Perhaps a new kind of scam? or just a confused buyer?
So today I received a message from a buyer asking about the possibility of returning a book bought back in April. The confusing part was that he / she/ they mentioned that they were dissatisfied with the content of the book, especially since they had paid $144.00.
The thing is, they book we sold and sent to them was only $20.00.
Once I had explained that the book had actually cost them only $20.00, I then told them to go to their Orders listings and if there was a "Return or Replace" button, they could ask for a return through the Amazon system. (I suspect after 60 days there is no longer one there, but that will be another problem.)
I thought at first that perhaps they had actually bought from a drop-shipper who had jacked up the price, but the message came from the same name (actually NOT a name, but email address) as the buyer of record.
Any idea what might be going on here?
Perhaps a new kind of scam? or just a confused buyer?
So today I received a message from a buyer asking about the possibility of returning a book bought back in April. The confusing part was that he / she/ they mentioned that they were dissatisfied with the content of the book, especially since they had paid $144.00.
The thing is, they book we sold and sent to them was only $20.00.
Once I had explained that the book had actually cost them only $20.00, I then told them to go to their Orders listings and if there was a "Return or Replace" button, they could ask for a return through the Amazon system. (I suspect after 60 days there is no longer one there, but that will be another problem.)
I thought at first that perhaps they had actually bought from a drop-shipper who had jacked up the price, but the message came from the same name (actually NOT a name, but email address) as the buyer of record.
Any idea what might be going on here?
0 replies
Seller_z3XfkorVSmnEY
"I'm sorry, but your purchase of [name of book here] was delivered [date delivered] and as such is past our return/refund window."
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX
First, always remember that buyers are pulling scams every day. It may be a scam, or it may be something else.
1. When a buyer receives too many Safe-T claims against them, Amazon is now denying their ability to return products on the site. (Amazon will not disclose the exact amount.) Amazon tells the buyer to contact the seller directly for the return. In this case we tell the buyer we follow Amazon's return policies, fill an authorized return. Of course they can't, and the issue is closed.
2. Was the buyer a Blind Buyer using a fake name so they cannot be identified?
- To those buyers we always send Amazon's Drop Shipping Policy to them at the time of shipping. We let them know that it Amazon identifies them as a drop shipper, THEY are responsible for the return and refund of the item.
- If the buyer opens a return, we let them know that their actions are in violation of Amazon drop shipping policy and have been reported to Amazon for action on their account. Every time this happens, the buyer seems to always makes a statement as to why the product needs to be returned. We remind the buyer that their statement is false, as they have never actually seen the product and it was sent to someone else. Strangely, these products never are returned, and we close out the return after 30 days.
We find being pro-active with buyer returns stop a lot of scammers befoe the return process starts. Amazon's RFS program promotes buyer return fraud, but as sellers, we do not have to accept it. After all, scamming buyers are not scamming Amazon, they are using the Amazon site to scam 3rd party sellers.
Seller_onPcoMV1HBgAA
Happening more and more. I just had someone try a return from January. I reply that there is only 30 day return window, and usually, that is that.
Jameson_Amazon
Hi @Seller_YBfUTeoG971hG,
Thank you for starting this thread! Happy to see that other sellers have jumped in here to share their thoughts and advice.
This is interesting for sure, I have personally not heard of this particular instance happening before. You definitely made the right move by redirecting the buyer to the proper return process. Has there been any updates or further communication from this buyer?
If you have any additional questions or need further assistance from my end, please don't hesitate reaching out.
All the best,
Jameson
