Creating a return policy for retail merchandise

Returned goods represent a major irritation for the retailer. When the purchase amount must be paid back to the customer for returned goods, this runs your cash flow in the wrong direction; when goods are exchanged for replacements, this represents additional costs to you in the areas of inventory handling, accounting, and, if you are an e-merchandiser, the cost of making a second shipment to the customer.

But having to take back goods is as much a fact of retail life as processing credit card purchases, and it must be endured. Looking at it another way, though, a good return policy is important to the customer and can result in repeat business.

Keep in mind that the customer returning goods is already disappointed that the goods purchased were broken, didn’t fit, didn’t work, or just weren’t right for some reason. Getting a replacement item or cash back to that purchaser in an expeditious manner and with a kind word and apology can evaporate the disappointment.

It’s vital for e-merchandisers in particular to have a good return policy because their customers, rather than seeing and handling goods at a mall store, have to rely on photos and descriptions for their purchases. If potential buyers can’t find a return policy clearly stated at the retail site, they are unlikely to put their faith in the retailer’s ethics alone. After all, purchasers only see and handle the product after they have purchased it, so they deserve some time to decide whether it is all the merchandiser said it was in the online description and they need assurances before they pay their money that goods can be returned.

E-sites must therefore ensure that their return policies are fair and appealing, stated concisely, clearly, and placed prominently so that everyone will see it. And if you know you’ve got a good policy, show it more than once; you can even make it part of your promotion. This gives consumers the security of knowing that what they are buying is guaranteed to be exactly how it was described on their computer.

Keep an eye on your return activity. If you’re getting too many returns, there is something wrong with your product or the way you’re marketing it. Take action.

Ebay Business…Lets get it on!

1973 Marvin Gaye…ok, I am an old guy. “Old School” as my daughter describes me.

How am I going to tie Marvin Gaye into  a blog post about ebay? Simple, have you been thinking of staring an ebay business, maybe for supplemental income? Lets get it on….really, nothing happens without action and effort.  What is holding you back?

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit hiding somewhere inside you, eBay is a great place for a flight test to see if you really have been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, or if you’re best suited to continue to work for someone else. The beauty of testing your wings on eBay is that you can do it part time and see if you have a knack for building up your business. And eBay business, if done correctly, does require a good amount of hard work, but building an eBay business from the ground floor up is a possibility open to just about anyone. If your eBay endeavors really start to pay off, you may just find yourself riding on your own momentum to create quite a substantial E-commerce empire. There have been countless ebay sellers who have started at the kitchen table and ended up with corporate offices making millions of dollars. It is not too late.

No matter what you sell, customer service must always come first. This customer first attitude is the underlying idea behind everything you’ll do to be successful on eBay. The feedback that the customers leave for you, will really define your future success. One bad feedback, especially if you’re new to eBay, can be devastating to your chances of getting people to bid on your auctions and buy your items. There is a great deal of fraud committed on eBay, so the customers that use eBay are extremely wary and find it very hard to trust sellers with low feedback scores. This means that your first strategy to building income through eBay is to get positive feedback, and lots of it.

One of the best methods to get a great deal of positive feedback early on is to sell items that are inexpensive, available to you in large quantities, and are easy to describe accurately. Profit doesn’t even have to be a priority at this stage. Certainly you don’t want to lose money, but your initial sales are solely to get you a decent amount of positive feedback. You can actually accomplish this more efficiently with a single listing using eBay’s Dutch Auction listing option, which allows you to list multiple quantities of the same item under the same listing. This service is discounted compared to listing all of the items individually, but you still can receive positive feedback for each and every one you sell this way. You will want o be a little aggressive in requesting feedback at this stage as well, just remember to always be polite with your requests.

Once you have received a satisfactory amount of positive feedback (this number can vary, but reaching 25 or so is a nice goal), then you will want to start listing more expensive items that have the greater profit margin. You might wonder why receiving a bunch of positive feedback for selling dollar refrigerator magnets will help you once you start to sell expensive jewelry or vintage radios, and the answer is because most eBay buyers don’t go through the effort of finding out what your positive feedback was for, just that you have a high percentage of it. Some will check and those buyers might be discouraged from bidding, but even if you miss out on a few of these you will still be way ahead of the game thanks to the positive feedback from those magnets!

Once you’ve established a solid feedback rating and moved on to selling what you intended to sell to begin with, it’s just an issue of maintaining high standards when it comes to item descriptions and customer service. There are small things you can do to streamline profits and increase sales, such as researching all the add on services offered by eBay like galleries, buy it now, the benefit of starting auctions at a specific time, or setting up an eBay store. But, your success on eBay is almost entirely based on your customers level of satisfaction with your products and your service, so don’t ever let anything else distract you from maintaining high standards in those areas.

Gustav, we are Better Prepared and Ready to Help!

As our Country, and more specifically the Gulf Coast, braces for the clutches of Hurricane Gustav we can all agree that ‘we have been here before”. In fact, back in 2005 Hurricane Katrina claimed 1600 lives and caused over 44 billion dollars in property damage as reported by the ISO (Insurance Service office).

Monday September the first: Nearly 2 million people throughout the Gulf Coast have evacuated their homes under civil authority; The National Guard is immobilized to assist and keep looting at bay.

Having watched the devastating footage from Katrina for the last three years I can honestly say it appears we, as a Nation, have learned a few lessons and are reacting in a more proactive stance.

Our President has declared emergency Federal Aid for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

As a Nation, responding with assistance evacuating, sheltering and feeding over 2 million lives we are reminded that monetary assistance is in critical need.

How can I become proactive from my home…How can I reach out and offer assistance?

The Red Cross is closely monitoring Hurricane Gustav’s track. They have moved staff, volunteers, vehicles and supplies into multiple states in preparation. “We must respond before disaster strikes, which means being ready with the right resources, in the right place, at the right time.” Donate Now

Feeding America is prepared to help those in need as Hurricane Gustav approaches the U.S.  You can help support our upcoming efforts by Donating Now. Feeding America  provides immediate relief through emergency feeding centers. Some of largest food manufacturers and distributors partner with Feeding America, your donations will assist in emergency distribution.