Amazon has a grab bag of potential reasons to suspend your seller activity, but the most common reason is the one that’s also the most easy to fix, bad performance. Behind negative feedbacks, A-to-Z claims are the biggest reason for which you could potentially look like the bad guy to Amazon. So, here are some tips on how to deal with them when they rear their ugly heads.
Case 1. I did not receive my order items and Case 2. I received the items late:
- You failed to deliver the order by 3 days past the maximum estimated delivery date, or 30 days from the order date.
- You promised a replacement but you did not ship it, or it did not reach your customer.
- The customer contacted you to inquire about a delivery, and you never answered/ you answered with a significant delay.
Avoidance tactics and possible solutions:
- Make monthly reports on carrier delays and lost packages to keep yourself informed about how well your carrier is working.
- Make sure you ship within the Amazon time frame, and ideally try to have a traceable option to insure a successful delivery. If not, at least use a traceable option for the replacement, if it comes to that
- When a customer contacts you to verify the status of their order, reply promptly with as many details as possible; preferably a tracking number too. In the case of a delay, assure them that you will either partially or fully refund the order, or try to find them a replacement.
Case 3. Order contained incorrect/defective/damaged items:
- You shipped an incorrect item; either a package mix-up or a listing issue.
- You shipped a defective item that does not work properly. For example, if you did not check your items before shipping them, you might have missed some fabrication errors, etc.
- You shipped an item in worse condition than described; or your items are getting damaged in transit.
Avoidance tactics and possible solutions:
- Check your inventory for listing errors periodically, randomly if not one by one. Make sure your description is as accurate as possible (condition, isbn, publication year, publisher, etc)
- Make sure that each package gets shipped to the correct customer. Leave no room for error between when you receive an order, and when it gets packaged to leave the warehouse.
- Periodically review the condition guidelines, and also the way you are packaging your products to avoid damaging them during transportation
Case 4. I returned my order:
- The customer returned the item to you and no refund was issued, or you refunded the wrong amount.
Avoidance tactics and possible solutions:
- Make sure you are aware when a customer wants to return an item. Authorize the return request, provide a return address. You may also want to provide your own return label.
- Make sure your customer agrees on the amount that needs to be refunded.
Hopefully, with a little T.L.C., the customer will retract the claim. Occasionally though, they choose not to. Remember, if you choose to ship a replacement make sure to represent your case on Amazon and give them the tracking number. This will save you from having to refund. Even if the issue has already affected your ODR, it will help you keep your money.
Repeated A to Z claims will have a negative impact on your performance. An increase of your ODR will lead to a poor performance and metrics, and over 1% to your ODR will result in a suspension of your account. Take these claims seriously, and deal with each A-to-Z by finding a solution for your customer or representing your case on Amazon with pertinent arguments.
For more help in performance issues, you can always contact SellerEngine Services!
[az_divider_sh div_type=”normal” margin_top_value=”” margin_bottom_value=”-10″ class=””]
Stefana Mihai is an expert in international Amazon sales, multi-lingual customer service and the challenges faced by global businesses.
Email her and find out how she and the SellerEngine Services team can help you!