In the first quarter of 2024, Shopee implemented a series of new policies in Malaysia and the Philippines, including mandatory COD, the Change of Mind Returns Program, and a 15-day return policy. The changes in official policies require sellers to continuously pay attention to the platform's dynamics, constantly adjust and update their knowledge, in order to calmly deal with the sales market and buyers, and improve sales volume.
Shopee's series of policy adjustments have caused concerns among sellers about an increase in return packages. If there are too many returns, the following situations may arise:
1. Waste of packaging time
2. Increase in packaging costs
3. Some sellers with poor consumer habits may use the item before returning it, which could result in the product being defective or unsellable
4. There may be damage or loss during the shipping process, and sellers may need to bear the cost of the damage if the packaging does not meet the requirements, or spend time appealing to the platform for compensation.
To better deal with the possible problems above, we provide the following suggestions to sellers:
1. Add anti-tampering and anti-counterfeiting tags or labels to products
Although we cannot guarantee that these labels will completely prevent customers from using products before returning them, they can reduce the likelihood of such situations and increase the chances of successful appeals to the platform.
2. Leave proof before packaging and shipping
We suggest that sellers use CCTV to record the packaging process. If there are any return disputes later, sellers can appeal to the platform to protect their rights as much as possible.
Sellers can use BigSeller's Scan to Send Image Function in BigSeller APP to take photos of all products and packaging, and these photos will be automatically sent to the buyer through Duoke (Global E-commerce Intelligent Chatbot System). You can also add words like "Packaging completed, please open the box and video the process" or "The package is ready and thanks for your support" to the pictures and send them to the buyer.
If there are any disputes later, sellers can use the photos as evidence. If you feel that photo evidence is insufficient, you can also find the corresponding packaging video by looking at the photo shooting time (if you have recorded it using CCTV).
3. Reduce packaging costs
For returned packages, you can judge whether the product is damaged without opening it based on the packaging and product characteristics. If there is no damage, you can leave it aside and send it out later when another customer buys the same product. This reduces the cost of packaging.
4. Adjust inventory in a timely manner
It is important to adjust inventory in a timely manner for return orders. You should immediately add back inventory for products that can be resold to avoid delays in inventory updates affecting sales due to return orders.
Sellers can use BigSeller's functions : Inventory Management and Return Management to handle return orders and automatically update and sync inventory in the shop.
5. Collect buyer information
Sellers can include promotional flyers or small cards in the waybill or package when shipping products. Promote your own private domain store, such as contacting the seller to separately place an order, or going to the seller's personal website to place an order, etc. as much as possible to generate more repeat customers or retain customer contact information for easy future product promotion or marketing.
BigSeller Customize Shipping Label can be used as the most cost-effective way of promotion.
6. Adjust prices
For some products' pricing, we should not only consider cost and shipping expenses, but also factor in the cost of returns if returns are expected to be high. Even though there is intense price competition, product quality and service quality are always the most important factors.