Used Sold as New - Amazon's Fault
We bought a set of paints for our daughter for her birthday. She just opened the box and could immediately tell some were already used. The plastic wrap around the top of some of the bottles was missing and some bottles had paint on the outside. Also, the paint brushes that were suppose to be included were missing.
This was a new product fulfilled by Amazon. There was an LPN sticker over the FNSKU on the box and as soon as I saw that I knew what had happened. Somebody used this and returned it and an Amazon employee stuck it back into inventory as a new product.
So now the seller is going to get dinged for a return that wasn't their fault, but the system doesn't allow any blame to fall on Amazon for taking a returned product and selling it as new.
Just a reminder as seller's to try and make your product in such a way that if it's even opened and returned there's no doubt that it's been used. I.e. tamper evident packaging. That way the Amazon employee processing returns won't be able to mark it as new and stick it back on the shelf ready for the next buyer to complain about getting a used product and starting the cycle all over again.
I'm returning this for a replacement but I'm going to write "USED" in sharpie all over the box so that Amazon won't just stick it back in inventory again.
Used Sold as New - Amazon's Fault
We bought a set of paints for our daughter for her birthday. She just opened the box and could immediately tell some were already used. The plastic wrap around the top of some of the bottles was missing and some bottles had paint on the outside. Also, the paint brushes that were suppose to be included were missing.
This was a new product fulfilled by Amazon. There was an LPN sticker over the FNSKU on the box and as soon as I saw that I knew what had happened. Somebody used this and returned it and an Amazon employee stuck it back into inventory as a new product.
So now the seller is going to get dinged for a return that wasn't their fault, but the system doesn't allow any blame to fall on Amazon for taking a returned product and selling it as new.
Just a reminder as seller's to try and make your product in such a way that if it's even opened and returned there's no doubt that it's been used. I.e. tamper evident packaging. That way the Amazon employee processing returns won't be able to mark it as new and stick it back on the shelf ready for the next buyer to complain about getting a used product and starting the cycle all over again.
I'm returning this for a replacement but I'm going to write "USED" in sharpie all over the box so that Amazon won't just stick it back in inventory again.
7 replies
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
I (and many others) have long been frustrated with the fact that we cannot have FBA returns automatically removed and shipped back to us. At least you are an understanding customer; many customers would leave a negative for the seller, even though not their fault.
I had a case about a year ago (I sell only used books, so only 1 of any SKU). Got a complaint of "Back cover was torn off!" on a book that was not only Like New when shipped to Amazon, but sealed. VoC showed that I had complaints on 50% of the orders of this SKU; which means that it sold twice despite there being only one. So I know for sure that it was returned at some point and put back in inventory.
I would gladly pay the removal fee to get a book back to double check it, but it's not an option. And cases like yours show that it hurts ALL of us; I'm sure that many customers, if dealing with this, would decide "I'll never order from a 3P seller again".
And nothing will make up for the disappointment of your daughter getting a used gift. That just s u c k s. (hope she had a great b-day regardless).
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
Unlikely. Many returns are not looked at at all, as I frequently read reports about products being resold that were dirty, clearly used, scratched, incomplete and even all together different products. I have gotten quite a few such deliveries from FBA in the past. Yet another good reason not to shop FBA. I did order a saw, as I couldn't get it elsewhere at a decent speed and of course, got a return. Saw just thrown in the box, no packaging at all, no chain oil included, no instructions.....
Seller_TeK7HYTK7PiOb
To Amazon's credit the replacement item arrived the next day and was brand new and still shrink wrapped. Of course a normal customer or Amazon employee wouldn't know that a product is supposed to be shrink wrapped so just because it's not doesn't immediately indicate it's been opened.
When I return this in addition to writing "USED" I'm going to use a blank shipping label to indicate it's missing the brushes. So eventually that return will end up getting bought at some liquidation sale as part of a pallet of returns or just thrown in the trash.
At the end of the day, the third party seller is the one that gets to eat the cost of a free replacement (not to mention a return processing fee from the original buyer that used this product and returned it).
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
That just means the return will be marked "customer damaged" and the seller gets billed.
