How often do you have to return items that you purchase online? It does not seem to happen to me when I purchase from eBay because the sellers are generally very good with descriptions, but more often this happens to me when I purchase from a mainstream retailer. The sizes are wrong, or the colors do not look like they did when I viewed the item on my computer. The other reason I return merchandise is because it turns out to be much more cheaply made than it looked when I viewed the item. How long does it take to get your money when you do a return for an item you purchased online? I have found that Amazon is the best, they will iniate the return to my card just as soon as they confirm that the item is in transit after I drop it off at the UPS store. What have your experiences be?
Well, I had always been iffy with Ebay. I had heard some iffy things about the website, and certain interactions before. But then my phone stopped working, and I did not have the money to get anything that cost a lot of money as a replacement. So I just went on Ebay and looked for the same model, and it was affordable. I purchased it, but one of the main features that I use - the wifi - was not working when it arrived. By then, my old phone had begun to miraculously just work again. And I sent the new purchase back. All of my orders since, I have not had to return.
Most companies refund within a few days of receiving the goods back, but some say it take a billing month. I try not to buy anything too risky online for that reason, but I've only returned very few things that were sent in error or did not fit well. As long as the shipping returns was recorded I always felt it was safe. Most will send you an email saying they have received your item and are processing a return, that's why it's good to have an account so you can check the progress.
I have been truly blessed, really. I do a lot of online shopping with Asos, Essential Day Spa and Dress For Less and have yet to experience anything nasty. I have returned 2 faulty items to Asos, and both times it was a painless, smooth transaction. I returned a dress that didn't fit to Dress For Less and it was done very quickly and easily with not further costs to me. I have yet to return anything to EDS, I'm always happy with their service! My husband however, once had a near miss experience on Ebay. He bought an iMac which never even worked from day one. It just kept making a beeping noise and wouldn't fire up. The owner had installed a lot of stuff on it, and insisted it was working. He just wouldn't listen to reason. My husband persisted, re-packaged it and although it cost us a lot to return it, we sent it back to him. He begrudgingly refunded the money. I urged my husband to buy one from new instead.
I've only ever had problems with Rakuten, everything else has been seamless, thankfully. It's still a drag to return the items though and this is why I prefer visitng stores to see the goods for myself. If I do order something online, I try to make sure that the returns are free.
Returning a physical item is much easier than say an ebook, or downloaded software. I recently had purchased a software program that was partnered with Microsoft. I couldn't get it to let me even register it to even use it. After a couple of weeks of disgruntlement I started contacting the company with my disappointment, first by email, then by phone and no response that my messages were even received. Finally I gave it one more try and attached a copy of my receipt and requested a refund. I did get a response then. It's been a week and I haven't received a refund yet. If nothing happens this week I'm contacting Microsoft with my concerns.
I've returned perhaps one or two items from online purchases. In most cases, I don't order something that I think I'll have to return later, and mistakes haven't happened that often for me. Amazon will sometimes credit you instantly and then give you 30 days to return an item, which is always nice. That rule tends to apply to long-time customers rather than new sign-ups, though.
I've only done so once. I ordered a pair of sneakers (US size 6) and was under the impression that since it's American-sized, the sneakers would fit me just right. I remember buying a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers before and it was a size 6. My purchase arrived and to my dismay, it was 2 inches shorter than my feet. I couldn't wear it and had to order a different size. I was disappointed because US size 6 shoes aren't that small. That was obviously Asian size and the online shop failed to forewarn its customers.
I’ve only had to return one item, a skirt from Forever21. Their sizing is pretty hit-or-miss; size small will sometimes be a bit too snug for comfort (as was the case with this skirt, plus it looked pretty cheap on top of that) but I’ll usually be swimming in the mediums. But it was a pretty easy return, no problems with getting the money back as far as I remember.
I have bought a few 2nd hand clothes that didn't fit me on Ebay, and since the seller stated that she doesn't accept returns on her ad, then I just kept the items so that I can resell them later. Apart from that, if an item doesn't arrive or it arrived with damages or it didn't work, then the seller just refunds me the money and they don't require me to send the item back, since the item is quite cheap.
