Is this some sort of American thing I'm too European to understand?
this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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Yes, it is. That's because companies like trying unpopular policies in America first before moving them to Europe.
Try telling that to my unequivocal legal right to return anything for any reason within 14 days at no cost to myself other than postage
Yes. You have to pay for postage. Americans pay nothing and Amazon forced them to pay one dollar. I'm sure retailers would happily trade free returns for a 14-day return policy that makes the customer pay for postage.
In Sweden. Never paid postage to return anything to a shop. Never paid postage to send a product anywhere, actually, be it for warranty or what have you. Typically the store either gives you a shipping label to print out, or they send you one.
That's usually how it is in America too. Amazon started charging $1 if you took it to a courier office instead of a Whole Foods (Amazon-owned grocery store chain) if the Whole Foods was closer to you.
The thought of Amazon selling food too creeps me out so bad.
It's just a regular grocery store, albeit a rather expensive one. They give discounts for Prime members. In the back, there is an area where workers accept Amazon returns and you can also pick up orders there in the odd chance you would ever do that instead of having it delivered to your home at no extra cost...?
Edit: I remembered that some people might want packages delivered here if they're frequent victims of package theft
One reason you'd get something delivered to an Amazon locker or work or whole foods is if your home or apartment doesn't have a secure mail room.
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Whole ~~Paycheck~~ Foods existed before Amazon (I'm fairly sure).
Honesty I didn't realize Amazon had acquired them.
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Yup, thats because the EU actually protects their consumers unlike the great ol' US of A
It depends. If the company dives in headfirst with anticonsumer practices in the EU, you're correct; EU institutions will regulate them out. But there's a much smarter strategy that works more often than I think you'd like to admit:
- Start said anticonsumer practice in the USA
- USA is slower to enact legislation against it
- US customers get used to it
- Inch EU customers into said practices
- When confronted, point to the USA and say that the Americans are fine with it so it must not be that bad.
- 50% of the time EU regulators respond with "oh, alright then". The news of said practice being introduced into the EU appears on The Register for a day and then everyone forgets about it. Most EU consumers don't realise it happened.
To do this in the EU would mean breaking the law, which mandates 14 days of free returns with no requirement to justify the reason whatsoever, so I'm pretty sure this wouldn't work ;-).
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You guys don't drunk-order a bunch of useless shit then expect to return it for no cost once buyer's remorse sinks in?
Point is, we have laws enforcing that possibility. It's not goodwill from companies...
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Why yes, yes we do
So companies will stop lying in the sizing charts, right? Right?
If the sizing chart says size M fits a 28” waist and the size M is actually 32” in the waist, their lying ass should pay the return shipping.
Mankind will die out before vanity sizes do.
I'd argue that in those cases the product is straight-up defective. I mean it was falsely advertised. Expecting me to pay returns in that case is absurd.
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I will continue to only deal with companies that offer free returns.
an understandable personal policy, but a lot of small businesses can't compete with these companies. my margins are thin and my products are expensive, so if I accept a return from a customer i am losing money. the cost of producing the item that got returned is not recuperated it's just gone.
I am not sure what to advise. It isn't personal.
I just think it's something interesting to think about. there's a lot of things that gigantic companies do in order to eat small business that can't afford to.
To be clear, what’s under discussion is free shipping on returns. And fine, whatever. It will be annoying, but if the price of returning in the same packaging is known at purchase time, I’ll survive and adjust my shopping with that vendor as necessary.
If free shipping on returns disappears, I won’t shop online anymore
Easier said than done for a lot of folks. Online shopping put a lot of malls and other stores out of business. Good luck finding clothes anywhere but Walmart and the Internet.
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I do buy some items without free returns but I will NEVER buy things like clothes or shoes without free returns or an option to take them to a physical store for free.
There is a reason that brick and mortar stores have changing rooms.
Likewise, there is a reason that, back in the day, mail-order clothing companies like L.L. Bean had ridiculously good return policies. They wouldn't have gotten any business without them.
Exactly. It would be more acceptable to have paid returns if 1)clothing photos and descriptions were more accurate and 2) if sizing was consistent within and across brands.
But I should not get punished because your company wants to make your size 6 in the measurements of a typical 10 so that you can inflate egos and sell more stuff.
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Not in the EU it's not. It's law here.
No, it’s not. You have the right to return it (Dutch: herroepingsrecht) but the cost of returning can be at the expense of the buyer when stated on their webshop. Check their ToS
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Where consumers and employees have rights.
Returns are really bad you guys. Independent research from this federation shows it's like.... 800 billions. That's a scary number, right?
Scooby Doo mask reveal.
Guess I just won't buy online then. Not worth the risk
63% of consumers said they order multiple sizes or versions of the same item, with the intention of returning what they don’t want, according to Narvar.
Holy fucking shit. The degree of waste is astonishing. I can't believe this number is so high. Fuck everyone who does this.
But that's what happens when you make your clothes to sizes that have no relation to the bodies that go in them. Especially for women. What the fuck is a 12?
When I go to a shop, I try on maybe ten pairs of shoes that are all my size before I find a pair that fit my feet and I can actually walk in.
There's no waste there, it's like one extra journey to your house when you buy something, no matter how many things you're sending back. The real waste is when the shop just throw it away because it's cheap shit not worth processing back into stock.
If it's such a hassle, maybe don't sell clothes online. Put it back in the high street where it belongs.
I'm a guy and bought various kinds of 32x32 jeans from Old Navy. None of them fit the same. Some were too tight, some needed a belt, some fit perfectly. If a company can't even have consistency there is no hope for it in an entire industry.
That sounds like more effort than just going to the fucking store.
Or better yet a thrift store. There is for a massive surplus of clothes and even Goodwill's have brand new brand name clothes for a few bucks, all over the place.
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Okay. We need to get clarity here -- if a product is being returned because it just wasn't compatible with the purpose I had in mind? Like pants that don't fit? By all means, charge me for return.
But if the product is defective? No, you pay for that. You sent me garbage, you owe me 100% money back.
We don't have this issue in Cyprus. Here there is no such thing as a return. Once you've given them your money they aren't giving it back. Even if the item is faulty, they'll just send it for repair or blame you.
But you are definitely not getting your money back.
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