Latest / The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast / 44. Do I Have to Accept Returns on Etsy Print-on-Demand Products? | Tips for Etsy Sellers

Transcript

44. Do I Have to Accept Returns on Etsy Print-on-Demand Products? | Tips for Etsy Sellers · The Modern Etsy Seller Podcast

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, welcome to the Modern Etsy Seller Podcast and What You're Wondering, this segment where I answer one specific Etsy question in under five minutes.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Melissa, a busy working mom with two profitable Etsy shops, and I help other Etsy sellers make money with Etsy and print on demand.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, I'm answering the question: Do I have to accept returns or exchanges on print-on-demand products?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is a personal choice.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Etsy allows you to set your own return and exchange policy.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you get to decide whether accepting returns makes sense for your business.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Though I do want to add one caveat to that before I go any further.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell to customers in the EU or EEA, there are consumer protection laws that can apply.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you understand the rules for your business and the types of products you sell.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: There are exceptions for certain made-to-order and customized products, but I'm not going to get into all of those rules today.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: For this episode, I'm really talking about the return policy you choose to have when you have that choice.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I personally do not sell outside of the United States, and I have a no returns or exchanges policy, but I still look at any request on an individual basis.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think another really important thing to separate here is your return and exchange policy from how you handle an actual customer issue.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Those are two different things.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: If something arrives damaged, defective, broken, misprinted, or just wrong in some way, that should be handled quickly.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: But for today, I'm talking about situations where there's nothing wrong with the product.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: The customer received what they ordered, but for whatever reason, they want to return or exchange it.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're trying to decide whether or not you want to accept those types of returns or exchanges, there are a few things that I think you should consider.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into those things.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing you should think about is what happens to that product if the customer returns it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like where does it go?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that makes returns a little difficult with print on demand is that you don't have the inventory yourself.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not being shipped from your house.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Depending on your print provider and how you have your account set up, the return address on the package may be the print provider's address or some other return facility.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And just because something gets sent back there doesn't mean they're going to contact you and ask what you want to do with it.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, that's not going to happen.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Printify, for example, it goes back to them unless you go in and set up a custom return address so that the return packages are sent directly to you.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: That could be your home address, or if you don't want to use your home address, you could use another address that meets the requirements, like a P.O.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: box.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So this is something I would look into with whatever print provider you use and understand how their returns actually work before you set your own policy.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: The next thing you should think about is what you would do with the product if you did get it back.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell personalized products, this is a big one.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody ordered something with their name or a date or some other kind of personalization on it, chances are you're not going to be able to sell that item to somebody else.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you refund the customer, you have to take a loss there.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell products that aren't personalized, then you want to consider whether the item could be resold.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: That can absolutely make accepting a return different from accepting one that's personalized that you know you won't be able to sell again.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing that you should think about is return shipping.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: If a customer simply changes their minds and wants to send something back, who's paying to ship it back?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you decide to accept returns, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to pay for the return shipping.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's another part of the policy, though, that you need to think through and then clearly communicate to your customers.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: The last thing you should think about is how much flexibility you want to give yourself.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your written policy can give you a boundary without necessarily preventing you from making an exception when you want to.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I do.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: While my policy says no returns or exchanges, if somebody reaches out to me, I look at the individual situation and decide what I'm comfortable doing.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, especially with a personalized product, I stick to my policy and explain that unfortunately I can't accept the return.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Other times I've told someone they can send the product back to me at their expense and I'll refund them once I receive it.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's something that isn't personalized and I could potentially resell, I'm even more willing to do that.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: But the last thing I want to say here is that after selling thousands of products, I can tell you that this has not been a big issue in my business at all.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've had very, very few people ask to return something simply because they changed their mind or no longer needed it.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: What I do get occasionally though is someone who reaches out wanting to cancel an order after it's already gone into production.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they don't have it yet, but I can't cancel the order.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: So at that point, I'll explain that unfortunately it's too late for me to cancel it, but I have sometimes given them the option to return the product to me once they receive it.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly enough, even when I give them that option, they very rarely actually send it back.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they've done it two times.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely wouldn't let the fear of having to deal with a bunch of returns be the thing that determines your policy.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: In my experience, it just hasn't happened often enough to be a major issue.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Think through some of the things that I talked about today, then choose the return and exchange policy that makes the most sense for your products and your business.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your customers can clearly see what that policy is, and then you'll already know how you want to approach it when that first request eventually comes in.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: All right, guys, that's it for today.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: But before you go, if you've been enjoying the podcast, I'd love it if you would take a minute to leave a rating and review.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: It helps more Etsy sellers find the show, and your feedback helps me create more of the episodes that you want to hear.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you next time.