Other than groceries, I purchase almost exclusively online. My time is valuable and I hate to spend it in retail stores searching for what I want. I would much rather go online. I can probably count, on one hand, the number of items that I have returned in the past 15 yrs. I purchase in bulk items like body wash, shampoo, deodorant, soap, toothpaste, etc. I keep it on hand so that I don't have to go out for it. I worked for 20 yrs in retail and that did it for me!
Luckily, Never had the need of returning items to the retailer. I've always wondered how infuriating could be for me to go through the hassle of returning something recently bought. But I'm aware that is totally possible to happen depending of the seller and If the item is new or used.
Firstly, I am very cautious about ordering anything from the internet. Not because I don't have the money, but because i don't want to be waiting for a product to arrive, have it finally arrive, only to have to return it because it is not working as described. I have never had to return anything as of yet. I have had disappointing products, but they were not faulty.
I only ever return faulty products. I'm careful in the store to make sure that I select the right product so that I can avoid returning it. If I choose the wrong size or the wrong brand, for example, I will usually count it as a loss as I don't like the fuss and bother associated with refunding purchases, or receiving "store credit". It was my mistake, basically. So how often I return them is a bit of an unanswerable question for me, as it really depends on how frequently I am sold a faulty product. If I buy eggs, for example, I look in the box, and I don't buy meat unless it's the exact colour I expect it to be. I usually check expiry dates too. When I ordered some online food shopping a few months ago, they sent me a product which was very close to it's expiry date - too close for the amount that I'd purchased to be able to use it all in time. On that occasion, I called up and explained the situation. They refunded me for the item, but didn't ask for me to return it. Though a lot went to waste because I couldn't use it in time before it started to expire, I did get to keep it for free.
Not very often, but I'm willing to take a company up on their return policy if a better deal comes along. I have had customer service refuse a price adjustment before, and ended up returning an item and instantly rebuying it. I didn't set out to return anything, but I'm entirely comfortable with the practice if I can find a time when the stores are not busy.
I often don't want the hassle that comes along with having to pay the postage and packaging to return items, which is why I always make sure to purchase from a seller who has a policy that they will be the ones paying the return postage in the event that the item is faulty. You don't seem to be able to do that on Amazon, but you can with ebay.
I've been ordering clothes online for years now, and in all the time I've been doing it, I've only ever returned items twice. In one case, the dress wasn't quite what I'd expected; it was nowhere near as nice as it appeared in the picture LOL (yep, another disadvantage of online shopping, although it's not enough to out me off). In the second incident, the item was faulty. Luckily for me, both online stores are great and actually pay for postage for returns. I got my full refund for the dress and in the latter case, a replacement was swiftly sent.
Exactly, the main issue is the hassle involved and that you are often liable for the costs of returning if it's an online purchase. In store, although you don't have to pay to return an item, you do have to give up your own time to return to the store and deal with the customer service staff. Not to mention the travel costs, if you don't drive you might need to take a bus or something.
I have found that recently, I have actually been returning quite a bit of clothes. This is due to the fact that I do a large portion of my clothes shopping online, on websites like Forever 21, Wet Seal, Aeropostale, etc. Although I know my sizing pretty well and I don't tend to purchase things I know won't fit, sometimes I receive items that didn't look the same in the photo, or there is sometimes a small defect. I also find myself returning clothes when I buy them in-store without trying them on. I seem to do this very often, where I don't have time to try things on and I get home and realize they don't fit! I'd say I return clothes about 10% of the time. Other than clothing, though, I don't return many items, especially because I normally open them and use them right after I buy them.
It can be a real deterrent. I mean I am not the only one who doesn't want to get burned by having to pay return postage and packaging, when the product being faulty was not your fault to begin with. There are sellers on ebay who do not pay the return postage and packaging. I avoid them at ALL costs. In-store, it may cost you in a bit of gas/petrol, as well as your time. But it is nowhere near as irritating as getting a product that is faulty through no fault of your own, and then being out of pocket because of that.
Online shopping always have the risk that you will not get products which are displayed on the sites. Whoever it is less offen. I remember one incident that I have returned T-Shirt because of the color issue.
I don't usually buy things online precisely because you can't be really sure of what you are getting. Plus I find that returns can be stressful and take more time. I mean you have to send it back and wait a while before you get an answer. Not that I like returning things in person either. I find it stressful and some customer service agents have been quite rude in the past when I've returned items so I just try to make my purchase carefully so I won't have to deal with returns.
When I buy things offline (from the retailer), I don't need to return it because before I make a purchase, I assess it thoroughly. I don't shop online too much.However, when I shop, I buy from ebay,mostly from top rated seller. I have never returned a product that I bought online. And have returned products couple of time that I have bought offline.
I don't return very often, because generally I do my research and I try to know what I am getting before I buy. I do, however have one item right now that I need to return. And I know there is a deadline a lot of times for returns, so I had better get that done tomorrow. Amazon has a great return policy and I don't expect any problems.
I'd say I return online purchases around one out of five times or maybe less. I usually take a very long time to decide whether or not to buy certain items and to be honest I'd probably almost never return them if not for some errors by the seller. Once I had to return an item because the box was in poor condition and I was going to give it as a gift so it was unacceptable. Another time I was buying something I thought I was getting a good deal on because it was labelled an official product and I didn't have to pay that much and by the time I got it I found out it was just a generic product and that's why it was so cheap.
