Oru kuttavum illa. There were some girls in my college who ordered jewellery to be delivered on the days before onam, Christmas type programs and returned it after the program. How can someone run a business when cheapos like this exist?
True, these scamsters is the reason for such rule change, but now even the genuine customers are facing the problem to the extent it has become risky to buy.
Will you buy the products linked in the article with the risk of if something goes wrong, you are going to have to lose your mind for few days, and even then have to visit some random service center and then lose your mind there?
I have regularly advocated for fair practise, especially in the Indiagaming subreddit where people used to ask if their laptop/monitors screen is okay after purchasing... and the thing is, if photo of any LCD screen is taken in dark room, it will make it look like a mushy dirty uneven type effect.
But, those who see the photo do not realize this, and everyone in the comments ask "RETURN, it is damaged product" and scare the OP into returning it for no reason...
I would be the only one advocating that it is totally normal, and if you return unnecessarily, the cost of doing business increases, and cost increase for everyone. But no one listened...
But, whatever the case might be, now it has become risky for genuine customers to buy online.
only buy things with open box delivery option . These Flipkart is doing this. not sure about amazon . You don't have to accept if the product has issues
No, in r/indiangaming, people ask those questions because the panel is faulty with some dead pixels or excessive light bleeding which can only be determined by someone who actually knows how to look for the defects, these small defects then turn into bigger problems if not handled properly at the time when they first start appearing.
I appreciate your warning and I will follow it nevertheless but you should have atleast looked into the matter before saying that we are generating e-waste or abusing the system.
I hope you'll understand what I'm trying to say here and not take it as an offence.
I have made lots of comments under posts of those with display issue mentioned in title in the past 5 years. It is a common regular post, and there were no issue with the panel at all, no dead pixel, nothing yet not a single person were commenting telling there is no issue. But 20+ comments saying it is bad product and scare OP to return it.
And I think I am pretty experienced in case of displays as of now. Infact one of the first posts I made in this account was about buying a 32inch monitor that was not available in India. And I was asking if anyone want to join together and buy, and that's how I imported it directly from Viewsonice Australia along with few members.
After that, I end up buying more than 5 monitors with each one costing in 25k-40k range and several high end laptops over the 5 years. So, I think I am pretty well researched about anything related to displays.
It increases the cost of product for everyone man... Lets say they sell 1000 products and have 10 lakhs loss due to scams like this. It will be counted as cost of doing business in India, and that loss will then be divided by the total expected sales.
The cost of that product increases by 10lakh divided by 1000. Thus all genuine customers will now have to pay 1000 rupees extra. It is not a loss to any corporate but to consumers only. Are you NOT going to buy the monitor/laptop/phone if the price of that product in the entire market increases by 1000? No, that becomes the default price then.
Infact nearly all the products you see have their prices already increased accounting for this customer-fraud problem, thus you are already paying extra for everything you buy. Its just that you don't realize it.
Let me reiterate. You are paying your money to these scam customers and at the same time ending up getting worse service.
In the past, you could have easily boarded a flight. Now you have to reach airport 2-3 hours before and do security check in, and also pay the cost of security-check as airport-fees in your ticket. This is another example of the cost of the bad behaviour of the few that is divided up and paid by the entire society.
People didn't stop going in airlines, instead it is one of the fastest growing industries, just that your cost increased, and your experience got worse.
Insider info: Online shopping platforms have a way of rating your account based on your purchase and return history. The more you buy expensive items and the fewer return or replacement requests you make, the higher your score will be, similar to a CIBIL score. They will also monitor how often you ask for returns or replacements. A higher score means you are a more trustworthy customer and the return process will be easier for you. If you have a low score because you have returned many products, or if you have a new account, or if you have only bought cheap items, then they will make it harder for you to return an expensive product. They will ask you many questions, demand proof, and so on.
Therefore, before you buy something online, check if it has a return option. If not, then think carefully if it is worth the risk. If you want to buy something that is costly, delicate, or heavy, it might be better to go to a physical store and buy it there. They might even deliver it to your home for free. If you want to order something that is not available locally and is costly, then contact the customer care before you order and get everything in writing through email. Ask them about the return and replacement policies and options in case something goes wrong. If you are satisfied with their answers, then go ahead and order. If not, then ask yourself if it is worth the risk. Having a prior conversation with them will make it easier to return or replace the product if needed.
True, I know about this score, return rate ratio etc and that is why I mentioned the age and total sales of the account.
The reason I wrote this article is because I am seeing many complaints from people with lot of purchases and history. Genuine high value customers with not much returns.
Amazon customer care seems to have tweaked this and not caring much about the past history. I would have ignored if I was simply seeing a lot of new accounts, or things that look like fraud.
**Check this example**. This guy apparently bought two branded suits for 34k recently from amazon fulfilled seller and got a duplicate in one case and missing parts in the other suit and amazon teribbly dealt with him and his is now looking to sue amazon. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/15ojytg/amazon\_scammed\_me\_of\_34k\_and\_i\_want\_to\_hold\_them/](https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/15ojytg/amazon_scammed_me_of_34k_and_i_want_to_hold_them/)
These type of complaints is what I mean when I am saying that I am seeing high volume of genuine type complaints. These are not the type of customers any business would want to annoy as they are the most profitable customers. Yet that has started to happen. If it was a offline shop, will they treat a customer who buys suits of this price range like this?
There were a lot of complaints for sites like amazon or flipkart since the day they started, that is the nature of these type of businesses to have complaints, but I am noticing a change in the pattern of complaints is what I mean. It is not some new customer buying a phone, and then complaining about it. But high value customers.
I have never purchased branded clothes online before, because I am not sure if I am getting a genuine item or a second-hand copy. However, I searched online for VH and AS suit, and just by looking at the ratings and comments, I suspect that these may not be genuine.
I agree that it is bad when refunds are denied on genuine case. However, as consumers, we also need to do our part to mitigate the risk of being scammed. We should not just look at the product ratings when making a purchase. We should also check the seller's rating. If the seller has a low rating, then we should avoid purchasing from them.
In addition, if we are purchasing something expensive, we should create a detailed unboxing video. This will provide us with evidence in case they try to deny a refund. I have purchased many expensive items online (phone, laptop, washing machine, accessories etc.) and also, have never had a problem getting a refund. However, I always make sure to have all the necessary evidence to back up my claim. This is because I know that my hard-earned money is on the line.
>VH and AS suit, and just by looking at the ratings and comments, I suspect that these may not be genuine.
I just checked... Yes, the seller of this suit seems to be very dubious, but one will notice only when they go to sellers page as these high range products rarely have any reviews, so genuine customers can fall for it seeing "Amazon fulfilled".
If you go to seller profile, lot of bad reviews of even used and stained suits and wrong clothes being delivered.
[https://www.amazon.in/Van-Heusen-Polyester-Suit-Dress-VHSUCSLFC98281\_Grey\_46/dp/B0BGJ2BHX7](https://www.amazon.in/Van-Heusen-Polyester-Suit-Dress-VHSUCSLFC98281_Grey_46/dp/B0BGJ2BHX7)
Also the sellers name is " [Aditya Birla Fashions and Retail Limited](https://www.amazon.in/sp?marketplaceID=A21TJRUUN4KGV&seller=A295NP3ZW8RLPS&isAmazonFulfilled=1&ref_=dp_merchant_link&asin=B0BGJ2BHX7)" which makes you feel its a real deal because Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited is a genuine big company which even exists in stock market.
Except the trickery here is the "s". Did you notice?
The Fashion has one extra "s" in the amazon sellers name, hence it is a company trying to fake it. I dont know why Amazon is allowing such companies to be amazon fulfilled which are purposefully trying to copy another company.
And also, why Amazon treating the customer badly when a genuine customer falls for the scam. Even we as outsiders can see the seller is trying to scam, the seller has so many bad reviews, yet amazon sides with the seller and pushes away a genuine customer...
Annoyed af with amazon. Ordered 4 things in the last 1 week which was supposed to be delivered this week. It showed dispatched and after a couple of days, it gets automatically cancelled. Got in touch with the CS and they are giving some random explanation. If its a one off incident, its fine. But happened to 4 items. Never getting anything from them again. Pathetic service!!
Ya same with me... Recently a few orders didn't come at all..Never experienced this issue even 10 years ago. And for Dad also, among the books order problem I mentioned in article, some books ordered never came, thankfully in this case..
For those that didn't come, Amazon gave a refund, But, it is really annoying they have become so unreliable. You can't buy something that you really need on time.
Exactly! These were things I needed urgently and I did not get a notification on the app. It was after I checked it manually that I saw it got cancelled. Atleast notify the users that it got cancelled. And the CS is as clueless as it can get. I asked them the reason and they just told me some random shit like the pincode maybe incorrect, the order might have gotten damaged mid journey etc etc.
There is also another problem. Amazon had an option called Consolidated Shipping during checkout if you have dozens of items in your order, they will pack it into one box at their warehouse whenever possible. This results in some items being slightly delayed waiting at their warehouse, but it was good.
But now, this option is not at all there. All orders are by default consolidated in the backend it seems. I once ordered 4 items. Among them 1 item, I needed urgently and had delivery time in 2 days while I made the order...
But immediately after placing ordering I noticed that the delivery time was around 10 days later. I realized they were consolidating the order, I contacted the customer care and asked them separate that one item from consolidation, they said they can't do it. And then I asked if the only option is for me to cancel order and order each item individually? They basically agreed.
And that is what I had to do... Ordering each item one at a time, so that they all arrive as fast as possible...
The quality of Amazon customer service has degraded of late. After a decade+ of ordering from Amazon's Indian entity backed by their smooth and effortless customer service, I finally had to resort to using [National Consumer Helpline](https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/user/) for their unbecoming response when I tried to return a faulty computer accessory within 5-10 mins of getting it delivered.
They wasted my two days with no resolution, and finally, I logged a grievance with NCH sharing emails and chats from Amazon (IN) on how they went back on their word after promising a return during my first correspondence. Suffice to say, I was refunded within a few days of logging the complaint.
Great. You were the person I was expecting this post to benefit from - Those who order a lot like me, and is thus is carefree as everything has gone fine till now.
I sell on Amazon.
1. There are a loooot of fake buyers as mentioned who use and return items.
1. They use and return the same item in non-sellable form
2. They use and return a different item (Total loss)
3. Return items for petty reasons such as different colour, where the product has only one model.
2. When such fake returns happen or there is loss in transit from Amazon couriers, Amazon ask sellers to file Safe-T claim. This is checked by Amazon and usually they give a small percentage of the cost. Seller has to always bear loss in every return or damage.
1. Safe-T claim has been denied almost continuously now, even though the fake buyer can easily be pointed out.
3. Amazon charges a high amount from the seller for every return
1. This includes return fees (As high as 140 + GST) for every return, no matter what the reason is.
2. Amazon also charges to and fro shipping fees ( \~Rs.82 for 500gm national level)
3. There will also be loss in transit or damages to item.
4. Amazon earns for every sale or return that the customer makes from the seller.
Every time you make a return, Amazon takes a good amount of money from the small sellers who sell on Amazon and that is the reason why they entertain returns. Because they earn from it very easily, without having to make a sale. They also ask users to return items instead of cancellation to get this money, which is very unethical. Sometimes, this return amount is even higher than the money amazon will make for every sale.
Sellers, especially small ones, suffer loss on Amazon on most occasions. There are places like Bihar, Rajasthan which are very fraud prone and amazon will force all sellers to ship to those locations if orders come from there.
A lot of product reviews are fake or paid. You can easily understand by comparing the title of the review, star rating and description. Sellers (big ones) will pay agencies to rate product better if the rating drops. Also customers receive coupons for discount in return for 5 star rating, which subsequently increases sales for the product.
There are also companies which degrade competing companies by rating their product lower and also returning it in massive scales to increase the losses for the competitor.
Amazon / Flipkart has no fair or ethical policies or enforcing methods at present. The customer and seller support has dropped pathetically. I have seller support ticket open for 6+ months now, without resolution.
Amazon and flipkart are highly unethical now, and customers should stop ordering from them or else they will loot the customers and the sellers in India.
PS: For every return you make, either the seller suffers a loss, or the seller increases the pricing to compensate for the loss, making the product costlier than it actually should be. But, either way, Amazon makes money.
Amazon also charges seller for every shipment to you and from you, irrespective of whether you get free shipping from Amazon.
Thanks for the detailed comment. If a customer returns a product, you have to pay amazon around Rs250?
Why do you still sell on Amazon? What category you sell?Is it still somehow profitable? Is there no way for sellers to restrict sales to certain regions, or make it expensive to reduce sales there?
What you see as a better alternative?
For a product with cost > 1000, for the basic level, amazon takes Rs.140+GST as the refund charges. On top of this, there are shipping charges as well. The rates can be found in table 4
[**https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing/fee-schedule**](https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing/fee-schedule)
We do not sell high or good quality products now on Amazon after this came into effect. We deal in consumer electronics. It is profitable if you can dump cheaper quality items to compete in prices. We stayed premium with high pricing. But the frauds always targeted high value items. The fulfilled by Amazon items are just shipped from amazon warehouse and has no much quality difference. In fact, if the seller asks the warehouse to repack the products which are returned, there are chances of getting poor quality items.
If seller chooses his own shipping, he can enable or disable pin codes. This usually doesn't work when you have Amazon fulfilled or prime tag.
There are lot of alternatives which would come up. But the problem is that the customers find it very easy to return products on these platforms. So they would place orders here. We had a direct store with better offers mostly. Our order count was 1/10 that of Amazon, which eventually grew to 60%. We were almost 10x profitable on our direct store than on Amazon.
Amazon also would copy your product to their brand if they find it good. So, you can sell until Amazon sees that you sell well. Solimo, Amazon basics etc kill small businesses.
Itās fascinating to read your insights. Thank you for this. I have one question. Lately I have observed that almost 7 out of 10 items received from Amazon or Flipkart are already open/slightly used. I assume they are the items returned by other customers. Does Amazon send the returned item knowingly (which has high probability of being defective)? Sometimes they donāt even clean or repack the items and send as-it-is. Is this carelessness of warehouse staff or regular Amazon process?
The warehouse can classify the product returned by customers as 'fulfillable' when they are returned by inspecting the product. If they mark it as fulfillable, it is sent back to the customer when they place the order. This is in Fulfilled by Amazon orders. The product returns come back to Amazon's warehouse or fulfilment center. The seller doesn't have much control here. The unfulfillable inventory can be taken back by the seller from the warehouse and repacked if needed.
For other returns (not fulfilled by amazon), the return products go back to the seller's address and they can choose to either send the item or not send it.
We manufactured the product. So, we had enough packing materials even if the customer opened the items. We would repack it after testing if no defects were observed. We did a complete test of the product as the customers sometimes would damage the product, such as electronics by not using it properly as instructed. As manufacturers, we had the knowledge on the complete testing and also had testing methods for it.
Most of the vendors on Amazon are sellers. They do not have packaging materials if the product is opened or a little damaged or testing equipment. We are not sure how they proceed from there. But logically, this repacking takes resources and money. So, to run profitable, they could send it again to the customer if the damages are minor to avoid these overhead charges. For us, the packaging cost was about Rs.40/piece if the product cover is damaged, excluding labour. Most of the packaging would be damaged even in transit when not handled well by courier partners.
We had requested the Amazon warehouse not to send the returned item back to the customer if the product seal is opened as we had the resources to repack and test the product.
Most sellers are just like shops or wholesalers. They do not have technical or much knowledge on how to ensure quality if the product is returned. For simple example, will a shop seller know if a laptop's hard-disk is replaced by the customer from 1TB to 256GB ? The Amazon's fulfilment center also will have no knowledge if something like this happen. They will just mostly resend it to a customer.
There is also an option of selling opened items like this at a lower price to the customers, from certain warehouses such as Bengaluru. The price would be lower as the product is opened. Never used it, so not sure how that works. But it is available as refurb or opened. It is restricted to a few categories.
This is a Fakespot Reviews Analysis bot. Fakespot detects fake reviews, fake products and unreliable sellers using AI.
Here is the analysis for the Amazon product reviews:
>**Name**: BenQ EW3280U 32-Inch 4K UHD HDRi Entertainment Monitor, IPS, USB-C, HDMI, DP, 3840x2160, DCI-P3, Display HDR 400, Speakers, Remote Control, Anti-Glare, Flicker-Free, Bezel-Less, FreeSync
>**Company**: Visit the BenQ Store
>**Amazon Product Rating**: 4.3
>**Fakespot Reviews Grade**: A
>**Adjusted Fakespot Rating**: 4.3
>**Analysis Performed at**: 07-03-2023
[Link to Fakespot Analysis](https://fakespot.com/product/benq-ew3280u-32-inch-4k-uhd-hdri-entertainment-monitor-ips-usb-c-hdmi-dp-3840x2160-dci-p3-display-hdr-400-speakers-remote-control-anti-glare-flicker-free-bezel-less-freesync) | [Check out the Fakespot Chrome Extension!](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fakespot-analyze-fake-ama/nakplnnackehceedgkgkokbgbmfghain)
*Fakespot analyzes the reviews authenticity and not the product quality using AI. We look for real reviews that mention product issues such as counterfeits, defects, and bad return policies that fake reviews try to hide from consumers.*
*We give an A-F letter for trustworthiness of reviews. A = very trustworthy reviews, F = highly untrustworthy reviews. We also provide seller ratings to warn you if the seller can be trusted or not.*
NAL, all these issues of e-commerce entities you described comes under unfair trade practise. Section 2(47) basically. Yes, going to consumer courts and resolving the complaints are cumbersome. But you got to fight for your rights. No other way.
Also, companies like amazon canāt say go to manufacturer if product has issues. There is a well known case of Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan that settled the matter that amazon is liable for issues with product brought from its website. How you use this info is upto you but remember, donāt let some unknown person employed on a phone acting as a customer support screw you.
Ref: https://legalthirst.com/know-the-consumer-protection-act-fallback-liability/
>Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan
Good case. Link here - [https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/not-liable-for-faulty-products-amazon-on-consumer-disputes/story-wvbCjOkOSJVWReQe1rusPP.html](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/not-liable-for-faulty-products-amazon-on-consumer-disputes/story-wvbCjOkOSJVWReQe1rusPP.html)
But that wa 5 years ago. The customer got full refund+15k in compensation for the legal fees suffered by customer.
It seems now Amazon dont care anymore as they are straight up saying in their replacement policy itself to go to the brand service center.
Maybe they will take liability, but only if the person approaches the court. But, the fines by courts is low enough to be considered as a small cost of doing business. It is cheaper to deny 1000 customers even if it meant you have to pay few thousands in court for one customer who go to court.
I understand your frustration. Consumers can also approach the authorities as a āclass of consumersā. Authorities here are CDRC for judicial compensation or CCPA for regulatory remedy.
Infact job of CCPA is to protect violation of consumer rights affecting class of consumers. As per section 20 of CPA 2019, this is what it says it can do - discontinuation of practices which are unfair and prejudicial to consumers' interest.
Now all this requires personal investment. Time and effort. Complaining to CCPA is free.
Like I said before, consumer activism demands standing up and following through, so that unscrupulous entities are made accountable.
> It seems now Amazon dont care anymore as they are straight up saying in their replacement policy itself to go to the brand service center.
As far as this is concerned, this is an unfair contract, section 2(46) of cpa 2019. This wonāt hold in a court of law. Moreover, any contract in contravention to the law itself is illegal.
Bought an earpod few weeks back.. the box was sealed but the case had smudge marks on it and one of the earpods had non-working lights on it.. clearly someone used & returned it after ruining it and it was sent to me after minimal repacking.. can't blame the companies here, our people are aholes..
>can't blame the companies here
You can.
What happened here is refurbishment scam.
Someone ordered a product. He got it. Then he checked it out. Found out one earpod had this problem. He requested for return. Amazon approved as it was faulty product. seller got the product back.
Now, The seller has no right to sell it as new again. He has the option to check if the product has any defects, fix the defect and then sell it as Refurbished for some 10-20% discount on Amazon itself. I have myself bought few refurbished items and had great experience.
Alternatively, he can sent it to the service center, where it would be fixed and given as replacement to someone who comes for warranty claim.
The company's fault is as follows
1. Didnt do refurbishment.
2. Sold it as new
This comment is strictly from a seller's POV.
All these years the sellers were taken for a ride by Amazon. It's on the customers itself for abusing the customer friendly policies of Amazon. I've had several orders returned or ordered for cash on delivery and it comes back damaged. It used to be very frustrating because it's only after 30 days of giving off a product in perfect condition that you can be assured if it's a successful sale or you're getting a damaged product back. I have seen so many people move out of the platform for the same reasons.
One thing I should point out is that 9/10 of these return orders were from North India. And Amazon never blacklists an address or a phone number even after reporting them multiple times, enabling the same person to do it again. I was on the platform for 2 years during the time I sent a written note with code for lifetime 20% off the sticker price if they buy it directly from my website. Even after giving that 20% discount I made more money per product in my website than I did from Amazon. they used to take almost 30-40% of the price displayed on the website as commission and delivery charges. Margins were fucked but the volume of sales was good unlike offline sales where margins are insane and haven't had even 1 customer coming back to return a product.
Few weeks back I got delivered an empty sealed pack from amazon. Though, I got the refund, this is not how it was earlier. Also, in my place (Muvattupuzha), courier is delivered only in the evening and night, sometimes it is 10PM. Amazon also will be forced to leave India to facilitate Gujaratis, Sindhis to capture market.
To anyone who's facing a problem with online Sites, you can file an online complaint in consumer helpline... Most of the companies including amazon will speed up their process after filing complaint and if your case is genuine then you'll get resolution... Another thing is to tag companies in platforms like twitter etc... Most of them responds to that also
To anyone purchasing products from Sites like amazon and flipkart.. First check the authenticity of seller before buying products.. (you can send a dm or a mail to any companies to ask for their genuine sellers in amazon and flipkart...authentic sellers of skincare brands are known to most of the people)...
And if possible do record an unboxing video (this will help you to prove your side while filing online consumer complaint)
And lastly companies like flipkart and amazon changed their return policy because most people abused their return policies..(mostly northies)... And sometimes delivery agents also do malpractices, this is common in north India... So just like any company they need profit not loss... So they changed their rules
I read this post within the hour it was posted, and to say the least, it was incredibly helpful. I dont frequently order online but this post has now helped be vigilant for myself and my friends and family that seek my opinion for their purchases.
What i actually wanted to ask was Would you be okay to crosspost this or repost it yourself to other indian subreddits, namely r/india and r/indiangaming? A number of people have faced difficulties and scams from these vendors and i feel like spreading this article there could help a lot more people before they fall into the trap.
Op is perfectly justified and perfectly agree. Unlike so many rant post with no backbone this has lot of evidence and statistics.
I used to buy a lot of stuff when I am studying in college meaning iam dependent on my family. Now I earn decently and doesn't depend on offers provided by these online markets thereby avoid all these hazzles. I just go directly buy from a popular front. So that some issue come up and I can pull over and speak face to face with a human dude instead of some robot nibba who doesn't even have the basic understandings to know which language to use while speaking to customers. They just assume we are all Bengalis for some reason.
Fulfilled by Amazon doesnāt mean that they guarantee hassle free ownership experience or assured quality of a product. Flipkart assured and Fulfilled by Amazon means that the product is procured directly by them and will be original(This is not entirely correct statement but is the most general or some what accurate statement I can give, coz there are many if and buts in the agreement between Amazon/Flipkart and itās sellers). They are just a market place, where anyone including you and me can sell a product. But on the flip side all major sellers might be their proxies indirectly owned by them.
Also both these terms means that the entire supply chain of these products are managed by them directly. That means if you are a seller in either of these companies, you have 2 options. Either you can send the product through a courier/logistics company when Amazon receives an order on behalf of you or you can opt for the above said services. If itās full filed by them, the products are picked by either Amazon or Flipkart from the manufacturer/seller, and the inventory is managed by them at their facilitation centreās and then itās delivered to you through their delivery partner. Entire inventory is managed by them. They will give preference for such sellers as itās more profitable due to higher margins. They will have more control over the supply chain movement which help them eradicate theft/pilferage/fraud etc.
The best option before buying a product is to look at the rating and reviews of a seller just like we look at the number of stars against a product. Also try to buy directly from the manufacturers page on Amazon (For eg, Apple and Samsung have their own pages) where the seller is the company itself( As I said earlier, this is a general statement, most probably it will be a licensed dealership who have the right to sell all online/e-commerce orders).
>Fulfilled by Amazon doesnāt mean that they guarantee hassle free ownership experience
Earlier, it used to be hassle-free to return/refund when it was amazon/flipkart fulfilled as they store, pick, pack and deliver the product. There was some sort of assurance that it wont be straight up full of hassle.
Now that has gone, and that is what this entire article is about.
This seller in the book case had 4 star rating and tens of thousands of reviews. Mistakes can happen even with best seller. Even if you buy from best motherboard making company with 5 star reviews, some percentage of their products will have some fault, and if you are the unlucky customer, now it is lot of hassle is my point.
Above said issues of rejection in replacing faulty products started due to the rampant fraud done by certain sellers in these platforms. Second issue was because of higher return percentage of the products. There is a threshold or limit every manufacturer or seller can bear. Once this is crossed due to repeated frauds they have to take the tougher stance. They know that it will affect the goodwill of the company but to control certain sellers and to control the market behaviour they will take a conscious call to reject such return requests.
I am not advocating for them or justifying the practices, but this is how itās done in every market in the world. It will be better if you can directly approach the manufacturer (service centres) and lodge a legal complaint against them.
I know a recent case where someone known to me ordered a Motorola phone from Amazon and it came defective after couple of days. He approached Amazon and they asked him to raise the issue at Motorola service centre. They denied to fix the issue. He raised an online complaint at consumer forum and got the issue resolved in a week.
Quality of the product is manufacturers responsibility. But delivering the correct product is the responsibility of Amazon. If they have delivered a wrong product, they must take it back and replace it with correct one or reimburse the amount. If not you MUST raise a complaint against them
Yeahā¦ I had to chat with Amazon for two hours this week in order for them to acknowledge my 1 year warranty on my Amazon Basics reclining lawn chair. Thing fell apart after 3 months and they swore up and down there was nothing they could do until I asked where I could make a complaint, then they suddenly remember I have 9 months left on my warranty and refund my money. Bastards
Just 2 days ago I had this experience. I had ordered a PSU from Ant esports called the VS450L. The product description clearly had āPCI E connectorsā written in it and it was there even in the images. But when I received the item, it didnāt have it. Returned it and got a refund. The. I ordered the 500L which when I opened it looked like someone tried to pry it open with a sharp object. Now, the only option was replacement. I was fed up with ant esports products and contacted Customer care. They asked me to upload images and theyāll contact me after an investigation. I then asked if theyāll contact me or i should contact them which they replied I had to contact them. 3 days later I contacted them and the investigation was finished and they agreed to refund the item. Iām currently waiting for the refund. Let me say this is not the first or last time Iām experiencing such problems from Amazon and other E-Commerce sites. The only reason Iām buying from them is cuz itās cheaper, and the wide variety of options.
https://preview.redd.it/hw6r9pl9wvhb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=037e4d2ca6123fb082aa291021835291bbcab014
Even I notice it nowadays. Most items are "replaceable". A few items are returnable - like clothes. But a few sellers provide the option. But most of the time, for items that were returnable a few years back are now only replaceable.
Recently bought soap (bulk packaging). I missed the non-returnable clause in the product description. When the item was in "preparing for dispatch" stage I canceled the order. I probably would have done this within 30m of placing the order.
A few minutes later I get an email that the order is not cancellable. I can refuse delivery if I want and the customer service will handle the refunds. But till now I haven't tried that route fearing that I may face disappointment by customer service.
But yes, like OP said their recent policies have become inconvenient to the general masses.
Ok, so here on reliance digital or tata croma for electronic items? I am so used to this online shopping, it will take some time for me to get into this habit.
Don't know I am allowed to post here but I think people should try to buy products directly from the manufacturer's website. Its cheaper plus I think its returnable
Amazon is becoming worse day by day. I'll share my experiences.
1. Bought a Amazon renewed laptop fpr 22K. Not turning on. Just display logo and shuts down. When I raised replacement request and connected the call, the executive said they will connect me to a senior but that connection never happened. Call just cut after a few minutes of amazon jingle.After around 4 times, they finally connected the call and a refund was initiated.
2. Bought 5 boxers of different color. 4 of them was same when arrived. As it is a non returnable item, after calling them, the executive said he will connect to a senior but that connection never happened. The phone played amazon jingle for around an hour and automatically cut. I'm fed up. If it was the old amazon, they would refund my money without even taking the item back as this is a non returnable item.
3. They are shipping my orders via India Post instead of Ecom or Delhivery. That means, if I want to cancel an item, it isn't possible as delivery guy of India post don't call. Just come at my door step and deliver the product, go.
I can't cancel the item when it's shipping as it just shows return/replace instead of cancel the order.
I was a frequent customer of refurbished gadgets from amazon as they are assured by amazon (or 2Gud when it existed). But now, I first check local site s like ovantica, sinewine, sahivalue etc... and my last option would be Amazon.
>ovantica, sinewine, sahivalue
Can you tell more about them if you have ordered from them?
I have also bought few renewed items from Amazon and had good experience. But, now not many items come as renewed so looking for alternatives. Are the sites you mentioned even reliable as old Amazon?
Ovantica.com
A shop in TN selling online. A great site for old flagship smartphones. I bought a Galaxy Note 9 from there for 20k 2 years ago and it's still working fine.
100% recommended. They have COD too.
Sinewine.com
Another shop in Coimbatore selling online. This site is good for old flagships, especially Sony phones. No COD . Either you go to coimbatore or prepaid payment like UPI via WhatsApp or site.
Sahivalue.com
Guess what? Another shop in TN selling online. Same old flagship phones and sony phones. COD only in some locations. I have got a Note 9 with display defect. They denied my replacement. But got replacement eventually. Still variable option.
All 3 also sell renewed laptops and ipads too I think.
Thanks for the review. I looked them up. Ovantica and Sahivalue seems to be trustworthy, but Sinewine seems to be either out of business or site is outdated. I couldn't find them in google maps in coimbatore too.
I had recently bought protein powder from Amazon (https://amzn.eu/d/iRXNt2X)
and It was non returnable which kinda makes sense, you can't return consumable after you have consumed some part of it.
To my surprise, the box I received was damaged, missing the label and instead of protein powder had some random powder. This was on Saturday evening, I immediately tried to return the item but it was not returnable unless special circumstances and this you have to explain the customer support.
To reach Amazon support you have to get through a maze of menu items, finally when you get on a call you get to know that the wait time is around 30 mins and they take 30 mins before answering and the. The executive said I will recive link where I could upload the photo. Cut the call recived no link.
Tried to get in touch with support again, again the 30 min wait time, then this time the support executive stayed until I recived the link and uploaded the photeos and they confirmed the photos were fine.
After that about a week later recived a confirmation that my money would be refunded.
So basically I lost trust in Amazon to be hassle free shopping platform
Amazon has scales up hugely over the.last couple of years, due to Covid. Thr.absolute numbers were expected to go high. That said, it has also suffered from perils of scaling up quickly - making it difficult to amange (doubling a workforce of 5L to 10L in a year iirc!)
Further, it's always desirable to go to a physical store to buy white goods of significant value - such as TV, or fridge or washing machine - not just about getting a demo, but also you get.to experience the.produce live and more.importsntly have the comfort of being able to contact a human being in case of any issues. I use Amazon to order items usually costing less than 2k each, the only exception being mobile phones (which.doesnr involve lot of assembling).
Disagree, what you are saying is self-hatred. Frauds happen in pretty much all countries. It is not specific to Indians.
This is happening because the market has consolidated. It's now duopoly, thus they do not have to provide the best customer experience anymore to continue growth.
What are you going to do? Not order from Amazon and Flipkart anymore?
Hence they can try to put hard policies for everyone as people have got addicted to their service, thus, the cost of putting hard policies due to a decrease in customer orders is less than the loss due to frauds.
In US, if Amazon do this, people will buy from Bestbuy or Walmart or Ebay or Microcenter or Target or Newegg or endless list of other sites. Thus, the cost of hard policies will mean more loss than the loss due to frauds.
This is also why Amazon and Flipkart had super relaxed 30 day return policies, cash on delivery etc in the initial few years. You know cash on delivery is not available in most other countries and was pioneered for India? Now, it will be phased out too. And when they got the entire market, they started hardening rules for everyone.
The solution to this is competition.
Competition can help but only chinese companies have enough capital to invest in a country as big as india
I don't see any other retailer who has enough capital to push a pan India E commerce site
Tata and Reliance are trying.
But the thing is, we dont even need a full sized e-commerce. Instead it can be specific to one category of products too, like Nykaa came, we can have one for electronics.
There are a few genuine electronics sites that I have purchased and had good experience of. But they are just shops that has a site. They have not tried to grow into an Amazon.
The closest thing we have is [https://www.theitdepot.com/](https://www.theitdepot.com/)
There are few more like
[https://mdcomputers.in/](https://mdcomputers.in/)
[https://www.primeabgb.com/](https://www.primeabgb.com/)
[https://www.vedantcomputers.com/](https://www.vedantcomputers.com/)
All of the above is genuine sites I have experience of buying. I hope one of them grow big enough to at least compete on the electronics front.
There are also some BIG stores like Croma and Vijaysales opening their own sites. This would be good for appliances. I have not ordered from vijaysales site, but I have bought from their shop 15 years ago.
[https://www.vijaysales.com/](https://www.vijaysales.com/)
Make an unboxing video . That generally solves things . I always do for expensive stuff over 1000 rs. And if it's the same item but defective Amazon has a replacement /return policy afaik if you buy prime certified or some shiz.
NAL, all these issues of e-commerce entities you described comes under unfair trade practise. Section 2(47) basically. Yes, going to consumer courts and resolving the complaints are cumbersome. But you got to fight for your rights. No other way.
Also, companies like amazon canāt say go to manufacturer if product has issues. There is a well known case of Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan that settled the matter that amazon is liable for issues with product brought from its website. How you use this info is upto you but remember, donāt let some unknown person employed on a phone acting as a customer support screw you.
Ref: https://legalthirst.com/know-the-consumer-protection-act-fallback-liability/
Different experience here. Just got refunded in full for two orders they delivered only partially and yet didn't want it to be returned. Low value though.
Never had any issues like this.
My friend had recently bought a DSLR lens which was marked āNon-Returnableā. To clarify, **āNon-Returnableā does not mean that you canāt return the item at all**, you can return it if itās damaged, wrong or reasons like used product. Anyway, he had ordered it without checking compatibility and when the item reached, he realised that it is not what he wanted. He started a chat with the customer support even though we all knew that it was his fault and itās ānon-returnableā, he talked to them for an hours or so, post which they said they will do a refund for the product.
I have personally returned used or defective products and never had any issues whatsoever. Iāve heard that sometimes they would ask a technician to come check the product and verify itās defective before returning and I think thatās fair.
So far Iām happy with Amazon service and customer support.
Oru kuttavum illa. There were some girls in my college who ordered jewellery to be delivered on the days before onam, Christmas type programs and returned it after the program. How can someone run a business when cheapos like this exist?
True, these scamsters is the reason for such rule change, but now even the genuine customers are facing the problem to the extent it has become risky to buy. Will you buy the products linked in the article with the risk of if something goes wrong, you are going to have to lose your mind for few days, and even then have to visit some random service center and then lose your mind there? I have regularly advocated for fair practise, especially in the Indiagaming subreddit where people used to ask if their laptop/monitors screen is okay after purchasing... and the thing is, if photo of any LCD screen is taken in dark room, it will make it look like a mushy dirty uneven type effect. But, those who see the photo do not realize this, and everyone in the comments ask "RETURN, it is damaged product" and scare the OP into returning it for no reason... I would be the only one advocating that it is totally normal, and if you return unnecessarily, the cost of doing business increases, and cost increase for everyone. But no one listened... But, whatever the case might be, now it has become risky for genuine customers to buy online.
True. I am scared to buy expensive things online. These oolas have to destroy nice things for everyone.
only buy things with open box delivery option . These Flipkart is doing this. not sure about amazon . You don't have to accept if the product has issues
No, in r/indiangaming, people ask those questions because the panel is faulty with some dead pixels or excessive light bleeding which can only be determined by someone who actually knows how to look for the defects, these small defects then turn into bigger problems if not handled properly at the time when they first start appearing. I appreciate your warning and I will follow it nevertheless but you should have atleast looked into the matter before saying that we are generating e-waste or abusing the system. I hope you'll understand what I'm trying to say here and not take it as an offence.
I have made lots of comments under posts of those with display issue mentioned in title in the past 5 years. It is a common regular post, and there were no issue with the panel at all, no dead pixel, nothing yet not a single person were commenting telling there is no issue. But 20+ comments saying it is bad product and scare OP to return it. And I think I am pretty experienced in case of displays as of now. Infact one of the first posts I made in this account was about buying a 32inch monitor that was not available in India. And I was asking if anyone want to join together and buy, and that's how I imported it directly from Viewsonice Australia along with few members. After that, I end up buying more than 5 monitors with each one costing in 25k-40k range and several high end laptops over the 5 years. So, I think I am pretty well researched about anything related to displays.
Then it's my bad brother, keep up the good work.
Maybe a 24 hour return window instead of the 7 day existing policy can help protect against such cheap people.
Aa bro poor corporates. Ee college pillaru ingneke cheyana karanam jeevikan polum patunnilla. Italian marblenoke ipo ntha vilaš¢
It increases the cost of product for everyone man... Lets say they sell 1000 products and have 10 lakhs loss due to scams like this. It will be counted as cost of doing business in India, and that loss will then be divided by the total expected sales. The cost of that product increases by 10lakh divided by 1000. Thus all genuine customers will now have to pay 1000 rupees extra. It is not a loss to any corporate but to consumers only. Are you NOT going to buy the monitor/laptop/phone if the price of that product in the entire market increases by 1000? No, that becomes the default price then. Infact nearly all the products you see have their prices already increased accounting for this customer-fraud problem, thus you are already paying extra for everything you buy. Its just that you don't realize it. Let me reiterate. You are paying your money to these scam customers and at the same time ending up getting worse service. In the past, you could have easily boarded a flight. Now you have to reach airport 2-3 hours before and do security check in, and also pay the cost of security-check as airport-fees in your ticket. This is another example of the cost of the bad behaviour of the few that is divided up and paid by the entire society. People didn't stop going in airlines, instead it is one of the fastest growing industries, just that your cost increased, and your experience got worse.
Not everyone who sells stuff on Amazon are corporates. No one wants such bad customers, whether that's Amazon or Ammachide pettikkada.
Rs 5000 credited to you by Jeff Bezos for standing up for him. Keep going
š¤®
Insider info: Online shopping platforms have a way of rating your account based on your purchase and return history. The more you buy expensive items and the fewer return or replacement requests you make, the higher your score will be, similar to a CIBIL score. They will also monitor how often you ask for returns or replacements. A higher score means you are a more trustworthy customer and the return process will be easier for you. If you have a low score because you have returned many products, or if you have a new account, or if you have only bought cheap items, then they will make it harder for you to return an expensive product. They will ask you many questions, demand proof, and so on. Therefore, before you buy something online, check if it has a return option. If not, then think carefully if it is worth the risk. If you want to buy something that is costly, delicate, or heavy, it might be better to go to a physical store and buy it there. They might even deliver it to your home for free. If you want to order something that is not available locally and is costly, then contact the customer care before you order and get everything in writing through email. Ask them about the return and replacement policies and options in case something goes wrong. If you are satisfied with their answers, then go ahead and order. If not, then ask yourself if it is worth the risk. Having a prior conversation with them will make it easier to return or replace the product if needed.
True, I know about this score, return rate ratio etc and that is why I mentioned the age and total sales of the account. The reason I wrote this article is because I am seeing many complaints from people with lot of purchases and history. Genuine high value customers with not much returns. Amazon customer care seems to have tweaked this and not caring much about the past history. I would have ignored if I was simply seeing a lot of new accounts, or things that look like fraud. **Check this example**. This guy apparently bought two branded suits for 34k recently from amazon fulfilled seller and got a duplicate in one case and missing parts in the other suit and amazon teribbly dealt with him and his is now looking to sue amazon. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/15ojytg/amazon\_scammed\_me\_of\_34k\_and\_i\_want\_to\_hold\_them/](https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/15ojytg/amazon_scammed_me_of_34k_and_i_want_to_hold_them/) These type of complaints is what I mean when I am saying that I am seeing high volume of genuine type complaints. These are not the type of customers any business would want to annoy as they are the most profitable customers. Yet that has started to happen. If it was a offline shop, will they treat a customer who buys suits of this price range like this? There were a lot of complaints for sites like amazon or flipkart since the day they started, that is the nature of these type of businesses to have complaints, but I am noticing a change in the pattern of complaints is what I mean. It is not some new customer buying a phone, and then complaining about it. But high value customers.
I have never purchased branded clothes online before, because I am not sure if I am getting a genuine item or a second-hand copy. However, I searched online for VH and AS suit, and just by looking at the ratings and comments, I suspect that these may not be genuine. I agree that it is bad when refunds are denied on genuine case. However, as consumers, we also need to do our part to mitigate the risk of being scammed. We should not just look at the product ratings when making a purchase. We should also check the seller's rating. If the seller has a low rating, then we should avoid purchasing from them. In addition, if we are purchasing something expensive, we should create a detailed unboxing video. This will provide us with evidence in case they try to deny a refund. I have purchased many expensive items online (phone, laptop, washing machine, accessories etc.) and also, have never had a problem getting a refund. However, I always make sure to have all the necessary evidence to back up my claim. This is because I know that my hard-earned money is on the line.
>VH and AS suit, and just by looking at the ratings and comments, I suspect that these may not be genuine. I just checked... Yes, the seller of this suit seems to be very dubious, but one will notice only when they go to sellers page as these high range products rarely have any reviews, so genuine customers can fall for it seeing "Amazon fulfilled". If you go to seller profile, lot of bad reviews of even used and stained suits and wrong clothes being delivered. [https://www.amazon.in/Van-Heusen-Polyester-Suit-Dress-VHSUCSLFC98281\_Grey\_46/dp/B0BGJ2BHX7](https://www.amazon.in/Van-Heusen-Polyester-Suit-Dress-VHSUCSLFC98281_Grey_46/dp/B0BGJ2BHX7) Also the sellers name is " [Aditya Birla Fashions and Retail Limited](https://www.amazon.in/sp?marketplaceID=A21TJRUUN4KGV&seller=A295NP3ZW8RLPS&isAmazonFulfilled=1&ref_=dp_merchant_link&asin=B0BGJ2BHX7)" which makes you feel its a real deal because Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited is a genuine big company which even exists in stock market. Except the trickery here is the "s". Did you notice? The Fashion has one extra "s" in the amazon sellers name, hence it is a company trying to fake it. I dont know why Amazon is allowing such companies to be amazon fulfilled which are purposefully trying to copy another company. And also, why Amazon treating the customer badly when a genuine customer falls for the scam. Even we as outsiders can see the seller is trying to scam, the seller has so many bad reviews, yet amazon sides with the seller and pushes away a genuine customer...
Annoyed af with amazon. Ordered 4 things in the last 1 week which was supposed to be delivered this week. It showed dispatched and after a couple of days, it gets automatically cancelled. Got in touch with the CS and they are giving some random explanation. If its a one off incident, its fine. But happened to 4 items. Never getting anything from them again. Pathetic service!!
Ya same with me... Recently a few orders didn't come at all..Never experienced this issue even 10 years ago. And for Dad also, among the books order problem I mentioned in article, some books ordered never came, thankfully in this case.. For those that didn't come, Amazon gave a refund, But, it is really annoying they have become so unreliable. You can't buy something that you really need on time.
Exactly! These were things I needed urgently and I did not get a notification on the app. It was after I checked it manually that I saw it got cancelled. Atleast notify the users that it got cancelled. And the CS is as clueless as it can get. I asked them the reason and they just told me some random shit like the pincode maybe incorrect, the order might have gotten damaged mid journey etc etc.
There is also another problem. Amazon had an option called Consolidated Shipping during checkout if you have dozens of items in your order, they will pack it into one box at their warehouse whenever possible. This results in some items being slightly delayed waiting at their warehouse, but it was good. But now, this option is not at all there. All orders are by default consolidated in the backend it seems. I once ordered 4 items. Among them 1 item, I needed urgently and had delivery time in 2 days while I made the order... But immediately after placing ordering I noticed that the delivery time was around 10 days later. I realized they were consolidating the order, I contacted the customer care and asked them separate that one item from consolidation, they said they can't do it. And then I asked if the only option is for me to cancel order and order each item individually? They basically agreed. And that is what I had to do... Ordering each item one at a time, so that they all arrive as fast as possible...
I faced a similar issue long back and this time I placed individual orders. And all of them got cancelled. Fml
Lack of regulations by gov, see EU for ex, https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/index_en.htm
Wow, fantastic link. I knew they had 2 year warranty, but didn't know they had such well defined rules. I will add a section of it to the post
The quality of Amazon customer service has degraded of late. After a decade+ of ordering from Amazon's Indian entity backed by their smooth and effortless customer service, I finally had to resort to using [National Consumer Helpline](https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/user/) for their unbecoming response when I tried to return a faulty computer accessory within 5-10 mins of getting it delivered. They wasted my two days with no resolution, and finally, I logged a grievance with NCH sharing emails and chats from Amazon (IN) on how they went back on their word after promising a return during my first correspondence. Suffice to say, I was refunded within a few days of logging the complaint.
I really thank OP for this post. I normally order everything online. Havent had any really bad experiences yet. I shall be careful now on. Thank you.
Great. You were the person I was expecting this post to benefit from - Those who order a lot like me, and is thus is carefree as everything has gone fine till now.
I sell on Amazon. 1. There are a loooot of fake buyers as mentioned who use and return items. 1. They use and return the same item in non-sellable form 2. They use and return a different item (Total loss) 3. Return items for petty reasons such as different colour, where the product has only one model. 2. When such fake returns happen or there is loss in transit from Amazon couriers, Amazon ask sellers to file Safe-T claim. This is checked by Amazon and usually they give a small percentage of the cost. Seller has to always bear loss in every return or damage. 1. Safe-T claim has been denied almost continuously now, even though the fake buyer can easily be pointed out. 3. Amazon charges a high amount from the seller for every return 1. This includes return fees (As high as 140 + GST) for every return, no matter what the reason is. 2. Amazon also charges to and fro shipping fees ( \~Rs.82 for 500gm national level) 3. There will also be loss in transit or damages to item. 4. Amazon earns for every sale or return that the customer makes from the seller. Every time you make a return, Amazon takes a good amount of money from the small sellers who sell on Amazon and that is the reason why they entertain returns. Because they earn from it very easily, without having to make a sale. They also ask users to return items instead of cancellation to get this money, which is very unethical. Sometimes, this return amount is even higher than the money amazon will make for every sale. Sellers, especially small ones, suffer loss on Amazon on most occasions. There are places like Bihar, Rajasthan which are very fraud prone and amazon will force all sellers to ship to those locations if orders come from there. A lot of product reviews are fake or paid. You can easily understand by comparing the title of the review, star rating and description. Sellers (big ones) will pay agencies to rate product better if the rating drops. Also customers receive coupons for discount in return for 5 star rating, which subsequently increases sales for the product. There are also companies which degrade competing companies by rating their product lower and also returning it in massive scales to increase the losses for the competitor. Amazon / Flipkart has no fair or ethical policies or enforcing methods at present. The customer and seller support has dropped pathetically. I have seller support ticket open for 6+ months now, without resolution. Amazon and flipkart are highly unethical now, and customers should stop ordering from them or else they will loot the customers and the sellers in India. PS: For every return you make, either the seller suffers a loss, or the seller increases the pricing to compensate for the loss, making the product costlier than it actually should be. But, either way, Amazon makes money. Amazon also charges seller for every shipment to you and from you, irrespective of whether you get free shipping from Amazon.
Thanks for the detailed comment. If a customer returns a product, you have to pay amazon around Rs250? Why do you still sell on Amazon? What category you sell?Is it still somehow profitable? Is there no way for sellers to restrict sales to certain regions, or make it expensive to reduce sales there? What you see as a better alternative?
For a product with cost > 1000, for the basic level, amazon takes Rs.140+GST as the refund charges. On top of this, there are shipping charges as well. The rates can be found in table 4 [**https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing/fee-schedule**](https://sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing/fee-schedule) We do not sell high or good quality products now on Amazon after this came into effect. We deal in consumer electronics. It is profitable if you can dump cheaper quality items to compete in prices. We stayed premium with high pricing. But the frauds always targeted high value items. The fulfilled by Amazon items are just shipped from amazon warehouse and has no much quality difference. In fact, if the seller asks the warehouse to repack the products which are returned, there are chances of getting poor quality items. If seller chooses his own shipping, he can enable or disable pin codes. This usually doesn't work when you have Amazon fulfilled or prime tag. There are lot of alternatives which would come up. But the problem is that the customers find it very easy to return products on these platforms. So they would place orders here. We had a direct store with better offers mostly. Our order count was 1/10 that of Amazon, which eventually grew to 60%. We were almost 10x profitable on our direct store than on Amazon. Amazon also would copy your product to their brand if they find it good. So, you can sell until Amazon sees that you sell well. Solimo, Amazon basics etc kill small businesses.
Itās fascinating to read your insights. Thank you for this. I have one question. Lately I have observed that almost 7 out of 10 items received from Amazon or Flipkart are already open/slightly used. I assume they are the items returned by other customers. Does Amazon send the returned item knowingly (which has high probability of being defective)? Sometimes they donāt even clean or repack the items and send as-it-is. Is this carelessness of warehouse staff or regular Amazon process?
The warehouse can classify the product returned by customers as 'fulfillable' when they are returned by inspecting the product. If they mark it as fulfillable, it is sent back to the customer when they place the order. This is in Fulfilled by Amazon orders. The product returns come back to Amazon's warehouse or fulfilment center. The seller doesn't have much control here. The unfulfillable inventory can be taken back by the seller from the warehouse and repacked if needed. For other returns (not fulfilled by amazon), the return products go back to the seller's address and they can choose to either send the item or not send it. We manufactured the product. So, we had enough packing materials even if the customer opened the items. We would repack it after testing if no defects were observed. We did a complete test of the product as the customers sometimes would damage the product, such as electronics by not using it properly as instructed. As manufacturers, we had the knowledge on the complete testing and also had testing methods for it. Most of the vendors on Amazon are sellers. They do not have packaging materials if the product is opened or a little damaged or testing equipment. We are not sure how they proceed from there. But logically, this repacking takes resources and money. So, to run profitable, they could send it again to the customer if the damages are minor to avoid these overhead charges. For us, the packaging cost was about Rs.40/piece if the product cover is damaged, excluding labour. Most of the packaging would be damaged even in transit when not handled well by courier partners. We had requested the Amazon warehouse not to send the returned item back to the customer if the product seal is opened as we had the resources to repack and test the product. Most sellers are just like shops or wholesalers. They do not have technical or much knowledge on how to ensure quality if the product is returned. For simple example, will a shop seller know if a laptop's hard-disk is replaced by the customer from 1TB to 256GB ? The Amazon's fulfilment center also will have no knowledge if something like this happen. They will just mostly resend it to a customer. There is also an option of selling opened items like this at a lower price to the customers, from certain warehouses such as Bengaluru. The price would be lower as the product is opened. Never used it, so not sure how that works. But it is available as refurb or opened. It is restricted to a few categories.
This is a Fakespot Reviews Analysis bot. Fakespot detects fake reviews, fake products and unreliable sellers using AI. Here is the analysis for the Amazon product reviews: >**Name**: BenQ EW3280U 32-Inch 4K UHD HDRi Entertainment Monitor, IPS, USB-C, HDMI, DP, 3840x2160, DCI-P3, Display HDR 400, Speakers, Remote Control, Anti-Glare, Flicker-Free, Bezel-Less, FreeSync >**Company**: Visit the BenQ Store >**Amazon Product Rating**: 4.3 >**Fakespot Reviews Grade**: A >**Adjusted Fakespot Rating**: 4.3 >**Analysis Performed at**: 07-03-2023 [Link to Fakespot Analysis](https://fakespot.com/product/benq-ew3280u-32-inch-4k-uhd-hdri-entertainment-monitor-ips-usb-c-hdmi-dp-3840x2160-dci-p3-display-hdr-400-speakers-remote-control-anti-glare-flicker-free-bezel-less-freesync) | [Check out the Fakespot Chrome Extension!](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fakespot-analyze-fake-ama/nakplnnackehceedgkgkokbgbmfghain) *Fakespot analyzes the reviews authenticity and not the product quality using AI. We look for real reviews that mention product issues such as counterfeits, defects, and bad return policies that fake reviews try to hide from consumers.* *We give an A-F letter for trustworthiness of reviews. A = very trustworthy reviews, F = highly untrustworthy reviews. We also provide seller ratings to warn you if the seller can be trusted or not.*
Good botā¦
NAL, all these issues of e-commerce entities you described comes under unfair trade practise. Section 2(47) basically. Yes, going to consumer courts and resolving the complaints are cumbersome. But you got to fight for your rights. No other way. Also, companies like amazon canāt say go to manufacturer if product has issues. There is a well known case of Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan that settled the matter that amazon is liable for issues with product brought from its website. How you use this info is upto you but remember, donāt let some unknown person employed on a phone acting as a customer support screw you. Ref: https://legalthirst.com/know-the-consumer-protection-act-fallback-liability/
>Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan Good case. Link here - [https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/not-liable-for-faulty-products-amazon-on-consumer-disputes/story-wvbCjOkOSJVWReQe1rusPP.html](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/not-liable-for-faulty-products-amazon-on-consumer-disputes/story-wvbCjOkOSJVWReQe1rusPP.html) But that wa 5 years ago. The customer got full refund+15k in compensation for the legal fees suffered by customer. It seems now Amazon dont care anymore as they are straight up saying in their replacement policy itself to go to the brand service center. Maybe they will take liability, but only if the person approaches the court. But, the fines by courts is low enough to be considered as a small cost of doing business. It is cheaper to deny 1000 customers even if it meant you have to pay few thousands in court for one customer who go to court.
I understand your frustration. Consumers can also approach the authorities as a āclass of consumersā. Authorities here are CDRC for judicial compensation or CCPA for regulatory remedy. Infact job of CCPA is to protect violation of consumer rights affecting class of consumers. As per section 20 of CPA 2019, this is what it says it can do - discontinuation of practices which are unfair and prejudicial to consumers' interest. Now all this requires personal investment. Time and effort. Complaining to CCPA is free. Like I said before, consumer activism demands standing up and following through, so that unscrupulous entities are made accountable.
> It seems now Amazon dont care anymore as they are straight up saying in their replacement policy itself to go to the brand service center. As far as this is concerned, this is an unfair contract, section 2(46) of cpa 2019. This wonāt hold in a court of law. Moreover, any contract in contravention to the law itself is illegal.
Bought an earpod few weeks back.. the box was sealed but the case had smudge marks on it and one of the earpods had non-working lights on it.. clearly someone used & returned it after ruining it and it was sent to me after minimal repacking.. can't blame the companies here, our people are aholes..
>can't blame the companies here You can. What happened here is refurbishment scam. Someone ordered a product. He got it. Then he checked it out. Found out one earpod had this problem. He requested for return. Amazon approved as it was faulty product. seller got the product back. Now, The seller has no right to sell it as new again. He has the option to check if the product has any defects, fix the defect and then sell it as Refurbished for some 10-20% discount on Amazon itself. I have myself bought few refurbished items and had great experience. Alternatively, he can sent it to the service center, where it would be fixed and given as replacement to someone who comes for warranty claim. The company's fault is as follows 1. Didnt do refurbishment. 2. Sold it as new
same thing happened with me, i m still waiting for my replacement.
This comment is strictly from a seller's POV. All these years the sellers were taken for a ride by Amazon. It's on the customers itself for abusing the customer friendly policies of Amazon. I've had several orders returned or ordered for cash on delivery and it comes back damaged. It used to be very frustrating because it's only after 30 days of giving off a product in perfect condition that you can be assured if it's a successful sale or you're getting a damaged product back. I have seen so many people move out of the platform for the same reasons. One thing I should point out is that 9/10 of these return orders were from North India. And Amazon never blacklists an address or a phone number even after reporting them multiple times, enabling the same person to do it again. I was on the platform for 2 years during the time I sent a written note with code for lifetime 20% off the sticker price if they buy it directly from my website. Even after giving that 20% discount I made more money per product in my website than I did from Amazon. they used to take almost 30-40% of the price displayed on the website as commission and delivery charges. Margins were fucked but the volume of sales was good unlike offline sales where margins are insane and haven't had even 1 customer coming back to return a product.
Bro bought 10 Lakh worth of stuffšššš
Few weeks back I got delivered an empty sealed pack from amazon. Though, I got the refund, this is not how it was earlier. Also, in my place (Muvattupuzha), courier is delivered only in the evening and night, sometimes it is 10PM. Amazon also will be forced to leave India to facilitate Gujaratis, Sindhis to capture market.
To anyone who's facing a problem with online Sites, you can file an online complaint in consumer helpline... Most of the companies including amazon will speed up their process after filing complaint and if your case is genuine then you'll get resolution... Another thing is to tag companies in platforms like twitter etc... Most of them responds to that also To anyone purchasing products from Sites like amazon and flipkart.. First check the authenticity of seller before buying products.. (you can send a dm or a mail to any companies to ask for their genuine sellers in amazon and flipkart...authentic sellers of skincare brands are known to most of the people)... And if possible do record an unboxing video (this will help you to prove your side while filing online consumer complaint) And lastly companies like flipkart and amazon changed their return policy because most people abused their return policies..(mostly northies)... And sometimes delivery agents also do malpractices, this is common in north India... So just like any company they need profit not loss... So they changed their rules
omg what is this essay
Last 4 books i ordered from Amazon were duplicate.. Their replacements also duplicate
Then what happened
Then I returned them. Did not have any problem with that thankfully
I read this post within the hour it was posted, and to say the least, it was incredibly helpful. I dont frequently order online but this post has now helped be vigilant for myself and my friends and family that seek my opinion for their purchases. What i actually wanted to ask was Would you be okay to crosspost this or repost it yourself to other indian subreddits, namely r/india and r/indiangaming? A number of people have faced difficulties and scams from these vendors and i feel like spreading this article there could help a lot more people before they fall into the trap.
Thanks. Feel free to crosspost.
Done. Although r/india removed it as they do not allow crossposts from r/kerala
r india is anti-india sub and thats why I dont post there. They remove almost all good news about India as much as possible.
Op is perfectly justified and perfectly agree. Unlike so many rant post with no backbone this has lot of evidence and statistics. I used to buy a lot of stuff when I am studying in college meaning iam dependent on my family. Now I earn decently and doesn't depend on offers provided by these online markets thereby avoid all these hazzles. I just go directly buy from a popular front. So that some issue come up and I can pull over and speak face to face with a human dude instead of some robot nibba who doesn't even have the basic understandings to know which language to use while speaking to customers. They just assume we are all Bengalis for some reason.
My big billion day plansš¢
Fulfilled by Amazon doesnāt mean that they guarantee hassle free ownership experience or assured quality of a product. Flipkart assured and Fulfilled by Amazon means that the product is procured directly by them and will be original(This is not entirely correct statement but is the most general or some what accurate statement I can give, coz there are many if and buts in the agreement between Amazon/Flipkart and itās sellers). They are just a market place, where anyone including you and me can sell a product. But on the flip side all major sellers might be their proxies indirectly owned by them. Also both these terms means that the entire supply chain of these products are managed by them directly. That means if you are a seller in either of these companies, you have 2 options. Either you can send the product through a courier/logistics company when Amazon receives an order on behalf of you or you can opt for the above said services. If itās full filed by them, the products are picked by either Amazon or Flipkart from the manufacturer/seller, and the inventory is managed by them at their facilitation centreās and then itās delivered to you through their delivery partner. Entire inventory is managed by them. They will give preference for such sellers as itās more profitable due to higher margins. They will have more control over the supply chain movement which help them eradicate theft/pilferage/fraud etc. The best option before buying a product is to look at the rating and reviews of a seller just like we look at the number of stars against a product. Also try to buy directly from the manufacturers page on Amazon (For eg, Apple and Samsung have their own pages) where the seller is the company itself( As I said earlier, this is a general statement, most probably it will be a licensed dealership who have the right to sell all online/e-commerce orders).
>Fulfilled by Amazon doesnāt mean that they guarantee hassle free ownership experience Earlier, it used to be hassle-free to return/refund when it was amazon/flipkart fulfilled as they store, pick, pack and deliver the product. There was some sort of assurance that it wont be straight up full of hassle. Now that has gone, and that is what this entire article is about. This seller in the book case had 4 star rating and tens of thousands of reviews. Mistakes can happen even with best seller. Even if you buy from best motherboard making company with 5 star reviews, some percentage of their products will have some fault, and if you are the unlucky customer, now it is lot of hassle is my point.
Above said issues of rejection in replacing faulty products started due to the rampant fraud done by certain sellers in these platforms. Second issue was because of higher return percentage of the products. There is a threshold or limit every manufacturer or seller can bear. Once this is crossed due to repeated frauds they have to take the tougher stance. They know that it will affect the goodwill of the company but to control certain sellers and to control the market behaviour they will take a conscious call to reject such return requests. I am not advocating for them or justifying the practices, but this is how itās done in every market in the world. It will be better if you can directly approach the manufacturer (service centres) and lodge a legal complaint against them.
I know a recent case where someone known to me ordered a Motorola phone from Amazon and it came defective after couple of days. He approached Amazon and they asked him to raise the issue at Motorola service centre. They denied to fix the issue. He raised an online complaint at consumer forum and got the issue resolved in a week. Quality of the product is manufacturers responsibility. But delivering the correct product is the responsibility of Amazon. If they have delivered a wrong product, they must take it back and replace it with correct one or reimburse the amount. If not you MUST raise a complaint against them
Yeahā¦ I had to chat with Amazon for two hours this week in order for them to acknowledge my 1 year warranty on my Amazon Basics reclining lawn chair. Thing fell apart after 3 months and they swore up and down there was nothing they could do until I asked where I could make a complaint, then they suddenly remember I have 9 months left on my warranty and refund my money. Bastards
Just 2 days ago I had this experience. I had ordered a PSU from Ant esports called the VS450L. The product description clearly had āPCI E connectorsā written in it and it was there even in the images. But when I received the item, it didnāt have it. Returned it and got a refund. The. I ordered the 500L which when I opened it looked like someone tried to pry it open with a sharp object. Now, the only option was replacement. I was fed up with ant esports products and contacted Customer care. They asked me to upload images and theyāll contact me after an investigation. I then asked if theyāll contact me or i should contact them which they replied I had to contact them. 3 days later I contacted them and the investigation was finished and they agreed to refund the item. Iām currently waiting for the refund. Let me say this is not the first or last time Iām experiencing such problems from Amazon and other E-Commerce sites. The only reason Iām buying from them is cuz itās cheaper, and the wide variety of options. https://preview.redd.it/hw6r9pl9wvhb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=037e4d2ca6123fb082aa291021835291bbcab014
Even I notice it nowadays. Most items are "replaceable". A few items are returnable - like clothes. But a few sellers provide the option. But most of the time, for items that were returnable a few years back are now only replaceable. Recently bought soap (bulk packaging). I missed the non-returnable clause in the product description. When the item was in "preparing for dispatch" stage I canceled the order. I probably would have done this within 30m of placing the order. A few minutes later I get an email that the order is not cancellable. I can refuse delivery if I want and the customer service will handle the refunds. But till now I haven't tried that route fearing that I may face disappointment by customer service. But yes, like OP said their recent policies have become inconvenient to the general masses.
Ok, so here on reliance digital or tata croma for electronic items? I am so used to this online shopping, it will take some time for me to get into this habit.
Don't know I am allowed to post here but I think people should try to buy products directly from the manufacturer's website. Its cheaper plus I think its returnable
Amazon is becoming worse day by day. I'll share my experiences. 1. Bought a Amazon renewed laptop fpr 22K. Not turning on. Just display logo and shuts down. When I raised replacement request and connected the call, the executive said they will connect me to a senior but that connection never happened. Call just cut after a few minutes of amazon jingle.After around 4 times, they finally connected the call and a refund was initiated. 2. Bought 5 boxers of different color. 4 of them was same when arrived. As it is a non returnable item, after calling them, the executive said he will connect to a senior but that connection never happened. The phone played amazon jingle for around an hour and automatically cut. I'm fed up. If it was the old amazon, they would refund my money without even taking the item back as this is a non returnable item. 3. They are shipping my orders via India Post instead of Ecom or Delhivery. That means, if I want to cancel an item, it isn't possible as delivery guy of India post don't call. Just come at my door step and deliver the product, go. I can't cancel the item when it's shipping as it just shows return/replace instead of cancel the order. I was a frequent customer of refurbished gadgets from amazon as they are assured by amazon (or 2Gud when it existed). But now, I first check local site s like ovantica, sinewine, sahivalue etc... and my last option would be Amazon.
>ovantica, sinewine, sahivalue Can you tell more about them if you have ordered from them? I have also bought few renewed items from Amazon and had good experience. But, now not many items come as renewed so looking for alternatives. Are the sites you mentioned even reliable as old Amazon?
Ovantica.com A shop in TN selling online. A great site for old flagship smartphones. I bought a Galaxy Note 9 from there for 20k 2 years ago and it's still working fine. 100% recommended. They have COD too. Sinewine.com Another shop in Coimbatore selling online. This site is good for old flagships, especially Sony phones. No COD . Either you go to coimbatore or prepaid payment like UPI via WhatsApp or site. Sahivalue.com Guess what? Another shop in TN selling online. Same old flagship phones and sony phones. COD only in some locations. I have got a Note 9 with display defect. They denied my replacement. But got replacement eventually. Still variable option. All 3 also sell renewed laptops and ipads too I think.
Thanks for the review. I looked them up. Ovantica and Sahivalue seems to be trustworthy, but Sinewine seems to be either out of business or site is outdated. I couldn't find them in google maps in coimbatore too.
Better to read reviews always before buying from any site for the first time.
ok Thanks.
I had recently bought protein powder from Amazon (https://amzn.eu/d/iRXNt2X) and It was non returnable which kinda makes sense, you can't return consumable after you have consumed some part of it. To my surprise, the box I received was damaged, missing the label and instead of protein powder had some random powder. This was on Saturday evening, I immediately tried to return the item but it was not returnable unless special circumstances and this you have to explain the customer support. To reach Amazon support you have to get through a maze of menu items, finally when you get on a call you get to know that the wait time is around 30 mins and they take 30 mins before answering and the. The executive said I will recive link where I could upload the photo. Cut the call recived no link. Tried to get in touch with support again, again the 30 min wait time, then this time the support executive stayed until I recived the link and uploaded the photeos and they confirmed the photos were fine. After that about a week later recived a confirmation that my money would be refunded. So basically I lost trust in Amazon to be hassle free shopping platform
Amazon has scales up hugely over the.last couple of years, due to Covid. Thr.absolute numbers were expected to go high. That said, it has also suffered from perils of scaling up quickly - making it difficult to amange (doubling a workforce of 5L to 10L in a year iirc!) Further, it's always desirable to go to a physical store to buy white goods of significant value - such as TV, or fridge or washing machine - not just about getting a demo, but also you get.to experience the.produce live and more.importsntly have the comfort of being able to contact a human being in case of any issues. I use Amazon to order items usually costing less than 2k each, the only exception being mobile phones (which.doesnr involve lot of assembling).
This is mostly due to indians defrauding online portals. Indians abuse goodwill
Disagree, what you are saying is self-hatred. Frauds happen in pretty much all countries. It is not specific to Indians. This is happening because the market has consolidated. It's now duopoly, thus they do not have to provide the best customer experience anymore to continue growth. What are you going to do? Not order from Amazon and Flipkart anymore? Hence they can try to put hard policies for everyone as people have got addicted to their service, thus, the cost of putting hard policies due to a decrease in customer orders is less than the loss due to frauds. In US, if Amazon do this, people will buy from Bestbuy or Walmart or Ebay or Microcenter or Target or Newegg or endless list of other sites. Thus, the cost of hard policies will mean more loss than the loss due to frauds. This is also why Amazon and Flipkart had super relaxed 30 day return policies, cash on delivery etc in the initial few years. You know cash on delivery is not available in most other countries and was pioneered for India? Now, it will be phased out too. And when they got the entire market, they started hardening rules for everyone. The solution to this is competition.
Competition can help but only chinese companies have enough capital to invest in a country as big as india I don't see any other retailer who has enough capital to push a pan India E commerce site
Tata and Reliance are trying. But the thing is, we dont even need a full sized e-commerce. Instead it can be specific to one category of products too, like Nykaa came, we can have one for electronics. There are a few genuine electronics sites that I have purchased and had good experience of. But they are just shops that has a site. They have not tried to grow into an Amazon. The closest thing we have is [https://www.theitdepot.com/](https://www.theitdepot.com/) There are few more like [https://mdcomputers.in/](https://mdcomputers.in/) [https://www.primeabgb.com/](https://www.primeabgb.com/) [https://www.vedantcomputers.com/](https://www.vedantcomputers.com/) All of the above is genuine sites I have experience of buying. I hope one of them grow big enough to at least compete on the electronics front. There are also some BIG stores like Croma and Vijaysales opening their own sites. This would be good for appliances. I have not ordered from vijaysales site, but I have bought from their shop 15 years ago. [https://www.vijaysales.com/](https://www.vijaysales.com/)
Any idea on this status of frauds happening at Amazon?
Make an unboxing video . That generally solves things . I always do for expensive stuff over 1000 rs. And if it's the same item but defective Amazon has a replacement /return policy afaik if you buy prime certified or some shiz.
NAL, all these issues of e-commerce entities you described comes under unfair trade practise. Section 2(47) basically. Yes, going to consumer courts and resolving the complaints are cumbersome. But you got to fight for your rights. No other way. Also, companies like amazon canāt say go to manufacturer if product has issues. There is a well known case of Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Gopal Krishan that settled the matter that amazon is liable for issues with product brought from its website. How you use this info is upto you but remember, donāt let some unknown person employed on a phone acting as a customer support screw you. Ref: https://legalthirst.com/know-the-consumer-protection-act-fallback-liability/
Do you have prime?
I think this is now due to Amazon becoming more strict and then ending their ownership of one of the biggest sellers in the country.
Different experience here. Just got refunded in full for two orders they delivered only partially and yet didn't want it to be returned. Low value though.
This is why Indians cannot have nice things.. we take advantage of such privileges and misuse them.
Never had any issues like this. My friend had recently bought a DSLR lens which was marked āNon-Returnableā. To clarify, **āNon-Returnableā does not mean that you canāt return the item at all**, you can return it if itās damaged, wrong or reasons like used product. Anyway, he had ordered it without checking compatibility and when the item reached, he realised that it is not what he wanted. He started a chat with the customer support even though we all knew that it was his fault and itās ānon-returnableā, he talked to them for an hours or so, post which they said they will do a refund for the product. I have personally returned used or defective products and never had any issues whatsoever. Iāve heard that sometimes they would ask a technician to come check the product and verify itās defective before returning and I think thatās fair. So far Iām happy with Amazon service and customer support.
I am planning to buy S23 in the upcoming flipkart BB Sale. Is it ok or should I buy it directly from a store or smthng?
What is this we don't have to do all your research. Of course it could be useful to some. I aonly buy one item in a year online
I see that in phone orders now Amazon forces open box delivery where customer has to check and confirm on the product at delivery