HAQM buyers are using my business and others as a free rental service - Something has got to give.
Recently I have been noticing a very large uptick in return abuse (and fraud) here on HAQM. Below you'll see a crystal clear example of return abuse from a buyer who decided to use my item for 3 weeks before opening what is the epitome of return abuse.
This "buyer" (renter) has derived significant value from my item and now wants to offload it back to me to conclude their free rental period. I am now stuck with: outbound shipping costs, return shipping costs, and finally an HAQM return fee charge. None of which I will be able to recoup as this unit does not qualify for refund at first scan ($300+ item). Therefore, no Safe-T claim option will be available to me.
This also does not take into consideration that a brand new camera has now been opened and used. Even if returned in pristine condition (this certainly will not be the case) the manufacturer seals have been broken on the product box and this cannot be considered a new item anymore.
When is HAQM going to put an end to this free rental madness that plagues the platform? Sure I can charge a restocking fee, but in doing so I'll open my business up to potential negative feedback, chargebacks, and A-Z Claims (retaliation from the renter) that could impact my business heavily. So instead I will be forced to take a huge loss because of a buyer thinking my business is their personal free rental service.
HAQM buyers are using my business and others as a free rental service - Something has got to give.
Recently I have been noticing a very large uptick in return abuse (and fraud) here on HAQM. Below you'll see a crystal clear example of return abuse from a buyer who decided to use my item for 3 weeks before opening what is the epitome of return abuse.
This "buyer" (renter) has derived significant value from my item and now wants to offload it back to me to conclude their free rental period. I am now stuck with: outbound shipping costs, return shipping costs, and finally an HAQM return fee charge. None of which I will be able to recoup as this unit does not qualify for refund at first scan ($300+ item). Therefore, no Safe-T claim option will be available to me.
This also does not take into consideration that a brand new camera has now been opened and used. Even if returned in pristine condition (this certainly will not be the case) the manufacturer seals have been broken on the product box and this cannot be considered a new item anymore.
When is HAQM going to put an end to this free rental madness that plagues the platform? Sure I can charge a restocking fee, but in doing so I'll open my business up to potential negative feedback, chargebacks, and A-Z Claims (retaliation from the renter) that could impact my business heavily. So instead I will be forced to take a huge loss because of a buyer thinking my business is their personal free rental service.
18 replies
Seller_zGoDlPZLneGhF
Here is another example of return abuse that came through this morning. This specfic product is used for finding angles and used by engineers for building projects. Seems like this buyer finished their project within the return window!
HAQM needs to starting allowing us to block these kinds of buyers.
Return Abuse.
Minerva_HAQM
Hello @Seller_zGoDlPZLneGhF,
How do you handle these returns? Do you issue a returnless refund or a partial one?
Once you receive the product in a different condition, do you document this with pictures and grade item condition when issuing the reimbursement?
Seller_24FzucbyGtgZS
In a word - NEVER. HAQM will never care because its not HAQM's money.
And remember, HAQM charges us a "tax" on shipping fees, "referral fees", processing a refund, etc. The claims at the end of the year (on your 1099) that they paid you 100% of the gross money taken in when in fact you only see about 50% (or less) depending on your mark-up - which also depends if HAQM is price fixing your listing or letting you set a fair price).
HAQM also knows that with forced arbitration there is no way for a small seller to get relief since you cannot utilize your local small claims court (as eBay allows you to do with claims under $10,000).
Seller_tcwwJM3S0wBFE
I understand your concern about retaliation, but I ALWAYS charge a return fee (restocking fee). So far, I've had more negative feedback from competitors than as a result of charging fees. If I receive one of these, I will respond to the input accordingly so that people are aware of the consequences. If we all held these people accountable by charging return fees, maybe they would think twice before abusing the returns. You can't even call them renters because they are not paying you anything, as you have decided to let it go. I always send a printout of my refund policy with the product, and I also send them a message with such policy when they request the return. Finally, I would always send them a message explaining the return fee and how the policy had been violated. I have had some AtoZs as a result, but a tiny percentage. I take photos of the items as I ship them and then again as I receive them to document any potential fraud. It's a lot of work and time consumed, but at least, we are not fostering this abuse. In the last week, two out of 5 returns have abused the policy, and I have had to deal with the amount of work that it takes to document the case and charge return fees.
Seller_Ha6JyVvDK6Ybs
When sales are dead you usually see uptick in returns, but at least HAQM collects fees off of these abusers and we are all here only to make HAQM right I think not. HAQM has trained a whole generation of sleaze cry baby I want free blah blah blah customers and only on this platform do you see this kinda abuse,
Seller_zGoDlPZLneGhF
Here is a particularly infuriating one, 32 days since original order, 30 days since delivery. Big restocking fee incoming!
Seller_zinnr9HADdMb2
For our older HAQM business (now sold), we charged a mandatory 25% restocking fee no mater why the product was being returned. Most never even saw that it happened.
Seller_2GGO6SJ84ylGv
I sell machines for over $700 a pop that are in this same situation, with frequent returns (long after purchase) and goods that cannot be re-sold.