New Delhi: E-commerce giant Snapdeal has tweaked its return policies for electronic items, which will now make it difficult for customers to return them. As per the new policy introduced by Snapdeal, buyers will now need to furnish a proof from an authorised service centre stating that the product delivered to them is defective. Additionally, buyers will have to do this within seven days of receiving it.
“We require a document from the brand/OEM’s service center confirming that the delivered item was defective. We will carry out a quality check to validate the complaint before processing any request for refund/replacement. Returns/replacements will be accepted for only those items which are found to be faulty/ defective,” the Snapdeal returns policy reads.
According to a report by ET, Snapdeal has been following this policy for quite some time, but the sellers are being informed about it now. With a valid document for return, this policy will protect sellers against circumstances where one would buy an electronic item, use it for some time, and then return it under the excuse of it being defective or unsatisfactory.
This policy will also reduce the delivery cost for sellers as only certified products will be exchanged.
There are some other changes made in the policy for sellers as well:
- Snapdeal has reduced the fees it charges from sellers for over 120 sub-categories. The sub-categories include electronics, women’s fashion and FMCG products. This will be effective from July 14, 2016.
- The seller policies have also been simplified by introducing a ‘do’s and don’ts’ framework for buyers to avoid the burden of penalties on sellers due to unawareness or complexity of policies.
- Snapdeal will share the cost of returns, and will bear the cost for reverse pickup and payment collection. Also the ecommerce giant may bear the packaging and shipping cost.
These new policies may be a winning point for Snapdeal sellers but the company may lose its grip in the online marketplace and divert customer base to its rivals, Flipkart and Amazon.
But the sellers are quite happy. Harminder Sahni, founder of Wazir Advisors, told ET, "On an average, nearly 10-15 per cent of what they sell online comes back as return or for exchange which increases their delivery costs. This measure will reduce such cases to some extent and might also bring down the fraudulent cases."
