviews are a whole other thing that needs to be moderated too, but that's a diff story.)
@@phyliciasadler9596 all sellers lie about their products. Karma works you oser
My advice, instead of side-ways shifting the blame to consumers, is focus more on those online retailers misrepresenting their goods, selling faulty, defective, rejected, fakes and knockoffs. Let's not even get started on the tons of merchandise coming from china that are flooding the online markets. While not all of them are bad, a pretty large majority of them fall far short of the keyword spam used to get them listed favorably.
At the end of the day, if your product lives up to how you advertise it, is of good quality, and doesn't fall apart in 1 week, then returns will be mcuh much lower. Getting the sale by any means is the issue here, not the customers returning bad, faulty, cheap, fake, hazardous items.
@Daddy Nexus Exactly...well said!👏👏
Exactly! 🙌
@@einfachnurleo7099Huh! What you talking about Willis?😂😂😂
@Daddy Nexus not sure what the percentage is but I'd assume this (your comment) in combination with ordering several items to pick and choose at home as well as little to no repercussions for returning items in a bad or unsellable condition are the biggest reasons why so much stuff has to go to waste.
It is the consumers fault. It's your fault that you're cheap, lazy, and gullible.
As usual, consumers are expected to feel guilty for the failings of corporations. I agree that returns cause waste, but the accountability for that does not lie with individual consumers. The overarching problem continues to be corporate greed and negligence.
Agreed! I feel the same way about recycling. People should not be made to feel guilty.
Returns should be illegal
you should work retail if you think consumers dont return things that are broken and dirty. they return products that they ruined but expect a full refund. Sorry, but some of that blame does fall on consumers. look at how wasteful people are.
Have you worked for an Amazon retailer? I have and I assure you an absolutely disgusting amount of return abuse happens because it's free and Amazon asks few/no questions. Ive seen items returned because while the listing clearly said teal they buyer decided teal ment light blue and teal is unacceptable. Of course they get a teal item and they return it for being as described but not what they wanted. People order an item to get a spare part for the one they already own and send the one they ordered back for being damaged. Let's not even get into people switching broken gaming systems/games for new ones and accusing the seller of sending a broken item because there are no consequences for they buyer in lying but those lies can cause a seller to lose their store front. People ordering items and sending back the box only. People ordering clothes, wearing them and returning them.
In my 5 years or dealing with Amazon returns I would say only 25 percent or less are legitimate at least in the item category we sold in. Biggest reason seems to be ordered it online, found a better price somewhere else after the fact and don't want to pay to return so make up a lie to get free returns. It is whatever for direct sales as I can clearly see it's new and put it back in inventory but when it's fba I have no idea if it's actually damaged or if you lived. So then the call has to be made to recall damaged/returns and sort them or trash them sight unseen. Most of the time we recall and sort because 75 percent at least are perfectly fine or can be sold as open box on eBay. But yeah that not the retailer that's consumers being greedy/lazy/wasteful/inconsiderate. Of course none of you think about how your gratuitous return effects anything or anyone else. If course if you're honest and have an actual problem I'm not talking about you but if you've ever lied to get free returns I'm talking about you. If you drop your new item and break it and decide to lie and say it came that way to get a new one..I'm talking to you.
I really wish people would stop using that argument.
THE ONLY "SUSTAINABLE" SOLUTION IS TO STOP BUYING SO MUCH CRAP YOU DON'T NEED!
It’s amazing how 1st world people spend money on garbage… what’s even funnier is when somebody from a poor country comes here all conservative with their money, and then after a few years of brainwashing, starts buying garbage that ends up in the dump a month later…
I can honestly say I have a very comfortable life.. mostly due to the way I manage my money
👍
Yep. "Reduce" is the most important part of "reduce, reuse, recycle". Its the only one that actually takes no extra resources to accomplish.
@@julm7744 what doesn't make sense is the culture of excess wants. Most people in this world work to survive , not to buy useless crap. They work for a decent meal, their children's education, their parents health bills. Its the culture of material excess that has been destroying this world. Yeah, its nice to have fancy clothes , superduper cars, foot massagers etc., but in reality you don't really need all that stuff to enjoy life. But I guess you didn't get the memo that our destructive consumption habits have been damaging our planet, and I also guess that you are more concerned about your material well being.
Unfortunately, its known that unsold products get destroyed to maintain artificial scarcity.
As someone thats a 3rd party seller on Amazon... Yeah, just this week I had a guy swap out an expensive item for an entirely different model that they sent back and amazon forced a refund even though they fraudulently returned a different item. I'm now awaiting an appeal Safe-T case hoping I'll get my money back (I'm not holding my breath). The return fraud is getting pretty bad
The problem is, how do you prove the customer didn't receive that entirely different model?
@@Ausf There is one way maybe, through recorded inspection and packaging processes so there’s no arguing once it’s sealed and shipped
Sounds like the returns policy is bad already, though. Basically allows for this sort of thing. Feel for you as a fellow small business owner.
Feel 4 U man. People @ TJMaxx did that trick all the time when my sister worked there, they'd come in with an item to return but the inside was trash/their old clothes ect to fool employees into accepting the item.
@@steadylabro4275 That could prove that the seller sent the right item, if there were skilled and costly evaluators to do so, but doesn't prove the buyer didn't receive the wrong item. Some eBay international sales do this, and it has been a disaster. Not only is it expensive, in the process of inspecting items, they have been destroyed.
I stopped buying gifts on Amazon because they have become so unreliable. I returned about 1/3 of the items I bought for gifts this past holiday season because the items were clearly used. All of these items were sold by Amazon (not 3rd party sellers) and sold as new. If they're giving their employees less than a minute to check over returned items and penalizing employees for marking too many items as used/damaged, I can understand why this happens so much.
Yet they wont admit they are selling a used item as new. Love that. They sold me a return and it wasnt even the item i ordered but they think they sent what I ordered? Frustrating.
I agree. Amazon stuff is cheap muck
I have experienced this too!
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My father recently retired from a warehouse building company. He said numerous times that companies he dealt with were struggling with where to put all the returns.
Yeah it’s hard. I think it would be easiest to just ship the products to a warehouse and have them in bins and sell them for cheap. I saw a RUclips video about it. It seems like a great idea, since they are not doing much about returns than dumping them.
Most fulfillment centers have tons of Amazon returns decaying someplace.
they are not reusing those item to resell them? if not then why? returning an item in original condition is good to be resold but in bad condition is bad and the buyer should not get the money back
We sell online apparel and we offer NO returns. Our listings are unique as we make an extra effort ion putting every ruler in the image for apparel, from chest across for shirts, to inseam and waist. There are RULERS on the images. If you STILL do not know what your actual size is, then we cant help you. There are buyers out there that just buy on a whim, and sellers are supposed to pay return shipping, at our cost, for the buyer not knowing their own size?
Because they didn't plan for them.
All those returns used to be stored new products in the system.
I think the tricky thing with appliances is that you don’t know if they work well until you’ve opened them and used them. I returned a rice cooker that just did not cook rice very well, but I only knew that after taking it out of the box and using it.
you do know you needed to add water right
@@Jpop11 LMAO
RIGHT! And whether you bought this rice cooker off of Amazon, or in a brick and mortar store, you were going to return the item regardless because of it’s poor functioning.
This problem is not on Amazon’s customers, it’s on Amazon themselves (their oversight, or lack thereof, of their sellers and the items that they sell, their ever increasing problem with their fake customer reviews, and how THEY, Amazon, manage our returns of these significantly subpar, and inaccurately listed items.).
This
@@Jpop11 😂🤣😂
before shaming customers for their return, first ask why they returned it, most of my returns was because seller on amazon (or from anywhere else) send me defected,unfit or simply junk and because online shopping means you don't directly see the product until you receive it. so what a surprise when something you ordered is not what you expected (in any way) so you return it, what do you expect to keep that because too many returns is happening? what the ****
One major reason for online return is shipping damage. In my experience, most of the damages were caused by improper packing (e.g. lack of cushion, using polybags instead of boxes, mixing heavy items with fragile items, etc.) by the sellers. So the sellers are part to blame for the increasing number of returns.
Did you know that Amazon uses robots in their warehouses? Robots can not tell if a package is damaged or even if the merchandise is in the box.
The major reason for online return's is buyer abuse
I think its more the shipper, like UPS.
I order a lot from Amazon, and I've never had one damaged product
Yes that is absolutely true
I worked at Marks & Spencer, a somewhat high end grocery store, when I was younger. The amount of pointless waste was eye opening. We had a multipack of Maltesers packet rip open and because of that threw the entire thing away. So ironic as the first thing the customer is going to do when they open it is rip it open.
There was also a time when we had to throw away (again, not give away or sell at a discount) entire bags of potatoes. Why? Because they said "British Potatoes" on the packet when they were actually grown in the REPUBLIC of Ireland.
If I had a bag of British Potatoes that I found out were actually Irish Potatoes Id be pleasantly surprised, although Id never buy British Potatoes. Now if I had bought a bag of potatoes grown in the Republic of Ireland and then found out they were actually British Potatoes, well then there'd be HELL to PAY!!!
This guy just angered 5 million Irish
Companies have to go above and beyond not to be sued. Once it has passed the grocery store doors it is not allowed to be resold. They don't want to get sued.
I think I read some scary statistic like 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted, and the bulk of that is done in grocery stores. Apparently food even gets tossed if it looks too ugly to sell to customers. When you consider that there are millions of people starving in other countries who we could probably just ship the food to, it makes the whole situation too tragic
@@Chessmapling yeah it's bad.
Decreasing return rates can be achieved if all parties take responsibility:
1) Sellers - provide complete and realistic descriptions of their products (for buyers to make informed decisions)
2) Platforms like Amazon - improve tools for sellers to showcase products, augmented reality for objects and accessories, Improved fitting procedures for clothes (e.g. more sophisticated body profiles, Using a cell phone camera/apple lidar for measurements etc, ).
3) Buyers - buy responsibly.
But you do know that would never work. Amazon was absolutely destroy brick and motar store where you can hand on the item and make the decision, it also easy for the store to quickly resell the item as open box. But now all of them are copy Amazon and switch to online.
None of those will work. That's the reality.
Won't guarantee satisfaction, but highly recommend to do a quick scan of the reviews to see if they're legit from verified buyers. You'd be surprised how much of these reviews are fake.
These would definitely help reduce return rates.
Accurate product descriptions mean people can actually buy what they want.
Without unwanted surprises. Buyers "buying responsibly" (I suspect you mean doing their due diligence before buying).
Would mean they only buy products that are more likely to be what they want.
Amazon improving... I mean it would help. But slim chance of that happening 😅 not unless they come out on top.
Amazon only does stuff with the intention of itself being above everyone else.
@@justsomeone64 "Buying responsibly" also entails that you wait 3 days, or 2 weeks, a whole month, and so on, before buying as well, which, consumptive humans being consumptive humans and Amazon being Amazon (Prime), doesn't always deter irresponsible* purchasing. There's only so much both parties could do. Maybe Amazon should rethink their generous return policy and curb some allowances.
If sellers on amazon stopped making false claims about their products then people would be more happy about their purchase actually getting what they wanted.
Or if shipping places did not destroy items in the process of shipping even with the good correct packaging.
It would be extremely helpful if Amazon would set strict standards and guidelines for their sellers. They have flooded their site with Chinese sellers that lie and misrepresent their products, as well as sell us clothing merchandise that does not conform to American sizing. Amazon shirks all responsibly in their own mismanagement of this issue, as they have become well known for in so many other areas.
This is the main problem. Fraudulent items or severely low quality CRAP. They don’t seem to sell any name brands either. The Amazon experiment is a failure.
This is the down side of selling items people cant try on, or doesnt work or just simply is the wrong part.
downside
Smart experienced online shoppers for online clothing/shoes go with brands they know and how they size.
But Amazon makes billions, so it doesn’t matter.
You mean buying items you can't try on. Ive found "doesn't work" is subjective as people get things that are over their heads and rather than take time to figure it out, they claim it's defective and return it.
I ordered a sewing machine for my girlfriend for Christmas. Amazon sent me someone else's return of the same sewing machine. It looked used, incomplete, and even came with a return label inside of the box. I ended up returning it with both return labels inside. I then ended up ordering the same sewing machine from Walmart. It came in two days and it was brand new.
@@NVGEAR I spent $10,600 at Amazon last year. Countless packages arriving all the time just like everyone else. I got 2 returns resold as New to me. It is what it is, but it rarely happens
Yep received a used headset for work that had someone else’s ear wax and ear hair in it 🤢
@@kjw79 same !!!!!
@@NVGEAR ive seen other ppl here saying the same thing you Amazon propagandist.
I learned hard way to never buy electronics on Amazon
Amazon should really address these returns in which people try to rip them off replacing legit products with cheap alternatives and return them as new and unopened.
Yes, they need an inspection line for the crap products, or the small sellers need to do this.
Companies are allowed to claim a certain amount in cost for loss. When I had my small boutique stores, we were allowed $10,000 per store. Our CPA told us we needed to claim loss and make stuff disappear
I frequently buy stuff from Amazon warehouse deals. It’s usually a bargain, especially for auto parts. Last summer I bought a set of “used” Bosch rotors and quality pads for 70% off that came new with torn packaging. Also bought wall bike rack for 50% off. Turns out it was returned because one of the bolt holes didn’t line up, so it needed some drilling. Still a bargain and saved it from scrap yard, I guess.
How did you find the deals?
@@nanowar1192
it's a risk but I guess it pays off if the item is still in good condition only that they couldn't read manuals
Dont buy trash... U dont need
I buy Amazon used too! I usually buy ‘as New’, packaging damaged….but some items received were damaged and I had to return.
Whenever i receive an item i bought online (From amazon or otherwise) and need to return it, i always make sure it goes back in its original packaging and is in pristine re-saleable condition as brand new. It sucks to see that even then amazon will probably have it trashed.
Sellers should have the option to process returns themselves. Much more likely to be resold, but sellers are not who Amazon cares about.
I do this too but I can't resold and get the item back in the plastic inside packaging as good as the warehouse people can. I always hope they have a way to repack it.
I'd say 3 out of the last 5 things I bought on Amazon had to be returned. The problem with Amazon is the quality of their products are bad. I either had to return an item because it broke in a day or it wasn't as advertised.
Agreed. I’ve seen a huge amount of Chinese sellers where Amazon has basically become a Chinese marketplace. So things like inferior clothing or just cheaply made clothing floods Amazon. It’s got to the point where I no longer buy any clothing from Amazon that’s not from a well known company. And you can tell pretty much which ones are the Chinese clothing companies by the sellers name. Or alternatively I simply buy clothing from an actual store.
Love these types of reports. They're well made and contain important info to know. Thanks for doing them.
There are always a handful of people who take advantage of a generous return policy and ruin it for everyone else
Also, many people have assumed the free returns and “try-on” shopping part of their consumer rights. I can almost see the outrage if online retailers limit these features.
mostly happen in 3rd world countries where i live people are so ****** 😂😂
So true I ordered small rug i got different color and size i took pictures of what i got I told amazon i returned it later amazon says i returned something different than ordered when thats the actual item i got and they ban my account for some that want even my fault 🤦🏻♀️
This is why I don’t like Christmas 🎄 most of us get what we want and need all year. Now this one time of year you’re pressured into buying things just because.
Among my siblings we do the Christmas Angel thing. We pull a name from a hat so we only have one thing to buy. And I always ask what they want me to buy, and in return I let them know what I want them to buy. This means of course, that I will refrain from buying something during the year, and reserve it for our Christmas Angel "tradition." And I always act all surprised when I open my present on Christmas day. lol.
Couple years back I decided that I was not going to buy gifts for my niece/nephews. They got so many gifts from my siblings, from their aunts/uncles on the other side of family and it was just too wasteful to watch them open the presents happily, only to see them discarded after playing for a bit while they went back to their tablets. 🤦♂️ Things got to the point that their mom/my sis would go through the presents they received, and discussed whether there were any presents they were not interested in - e.g. jigsaw puzzles, barbies - these were handed off to me without even breaking the box seal to put in the "giveaway bag" that I have for donation purposes.
So I only buy something if I really want to get them a particular item, or if my sis/their mom lets me know that they want something in particular. It felt weird the first few years I did it but I don't regret it.
Its bout jesus not a tree
Love the journalism here. Definitely a well researched and hard hitting piece on the damage of returns. Has changed my mind on how I will be handling returns this year.
I work in retail here in CA and I must say there’s A LOT of waste even coming from our store. Every packets being opened (clothing or food) or refrigerated food that are left anywhere in the store (once you took them out and decided not to take it) they are ALL being thrown out. It is quite concerning.
If a business cannot sell a product or service, they will destroy the item. That is their preferred process because they want the demand and artificial scarcity to be able to charge more for anything they sell. They do not care about the excessive waste throughout the entire sales process. All they care about is maintaining and increasing profits.
You obviously didn't comprehend what this entire expose was trying to explain.
Amazon and other companies destroy returned products, simply because the cost to repurpose them for resale is more than it's worth.
It's cheaper for them to destroy the products, than go through the trouble of transporting the goods, several times over for a small profit for used goods.
Most consumers don't want to purchase items, that have been used. Amazon knows this....
@@BeingKyleBusch18 I said the entire sales process. You can disagree, but I think I was spot on and the return process is only one part of the sales process.
@@BeingKyleBusch18 So you agree...
Capitalism everyone 💁♂️
@@fturla___156 That's silly. If they wanted to artificially increase sales then they would simply slow down production. There is no conspiracy theory here lol
And obviously the sales process is there to maximize profits. What are they supposed to do ? Choose options that cost more and lose money? Amazon would fire people making those kind of decisions.
And you weirdo socialist can bash amazon all you want. Almost every company who accepts returns does the same thing. So bash them all. Oh wait...
I learned about this a while ago. I completely stopped returning things. Now if something doesn’t work for me, I will give it away or sell it online. Kudos to online resellers. You are doing something very important for people and the planet!
Nobody’s going to completely stop returning things. You sound nuts.
So you resell to unwary public junk? You must be the person that sold me the inflatable camp pad that didn’t hold air! Why should we donate junk? I don’t donate anything that isn’t usable. Shame on you!
Even more reason to shop in person and local when possible in my opinion.
Note: I am aware of the value in being able to purchase goods you can’t get locally, and of the value in being able to purchase things when you’re less physically able to shop in person than others are able to. But I’m also aware that there are benefits to shopping local, like having a better understanding of the product you’re getting and ideally not purchasing from Chinese corporations and such
Buying clothes is difficult buying on line. The size varies so much between vendors
10% were fraudulent, that means 90% were legitimate. Amazon and Walmart online along with Best Buy have been sending tons of bad items and it’s ridiculous. And I am very upset as I happen to be a consumer whom has received a TON of damaged goods. So how about focusing on Quality Assurance prior to shipping items to customers? Where’s the investigation into that?
Exactly. Not only that some sellers don’t package their items well. Also ups fedex and usps drivers don’t handle packages properly either.
They sell junk.
A "legitimate" return doesn't mean the item was bad, it just means that the item was actually sent back as expected. The vast majority are probably just people who decided they didn't want the product anymore.
This. 100% 🎯✨
100 percent correct. It’s better to blame the customer for returning products
I think a valid but missing point is the way products are sold to us, for example clearly stating the correct information that’s needed for consumers to make an informed decision on what that product is actually like so when the product is delivered the customer knows what to expect. some retailers don’t specify enough information on the product eg clothes with no dimensions, so no wonder the returns rate is high. This is a two way problem that extends beyond returns being ‘an easy option’ for customers.
@Lordeverfall100 well coming back to the return policy. As a consumer there is no cons of buying 3 of different size and returning 2. You have to limit that, a long with increase of information. With fast fashion there could be a hundred items listed by a brand. Also a lot of them market the free return policy
@Lordeverfall100 broke idiots? Sad pathetic life? That has nothing to do with the company description of products. Even so, why are we attacking low income citizens when people like YOU put social pressures and stigmas on clothes and items that people buy. News flash the toxic and wasteful culture of continually buying new didn’t start with the poor…so ignorant I stg just blame the poor for all the problems huh?
Ditto. Customers have no power over how items are presented for sale - never mind what happens in the supply chain. This is a seller-side problem, they hold all the cards, they decide the policy.
Thank you! The Amount of times I have bought something which looked way better in the photograph and in real life looks cheaply made. This is absolutely a two way street!
Agreed! And many companies don't even show you the bare minimum details needed to know what you're getting. J Crew is so bad for this. Half the items they sell online have only one photo of the garment taken from the front. No zoomed in photos of details showing the fabric texture. No photo of the item from the back or from the side. Not even a photo of the item on a model. How can you sell pants or a dress without showing what the back looks like? Sometimes they have hideous embroidering on the back you don't know about until you take a chance on ordering the item.
As a person who works at The UPS Store we get bombarded with Amazon returns. I kid you not folks every 55 seconds an Amazon customer comes with their returns. Packaging an item that would take 5 minutes would take 15-20 minutes because I'm constantly have to take customers with their 5+ Amazon returns. Wish that The UPS Store didn't take Amazon returns
This was a very enlightening video which has made me reevaluate whether I will return an item to avoid senseless waste and destruction; now, I will consider donating items to local charities for underprivileged communities. Thanks for the video.
I worked for Amazon at a returns center and so much stuff was thrown away. Threw away a brand new Apple Watch still sealed. Won’t give it away to employees or sell for cheap just trash it. Amazon is such a wasteful company
Really they should at least get employees first dips before throwing it away
Apple won’t allow Amazon to give away its merchandise. They say it dilutes their brand.
This are the same people that preach not to waste, not to pollute . Shame on them ! Now that we know this there is not an excuse , let's stop this nonsense .
Wow
@@msdarkstar44and it’s the most Woke ,virtue signaling companies that are always in the media promoting recycling, zero carbon footprint etc that are causing so much waste, literally TONS per year.
Having paid for a ~$80 mandoline and being sent the box but getting a very different and much cheaper store-brand slicer, I feel it. I also overheard a gal in the Target returns line that she'd paid for a nice new set of pans, got to the parking lot, saw the tape was broken, opened it, and found old cruddy pans from whoever had done a fraudulent return on them before (the gal who had just checked her out backed her up; she was telling the truth). CHECK YOUR RETURNS, PEOPLE. 🤣
Do yourself a favor and get rid of the mandoline now. Those things will F you up in the kitchen.
@@brent4073 after cutting myself I now use a pair of Kevlar gloves to handle it.
My son-in-law opened a laptop box and found newspaper.
@@Melinda_Ross I’ve heard similar stories from years way before Amazon became known, someone opened a box and it had rocks in it.
After looking at online options to buy a mandolin slicer, I decided to shop locally at a thrift store and found what I needed for half the price. I’ll try to avoid buying online as much as possible.
I miss the abundance of stores we use to have, we are forced into this online shopping, you can shop all day and not find what you want, now they are complaining about returns, I understand about the false returns, but some items sold on Amazon are fake or made very cheap, or have a false advertisement, I can do without amazon if need be.
Exactly. And when I do go into an actual store they don't have what I'm looking for everything's always sold out and I end up resorting to Amazon anyway because they either have it or it's cheaper
I'm not going to get a guilt trip for returning items that were described inaccurately or cheaply made. Amazon should have had a plan for returns in the first place.
I have a suspicion at least some the people burning merchandise have fraud issues. They could claim a loss, save on taxes (potentially claiming more was burned than the reality), keep some of it for themselves off the books, all while enhancing their image as exclusive. The potentially for wrongdoing seems extremely high. There seems to be a big focus in the reporting on fraudulently returned items by individuals, but much less focus on systemic fraud that could be much more significant.
I was a power seller on ebay for 20 years. Amazon ruined it by training people to return everything! I sold custom manufactured items - very clearly listed as non returnable due to their custom nature. It was a CONSTANT fight with customers and even ebay staff about not allowing returns, which I didn't have to and disclosed up front. Nothing was ever damaged or defective. Ebay wouldn't understand their own rules 75% of the time, usually siding with the buyer for no reason at all. And then there were the ones who claimed it was broken when it clearly never was.
Due to this abuse, I had to stop selling there, and end a 20 year career. Ebay was unwilling to consider this an issue at all.
Agreed, returns are basically frictionless. There should be a cost for returns to disincentivise that behaviour. Unfortunately I guess that how they got people to shift to online in the first place
Bought an item on amazon only for it to go on sale and be 50% less the next day. Chatted with support and they wouldn't credit the price drop. So I was forced to return the item got a full refund and buy it again to get the cheaper price.
I was very suspicious when I discovered that some Amazon warehouses are actually return centers; How in the world is it possible to have so many returns to where a company has facilities that operate 24 hours a day dealing with nothing but returns? That sounds very strange
Ultimately, its the consumer behavior/mentality that needs to change. STOP BUYING THINGS YOU DON'T NEED! Dont buy on impulse or buy things because they are on sale.
This is the world we have created.
"retail therapy" or therapy, just wait and see who will make $ out of consumers
I try to return as little as possible, but I routinely receive name brand, factory sealed electronics that I paid full price for, with noticeable scratches, marrs or other imperfections that I don't feel I should have to settle for. And I don't mean those imports only found on Amazon. Those name brand companies really need to improve their quality control.
Amazon should crack down on fake reviews and misrepresentation to reduce the amount of returns.
working at a store that accepts Amazon returns is very eye opening to the behavior that has been created by Amazon. People think nothing of bringing bags full of "stuff" they ordered. They just want to get rid of it and they ( and store employees) seem to have no clue about what happens to it.
“Protect the brand” just sounds like “we don’t want poor people wearing our brand”.
Yep #SNOB101
Supply and demand is the most powerful force in economics. For luxury items to charge more, there needs to be a degree of scarcity. That’s what protect the brand means.
Or they over purchased from their sweatshops abroad.
Yes. If forking homeless is wearing a Rolex then what did it say about the watch? You know how the world works
No, if returned items are not properly being inspected then the brand could be tarnished from reselling defective products.
It's 2022 and I still refuse to buy something I can't physically see beforehand.
Nice that you have good stores in your town. My town doesn't. I have to drive 60 miles one way to MAYBE find what I want in a brick and mortar store, then 60 miles back. 120 miles, gas, a number of hours.
Bigger problem is manufacturers selling product that are cheaply made & selling products that are intentionally made to fail within a certain time frame, there is more waste in that than anything else!
I worked in a call center for Amazon account. And I noticed that customers are abusing the 30 days return policy because they just don’t want it. Since we avoid negative feedback, we just process the return/refund plus education.
Have we reached saturation point where there are just too many products being made and not enough buyers? I can imagine that if all the returns were able to enter the ebay, goodwill stores, etc new product sales might shut down.
They can’t seem to get enough control or money and they never will.
For a bit until the products run out, only then would we need more new products.
Blame the consumer when the seller have horrible descriptions. LOL
I think quality and inaccurate descriptions have contributed also. I had never made a return for 10 years but this season (Fall 2021 -2022) I have returned several items unfortunately. There has been shipper issues also causing damage.
Lakewood Church in Houston have contracts with Costco, Amazon,and Walmart and receive returns of everything from furnoture to toilet paper. Huge warehouse of any good you could want and they allow approved local housing ministries (Rehabs, Homeless Shelters, Maternity Homes etc) to come get whatever they need or want.
also completely different but related = I once bought a pregnany test from Walmart and got home to realize it had been repackaged, returned and already pee'd on. True Story.
How bout handing the things that they throwing away to the landfill to the homeless?
Good point 👍
Some brands rather trash it because customers don’t want to wear things that homeless people get for free. $200 brand name shirt on a homeless person …… I’m not paying for that. (Not me just saying)
@@Ryan-yw8iz Exactly. It's like Jay Leno said....There were a bunch of animal rights activists who wanted to make it socially unacceptable for rich people to wear mink coats. But they didn't want them thrown out...they wanted to give them to homeless people. But as Jay said, "How are you going to beg for spare change when you're wearing a mink coat?"
They will pay logistics, probably more expensive than returning,
Except if those charity pay for logistics to get those return items from the Amazon, then they'll probably give it away,
I struggle to find items of even mediocre quality on Amazon. Everything is some terrible moly cheap Chinese contraption, and lost need to be returned because they’re missing parts or fall apart immediately.
Where possible, I stick with brick and mortar retail brands that seem to do a way better job of proving quality products.
Tons of people can't afford what they buy. Impulse buying is the reason why personal budgets get busted.
I never return things precisely because of this but that’s just my choice. First, I don’t buy mindlessly and if I did buy something that I ended up not liking I either donate it or give it as a gift to a someone (unused of course). I think the stores have a responsibility with their return policies. They need to either make sure they don’t create another problem or don’t be so lenient with returns in general. It is SO easy to return things and stores say, “no problem!” that why wouldn’t people do it? Stores need to be more responsible of all the collateral damage they are creating with their return policies.
Its such a weird issue cause I would rarely buy stuff if the option to return wasn't available, which I often do. But at the same time, I've sold on Amazon and returns were such a pain that I'd just have Amazon destroy them. The profit was higher selling a new one full price vs not destroying them and offering used ones at a discount
Returnless refunds need to become the norm across all products on Amazon. They do it for some items, but it’s really a hit or miss. As long as the customer can provide proof that the item isn’t needed/broken etc… I see it as a great solution.
@Tah BOO Agree with you. If amazon could do better with quality control that should minimize returns. Be honest most of the things I bought and returned on amazon. The quality is way less than my exceptions. Although some things are better quality. Plus the fake reviews. It makes the whole online purchasing experience miserable for the customers as well as for the sellers.
you have to ask why have the return cost if the item will end up in the bin.
you have to ask is it not cheaper just looking on ebay or some were else for the item you want.
all the amazon daily offers are really not that good you can find the items offered even on there own website cheaper
And buying shoes or clothes are just asking for high returns. as you can't really get the fit and feel of the item through a computer screen
@@ShoyuRamenBreakingBad wish does this they give refunds atleast they used to
That's a shame that destroying them is more financially efficient. Customers should be able to give them away or a secondary company should be able to take them for free and give them away to the less fortunate after refurbishing them (if that applies)
I've had very good luck on Amazon buying items described as Used, but in Like New Condition. Both the cell phone wallet case and the Electric water boiling pot were just as advertised and actually never used as far as I could determine. Both were about half the price of the brand-new item. Besides getting a great deal, now is see that I'm keeping them out of the landfill. Win-Win as far as I can see.
I buy a lot of those as well
I reduced the number of items we sold on Amazon because of fraud returns. I remember 1 such issue, someone ordered a really expensive FUNKO set from us and returned it with a really cheap and fake Hulk inside! I actually wanted to call the customer and yell at him/ her.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😁
I always keep my receipts in case I need to return something to the store. My husband always said, “You’re the returniest person that ever returned “.
I think another big problem is people are obsessed with consumerism. People buy a lot of useless things they don't need with money they don't have or don't want to let go of. Once they go on that shopping spree of 20 items, they then need to refund over half of it because it was a dumb decision. I work in a fast fashion retail and it really opens your eyes to how people go so crazy over cheap crappy clothing. I've had many women ask me if they can refund something if it's not right... it was $4???? Just keep it of gift it. Some customers clearly are caught up with the 'fun' of shopping, come everyday to buy multiple items and come the next day, first thing in the morning to return it all and proceed to buy more and return it all the next day. I use to be a shopaholic and loved shopping and buying anything i thought was a good deal... i never thought to return anything either unless it was faulty. Customers are so use to refunds being allowed these days that they will return anything now, even if it was $1. I think people need to learn to make wiser purchasing decisions... Like buying 3 sizes just to figure out which one fits? I've seen customers bring 3-4 of the same item in the same size in the change rooms to see which one is better... it makes no sense and usually they don't buy a single one. I don't know if this mind set comes from getting older and realizing there are more important things in life than things. I'm glad there are lots of businesses trying to recycle these returns and not add to the waste humans already create. There needs to be changes in the way people buy things. Plenty of people use things like afterpay to pay for items they can't afford, use them and do dodgy returns without ever having the money to actually pay for the item. It's becoming more and more common.
If they are trying the same item in different sizes or colors I get it. But, if the items are all the same ....they're just crazy!
Which looks better this ...or ....this!?!😀😂
i know people are complete idiots. i was a cashier for a long time. when i had a customer try to return a $4 item, i’d literally look at them and be like , “you know it cost u more money in gas, right?” lmao
I recently received a misdirected order from IKEA. When I called them to inform them, they directed me to either keep or donate the items. They would resend the order to the correct customer. A couple of the items were damaged during transport so I did throw those away. The other items were dispersed between me and my co-workers.
Wow !! One year in my community at the Food Bank , we Got a lot stuff from Amazon Returns , we organized the items, let the people knew that certain day was a giveaway.. !! It was a Success, people So Happy getting all this new items.. even me , I got a little touch lamp that I love it !! Thank you Lord . I hope they will keep doing that ..
it’s a Good way to Help folks and for the Environment.. 🙏🏻💖
Eye opening video!
I noticed a brick & mortar store I frequently shop at starting to sell opened merchandise in my bought online and pickup outside of store purchases. I had big orders and inspection is impossible at low temps when they are putting boxes and bags in my vehicle. Seems like a bad trend.
I ordered fabric I hadn’t received the fabric in 2 weeks, on prime. So I chatted with Amazon live in their site, the assistant was great, she looked for the shipment from her end and said she didn’t know where it was. She asked if I wanted a refund, I said yes, she said we wouldn’t receive a notice to return if the item eventually showed up. The item finally arrived another week after the live chat. We did not have to return the item. I can see alot of people taking advantage with that, like in anything. But all stores keep records of returns or refunds, if you do it too much, you won’t be able to do it anymore.
And that’s when these people just create new accounts. Email addresses are free.
Am I the only who has hardly returned anything?
I use to drive tractor trailer for an environmental company a few years back and we would pick up returns from Amazon weekly a lot of the stuff was brand new in good shape. Either in dry van in 6 foot tall boxes on pallets or dumped in roll off boxes and everything went straight to the landfills. Amazon isn’t the only one that doesn’t most if not all major retailers do the same thing. It’s sad and a waste but that is what happens.
I have to agree with the other comments below, regarding standardization of clothing sizes.
I always check comments to see how items fit other people in my size / weight range. I also try and provide my own feedback. I still often end up ordering an extra size. It is easy enough to return something that doesn't fit, but it's annoying if you have to wait possibly weeks for a different size version to be shipped. They might even be out of stock when you go to order the other size.
I took the time and typed up a fair comment about a product (always included model #, if it applied) and it got rejected. I did not swear or use any mean words either. You think I’m going to write any more? Not likely.
A major waste and perfect example of why people should be shopping local instead of on Amazon so much. But of course you notice that during the shutdown Amazon was allowed to stay open and the local shops had to shut down. Makes ya wonder don't it.
One great way to reduce returns: STANDARDIZE WOMEN’S CLOTHING SIZES! I have to order everything in three sizes because I never know how something will fit. It’s insane.
You're creating so much waste
They should have a rebuy system where people can actually physically see what is wrong with the product. They need to have accurate photos of items for resale. When Amazon sold only books, I bought a book based on the description in the listing and when I got it, the book was in tattered condition. In the listing it said it was gently used and the cover was basically gone and the pages were filthy. The only reason I didn't return it was because I was going to lose out on the shipping. Back then it wasn't a free return.
Way to go sister. Good thinking! Glad you weren’t hurt!
If the returns process wasn't so easy, people would be less willing to buy online.
I agree, in my country if you buy something (in brick and mortar stores) and its defective(and only if defective, you have a 1 week limit only) they will only change it for a different item, I haven't seen any store give your money back. For online selling you need to contact the seller, the platform will stay out of it so it will make it very difficult to return anything.
There are many dishonest people and they return a lots of goods.
Everything that's sold on-line includes an amount included in the price to cover the cost of returns and items damaged in transit. Thus, even those who buy things and keep them pay for part of the returns cost.
I REALLY appreciate this! I never realised these factors
I love colour, have almost perfect pitch and memory of colours. Ive spent SO MUCH time trying to get a good turquoise on a computer screen. Dark cyan just isn't it.
And people are All brown. No one is pure white or pure black, we're all various tints, shades, hues of browns.
Thank you 👍🏽👏🏾❣️❣️😘
There wouldn’t be so many returns if they had honest reviews of products. All the fake reviews just add up to product returns.
I think a big part of the problem may be the employees who handle the delivery who pilfer high demand items. I say this because whenever I have ordered anything related to solar power, especially solar charge controllers, the box arrives opened, with missing parts or a totally different product placed inside the box. Then, when I return the item, it mysteriously gets to a warehouse and is lost.
Really? You might be on to exposing something larger! I’d like to see highest to lowest resale valued items cross analyzed against the rate at which those exact same items go missing.
I appreciate the investigation into this topic. It may be disheartening that this happens, but knowing about it will help in the long run.
In the Bahamas, we never return packages from Amazon. We just keep what we buy so we buy what we want.
Not to mention in store I try not to even talk to the employees working at Walmart, generally they just look at you like your crazy for even asking them a question.
I buy used items from the Amazon Warehouse whenever they are available for what I'm interested in. Never had a problem with the items. Usually, it's only the packaging that had any indication that it was a return. If I did have a problem, I can always return it.
The waste is not the fault of the people who return the items, it's the fault of the sellers who make garbage and lie on descriptions. Also, brick and mortar stores have a lot of items that are deteriorated while in the store which help people choose if they want to buy or not, those are not counted as returns but they still end up in the trash.
Well, Hope Allen was the first person that came to my mind as I’ve watched a few of her videos buying items and eventually returning most of it. Glad that she see things in a new way now. I mean, me too.
Having to return clothing is extra frustrating because we already KNOW that sizes S, M, L etc are different in every brand, sometimes even in different styles from the same brand. We check the item listing for the size chart giving CM/IN measurements, but so often they're wrong, and you need a size up or size down anyway. It sucks.
To fix this problem they need to hire people to sort returns. The resell pallet, auction, and online are the best ways to reduce waste.
I can hear good ol George Carlin’s joke about stuff while watching this video 😂
Amazon needs to do better about how they pack certain items for shipping. The amount of damaged items I need to return for replacement is ridiculous. I will definitely be more careful about purchases and returns after watching this.
Set up a free product site, one to three items per person per month. Pay the shipping instead of putting it on the receiver's end. List every item and max quantity the recipient can have. Make sure the items can be shipped directly to PO Boxes as some people use only PO Boxes. I would actually appreciate being able to have a few pair of jeans, shoes, jackets, etc. A lot of poor in America. Package pirates could steal but, no biggie, just re-order. All the shelters and places which help others could use clothes, jackets, blankets, omg. Community college students need. So glad to know about this.
Amazon should just donate the things they are throwing away. Many kids' families can't afford Christmas gifts...but I guess it's "too expensive" for them to hire someone to sort out the donation.
You want Amazon to pay more people??? 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Donating cost logistics too,
They do have a donation option built into the decision process of where items go. I'd say only about 3-4% of items end up donated in a shift, but that's still a lot of donations.
Additionally, the company does a lot of charity fundraising with consumers, employees and at the corporate level.
For example, you can enroll in a program to give a commission to a local school or charity you choose. Doesn't cost anything.
@@hewhohasnoidentity4377 I don't see that option for my location. Not saying they are not doing charity. I am saying that it's a way to avoid wasting all the returned stuff they are throwing away.
Nóooo the stuff are garbage don't give to kids
Honestly I would prefer if there was an Amazon rebuy system where I could buy things at a reasonable price
I had no clue it was this sever of an issue. I always keep things I buy online even if its been broken or messed up as my own way of keeping it out of the landfills. I knew a little bit of how bad the issue of returns from back in the day working at home depot customer service. Thankfully I also learned how to be crafty with discarded returns from the guy in the lumber department, now I can find a use for just about anything or I'll just modify it to fit my needs.
As soon as I’d learned what happens to returns, I stopped returning whether online or in store purchases. Now even if makeup doesn’t work out, I will keep it and mix it with another color. I’ve just stopped returning item.