I get asked a lot how I handle drop shipping returns. Let’s say someone receives an item from me and isn’t happy with it, or the product is broken, and they reach out and ask for a return.
The answer is pretty simple:
I don’t do any form of returns for my drop shipping business.
If a customer wants to exchange his item or doesn’t want it, I tell them to trash the item, or do with it what they want, and I send them a replacement for free. If they are unhappy with the product or it didn’t arrive or was severely delayed, I offer them a full refund.
Yes, it does happen occasionally and it sucks.
But after all, a drop shipping business is still a business and you have to be able to take a loss here and there. It’s the bigger picture that matters, and your goal is to build a long-term relationship.
Always remember this here:
Relationship > Transaction
Never put your relationship with a customer at risk, simply because of a transaction. Never argue with your customers. And always excel with great customer support so they have a great experience. Ultimately, you want them to come back and buy again.
So why don’t I accept returns?
I’m running a drop shipping business, which means I ship directly from suppliers in China to the end consumer. I don’t have my own stock, or logistic centre or anything even remotely like that.
So if I put my own address as return address for the customer, the item will be sent to me. And I don’t want the item at my place.
First of all, I don’t have a stock and I don’t want products at home.
Secondly, even if I’d send a replacement or exchange an item, it would be sent directly from China. The item that would be sent to my home, I would basically just trash it myself, which isn’t in my interest. The customer himself might as well do that with the item.
I try to run my drop shipping business as simple and lean as possible, and accepting returns is definitively not part of that bigger scheme.
However, I do generously offer refunds.
And I never hesitate to send a replacement item to the customer at no additional cost, if the item was broken or if it’s somehow defective.
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