When Amazon approves companies and individuals to sell on Amazon, these sellers must adhere to strict guidelines and rules provided for them on the Amazon Marketplace.
These strict guidelines must be followed when sellers receive return requests in order to approve and make returns. If you’d like to learn more about these guidelines, keep reading to see what I learned!
Amazon Marketplace Return Policy
Amazon Marketplace sellers are required to adhere to Amazon’s regular return policy, which allows customers to return a purchase within 30 days of receipt for any given reason. However, Amazon may allow Marketplace sellers to refuse a return and simply refund the customer if they don’t wish to take an item back into their stock.
Keep reading this article if you’d like more information about the marketplace return policy, if marketplace sellers can refuse returns, if they provide warranties, and more useful facts!
What is the Amazon Marketplace Return Policy?
When Amazon Marketplace sellers begin selling their products, they are required to follow Amazon’s regular return policy.
This means that any item they sell can be returned for any given reason within 30 days of being received.
Amazon’s return policy varies slightly depending on the item being returned, such as electronics or mattresses. Marketplace sellers may also have to follow these varied policies in addition to Amazon’s general return policy.
How Do Returns Work for an Amazon Marketplace Seller?
When an Amazon Marketplace seller receives a request for a return, they must review the request to determine if it’s eligible for being returned and refunded.
Marketplace sellers must approve returns if the item sold is defective, arrived damaged, or if the customer has not removed the item from its packaging.
Sellers have two days to approve a return and issue a refund. If the return is not approved within this time frame, customers may file an A-Z Guarantee claim, requiring Amazon to issue a refund themselves.
If sellers are hit with an A-Z Guarantee claim, they may face repercussions from Amazon and may risk their account being terminated.
Therefore, Marketplace sellers are recommended to accept valid return requests as soon as they are able.
Do Sellers on Amazon Marketplace Have to Accept all Returns and Refunds?
Amazon Marketplace sellers are required to approve all valid return and refund requests.
However, if customers request a return for an ineligible reason, sellers are not required to approve it.
Ineligible return requests may be for items that have been damaged or tampered with by the customer, that have been used significantly so as to show wear, or if an item such as a mattress was removed from packaging and used.
Amazon Marketplace sellers may be allowed to approve these return requests. However, they may also require the customers to pay shipping fees and restocking fees if there is significant wear to the item.
Do Amazon Sellers have to Provide Warranties?
Amazon Marketplace sellers are not required to provide a warranty for their products. However, sellers who sell electronics, large furniture, or similar items will generally provide a warranty.
In order for Marketplace sellers to provide warranties for their products, they must do the following:
1. First, sellers must be approved for featuring a warranty on their product page. They can apply by emailing warranty-svs@amazon.com in order to gain approval.
2. After being approved, Amazon Marketplace sellers must ensure that the information for the warranty they provide is available on their product pages.
They are recommended to include as much detail as possible, including what the warranty doesn’t cover, for more positive customer feedback!
Marketplace sellers who require assistance setting up a warranty for their product are recommended to contact a lawyer or another service to assist them in offering a valid warranty.
Can Amazon Marketplace Sellers Provide Return Exchanges?
Amazon does not currently provide an exchange option for products sold by Amazon Marketplace sellers.
Therefore, customers must simply return their product, receive a refund, and purchase another item.
Customers may be able to contact a Marketplace seller directly and request an exchange, but because there is no provision for an exchange on the Order Page, Marketplace sellers don’t need to approve an exchange request.
If Marketplace sellers have received a direct request for an exchange and are unsure how to proceed, they can contact seller support through their Marketplace account for more information.
Are Amazon Marketplace Sellers Refunded After Fulfilling a Return?
When Amazon Marketplace sellers process a return and refund for a customer, Amazon will usually refund the seller! This refund does not include the administration fee.
Amazon will only retain up to $5 for each item that a customer has returned. Sellers can calculate how much money Amazon will refund for a return by using their reference guide on the Marketplace Seller page.
To find out more about Amazon’s services and policies, you can also see our related posts on Amazon’s return policy after 30 days, pre-order policy, and what Amazon does with returns.
Conclusion
Amazon Marketplace sellers must adhere to Amazon’s regular return policy, which enables customers to return items within 30 days of being received for any given reason.
They may also have to adhere to Amazon’s alternative policies, though this may vary.
Marketplace sellers are required to approve and refund all return requests that are valid by Amazon’s return standards. However, if customers are requesting a return for an invalid reason, Marketplace sellers are not required to approve the return request.