SCAM-AZON
Amazon sellers targeted by bizarre plot with ‘knockoff Nikes & dirty soap’ shipped to them – it costs over $101b a year
Sellers sometimes don't get their money back after getting scammed
AMAZON sellers have opened up about how shoppers send junk in their returns in a plot to keep their money and the items.
Sellers on Amazon shared stories about how they have received completely off items including dirty soap bars and flip-flops instead of Nikes.
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The return scam is a real issue for Amazon and most retailers as sellers take advantage of easy returns.
The National Retail Federation found that almost 14% of returns were related to fraud in 2023.
This was a huge hit on the retail industry and cost multiple companies a total of $101 billion.
The foundation said this is a “major issue for our industry.”
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Some of the other bizarre items that have been made it in returns include Christmas ornaments and toy planes for what was supposed to be a coffee French press, and dog-nail clippers instead of ones for humans, sellers told The Wall Street Journal.
A request for a refund can be made by an Amazon seller who is duped but sometimes they don’t get the money back.
SURPRISE SOAP BARS
The Amazon seller who received the dirty soap bars, Barbara Boschen, said she does not believe the sellers should be responsible for the buyer’s scheme.
“I accept that returns are part of doing business,” Boschen told WSJ.
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“But I don’t think we should be held responsible for people who think they’re getting one up on Amazon, and it’s really us.
“A lot of people don’t realize they are affecting small businesses when they do that."
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There is no limit to what has been found in return boxes that were supposed to hold the original item.
"It's really anything you can imagine,” Sebastian Herrera, the author of The Wall Street Journal report on Amazon sellers told CBS News.
“People ship all kinds of junk back and they do it every day.”
EASY RETURNS FOCUS
Herrera explained how sellers can't do much to stop shoppers from sending bogus returns.
He said this is because one thing Amazon stands behind is easy returns for its customers.
"A big part of this issue is Amazon has really set up its system to please customers and a lot of that has to do with easy returns."
Sebastian Herrera, the author of The Wall Street Journal report on Amazon sellers
"Sellers don't have a lot of ways to combat this,” Herrera said.
"A big part of this issue is Amazon has really set up its system to please customers and a lot of that has to do with easy returns.”
The first thing Amazon’s return policy says is that customers can “return many eligible items.”
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“You can return many eligible items sold on Amazon.com,” the policy says.
“When you return an item, you may see different return options depending on the seller, item, or reason for return.”