Amazon launches new feature, sellers: It’s outrageous!

Amazon US has launched a new feature called "Refund Only" . Freeloaders will come and the costs of a group of sellers may rise. Just when the "Refund Only" feature was launched, a seller 's product worth $ 11 was refunded only $ 75 , which made a group of peers exclaim: "Too outrageous!"

This new feature has caused complaints from most sellers. What everyone is more worried about is that "refund only" will become mandatory in a few months. But objectively speaking, this feature is not entirely useless.

Amazon launches new “refund only” feature

Recently, Amazon announced that it has launched a "no return solution" to simplify the return process by offering customers a full refund without having to return the product. That is, "refund only" .

When sellers join the FBA No Return Solution , they will receive the following benefits:

Reduce costs associated with returns and increase customer convenience;

Simplified returns management process without having to process physical returns.

It is understood that except for dangerous goods, heavy and large items, and goods with an average selling price of more than US$ 75 , other products are eligible to join the FBA no-return solution, which involves many products, mainly low-value products.

It is worth noting that according to feedback from some sellers, for eligible products, the new "refund only" function is currently turned on by default. If you do not want to turn it on, you can choose to turn it off manually. You currently have the freedom to choose.

When the feature was launched, a seller found that a refund order for an amount of only $ 11.99 was refunded $ 75 . He is waiting for a response from customer service. The situation is still unclear and no such phenomenon has occurred on a large scale. Many peers said, "This is outrageous!"

There is no doubt that the new "refund only" feature immediately attracted the disgust of many sellers, who believed that the platform's approach was unfriendly. One seller questioned: "Before we agree to give away the product for free, doesn't Amazon need to ask for our opinion first?"

Some colleagues said that in fact, most sellers do not want to just refund the money and let the buyer keep the product, which means the product is given away for free, but it does not rule out that some sellers want this.

More sellers believe that this is a new way of buying for free , and Amazon is trying to catch up with domestic e-commerce platforms, focusing on joining the competition if they can’t beat them.

“Currently, some people are using this policy to deceive sellers. If Amazon also decides to apply this policy to FBA , then all customers and Amazon culture will slowly become like them in the future. Amazon’s environment will also change. Many people may order products and then request a refund without returning them, and get a full refund. This will make sellers helpless and the situation difficult to control. ” said an industry insider.

Will “refund only” become mandatory?

In the comments section of Amazon's "refund only" announcement, a peer wrote: "This will become mandatory in a few months." This comment was liked by peers. This is also the point that most sellers are most worried about in this new change. Some sellers think that there is no need to worry too much, and it should not become mandatory.

In fact, Amazon's refund-only policy is not the first. It is understood that for the ultimate customer experience, Amazon has been actively adjusting and testing the refund-only policy. In 2021 , Amazon 's US site adjusted its return policy to require Amazon to provide a valid US return address for orders with a sales value of less than US$ 25 . When the return request meets the requirements, Amazon will use this address to generate a prepaid return label for the buyer. If a US return address is not provided, Amazon will issue a refund to the buyer for eligible returns and will not require the return of the goods (refund without return).

The latest refund-only policy raises the standard selling price from $ 25 to $ 75 .

This new feature has caused dissatisfaction among everyone, and it is obvious that many sellers are unwilling to use it. However, some sellers want to use it but cannot , because Amazon may impose restrictions.

Only sellers in good standing (as defined by Amazon and at Amazon’s sole discretion) can enroll in the FBA Refund No Return Solution, according to a person familiar with the matter .

One seller couldn't help but joke: "The platform feels like this is a gift to sellers. We should thank Amazon for giving us the opportunity to do charity!"

Amazon will set some restrictions, and only those buyers who have no history of abuse can apply for the "refund without return solution" from the seller. At present, these "restrictions" are not clear.

The new features aren't all bad

There is actually nothing wrong with Amazon restricting the use of this feature by sellers with good credit. Apart from the disadvantage that "refund only" may be abused, objectively speaking, this feature is not completely useless .

This feature is beneficial to sellers in the following aspects: First, it reduces the probability of leaving negative reviews . "Refund only" is for low-value products. If the cost of the product itself is not high, it is actually a better choice for customers to choose "refund without return". Customers do not need to return the product after receiving a refund, and the probability of leaving negative reviews will be greatly reduced;

Second, it saves the cost of returns. If you don’t return the goods, Amazon will save the extra cost of receiving and processing the returns. In fact, sellers don’t have a particularly good way to handle these FBA returns. This feature may help some sellers save on return processing fees.

In May , Amazon announced the return rate thresholds for each category and the new return processing fee standards. For returned items that exceed the category thresholds, small standard-sized items face a processing fee of $1.78 to $2.21 per piece , large standard-sized items face a processing fee of $2.36 to $5.00 and above, and large and oversized items are charged even higher fees.

The newly added return processing fee has greatly increased the costs of many sellers. Some sellers roughly calculated that it accounts for about 2% of their sales . Faced with high return processing fees, only a few products are exempted. If the number of goods delivered by the seller in a month is less than 25 , there is no need to pay this fee; if the seller registers for the Amazon Logistics New Product Warehouse Promotion Program, the return processing fee does not apply to the first 20 items of each parent ASIN that meets the requirements .

If the product is eligible and the seller does not need to return it, Amazon's latest "refund only" feature may help some sellers avoid this part of the fee. Of course, the sellers have to calculate which one is more cost-effective.

However, the disadvantages of this function for sellers are also obvious. It may increase additional costs and risks, and requires better control of product quality.

Currently, freeloading is rampant abroad. Many people rely on the return policy of e-commerce platforms to get free products. Some foreign bloggers even post videos to teach others how to get free products with just a refund. This policy of Amazon may bring more convenience to freeloaders.