Hi! Did you follow us over from Twitter or Facebook? Thanks for stopping by!
We are in the process of finalizing our recommended standard return policy for LoobaLee Sellers and we’d love your feedback.
We know return policies are very important to both Buyers and Sellers. So, we asked some real Moms role play as Buyers and Sellers to help us define the most equitable and fair policy for our market: designer children’s clothing and merchandise.
The real test, however, is YOUR feedback! Comment below or @ reply to @LoobaLee on Twitter and let us know what you think. If you do, we’ll enter your name in a drawing to win a $35 gift card to the children’s clothing retailer of your choice! Just Comment or @ reply by March 23, 2009, 6:00 p.m. EDT.
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LoobaLee Standard Return Policy – DRAFT
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The following Standard Return Policy is recommended by LoobaLee.com for our Sellers. This policy is carefully defined to be reasonable for both Buyers and Sellers on LoobaLee. If a Seller has elected to use this standard, the ‘Return Policy’ field on their listing will indicate Standard.
Sellers may optionally define a custom Return Policy on each listing. In these cases, the ‘Return Policy’ field is indicated as Other. Please carefully read the custom policy in the ‘Additional Description’ before making a purchase.
Standard Policy
✽ Returns must be requested within 7 days of the USPS Delivery Confirmation date of Receipt.
✽ A request for a Return should be provided in writing to the Seller.
✽ Returns MAY be requested for the following reasons. (Please Note: Sellers ultimately must agree to the requested returns, and LoobaLee does not facilitate resolution except in the case of Items damaged by mail carrier).
• Wrong Item Shipped – Seller agrees to refund the Buyer for return shipping fees and agrees to ship the correct item free of charge. If the correct item is no longer available, Seller agrees to fully refund the Buyer for the original cost of the item and all shipping fees incurred.
• Misrepresented Brand, Size, or Condition – Returns for misrepresented listings may be requested if 1) the item’s listing does not match the item’s brand or size as specified on its attached label, 2) the item’s brand on its attached label can be proven to be a fraudulent misrepresentation of the brand, or 3) the item does not match the listing’s advertised condition (as per LoobaLee standard Condition Definitions). Seller agrees to refund the Buyer for return shipping fees and provides a full refund for the original cost of the item plus shipping fees.• Items lost by mail carrier – Buyers may request returns if they never receive shipment of items purchased. In these cases, both PayPal and Google Checkout offer Seller Protection Policies, and Buyers and Sellers agree to follow the appropriate process. NOTE: To be eligible, Sellers must minimally purchase Delivery Confirmation (or other tracking number), ship items within 7 days of Buyer purchase, and ship items to the address on the PayPal or Google Checkout transaction. Sellers should review and fully understand these policies.
• Items damaged in mail due to insufficient packaging – This should be a rare situation, given the overwhelming majority of purchases on LoobaLee are not breakable. However, should a situation occur, Buyers may negotiate returns in full or in part with the Seller. This is difficult to prove, and it is the Seller’s decision to agree to a return. Likewise, Buyers may leave the appropriate feedback.
• Items damaged by mail carrier – In the event items are damaged in the mail by USPS or another mail carrier, LoobaLee offers up to $30.00 coverage for uninsured items to the Buyer plus $5.00 in return shipping. To obtain the coverage, Buyer must provide evidence and written proof from the carrier service to LoobaLee, and Buyer must ship the item to LoobaLee to obtain the refund.
✽ Returns MAY NOT be requested for the following reasons:
• Fit or Dislike – Sellers are not obligated to offer returns for lack of fit or dislike by the Buyer. Rather, it is recommended Buyers list unwanted items for sale. NOTE: Detailed questions should be asked to the Seller prior to purchasing the Item, which may include a request for additional or different photos.
• Misrepresented Category, Item Type, Line/Collection, Color, Material, Pet Free/Smoke Free details or Additional Description details. In these cases, Sellers are not obligated to offer returns. If a Buyer feels a Seller has significantly misrepresented their listing, the Buyer may leave the appropriate feedback and file a formal complaint with LoobaLee.com. Sellers may have up to three complaints filed before LooabLee.com will take corrective action with a Seller.
✽ If the Seller Approves a Return:
• Seller agrees to provide written acceptance or denial of a return to a Buyer. In the case of Acceptance, Seller agrees to include details on the amount to be refunded to the Buyer.
• Buyer agrees to return items in the exact condition in which they were sent. Items are to be returned unworn, carefully packaged, and not damaged in any way. If it is suspected that a Buyer has worn or damaged the item, the agreed upon refund amount may be refused and the Seller is not obligated to return the Item to the Buyer.
• Buyer agrees to ship Item(s) back to the Seller within 7 days of approval to obtain the full, agreed upon refund amount.
• Buyer agrees to purchase USPS Delivery Confirmation (or comparable tracking from another carrier) on the return package to ensure a clear record of shipping and delivery dates. The Seller is not obligated to refund the agreed upon amount if the Buyer fails to purchase Delivery Confirmation and the returned package is not delivered.
• Seller cannot be held responsible if returned items are lost in the mail, and it is optional for the Buyer to purchase insurance on returned packages at their expense.
• Seller agrees to provide written notification to the Buyer when they have received the returned Item(s).
• Seller agrees to issue a Refund within 7 days of receipt of the returned item(s).
Non-Compliance
Individuals who believe Buyers or Sellers are not complying with the standard LoobaLee.com return policy may file a complaint. A total of 3 complaints against a Member’s account can result investigation of their account. If a Buyer is a Visitor, Visitor Emails and addresses may also be blocked from making additional purchases on the Site.
Hey Suzanne, I think that this return policy is fair. I realize that it isn’t the same as buying from Jcrew online or something like that. I have to say that it goes much further than Ebay in that Loobalee tries to make sure both parties are fairly represented. It seems that Ebay leaves it up to the seller to define their return policy exclusively. The only item I might have issue with is the last item under returns MAY NOT be requested. If I have a child that is allergic to animals and the seller provides a product that causes an allergic reaction, I would be bummed that I can’t return it. Of course, I would hope to ask that question to the seller in an email before the purchase was completed. I’m sure that there are lessons to be learned by both buyers and sellers here. I hope that this helps.
Hi Melanie, thanks for the comments! To your concern about allergies, I think we already have this covered, but it may need to be made more clear in the Return Policy.
We know that this is of high importance to many Buyers of children’s clothing, so we have designed features in LoobaLee that require Sellers to reveal household pets on all listings and to provide details in their profiles — facilitated by both System Validation and the User Agreement.
Unless a Seller isn’t being truthful, the Buyer will always know about any potential allergy concerns in advance of making a purchase, which is why a refund may not be requested in our standard policy.
If the Seller is believed to have been dishonest in their listing details, a complaint against the Seller can be filed for noncompliance to LoobaLee. This path is provided because in our experience it can be very difficult and frustrating to obtain a Seller’s agreement to refund when/if they haven’t been honest in their listings in the first place.
Does this help answer your concern?
~Suzanne
I think that your return policy sounds fair. It’s good that you’ve covered all your bases so no one is confused!
Hi Kim, thanks for the feedback! In reviewing other Return Policies, we had questions. Many of them have gaps, which leave a lot of room for misinterpretation. So, we’re trying to be thorough and simple at the same time — definitely a challenge! Once we get it right, however, we’re hopeful Buyers and Sellers will both appreciate the effort
Hi Suzanne-
I think your return policy looks very thorough and easy to follow. I like the 7 day policy to make it a quick turn around for both parties involved if necessary. Looks like you thought everything through carefully!! Good Luck!
Hi Suzanne,
Great job on this project! After reading LoobaLee’s return policy, I feel it is very inclusive and thorough. Most importantly, the policy is fair to both Buyer and Seller, which is difficult to find on most retail/resale sites.
Hi! I think everything is pretty well spelled out for fairness sake. However, my suggestion would be to define/refine/extend the return time frame. My suggestion would be ten days. What does 7 days mean? Working/business days or consecutive days? Granted, you must request the return and not actually send the item back, but many times busy people do it all on the same day (like a Saturday) extending it to 3 extra days would give a bit of breathing room for busy moms.
Hi – thanks for the comments!
Heather, to your point… I like the idea. One of our foundation principles for LoobaLee is to make the site and process as easy and painless as possible for busy Moms. And, a key thing we ask of users of the site is patience (within outlined time frames), i.e. busy Moms aren’t necessarily going to be able to get packages in the mail immediately after a Buyer purchases. So, I really appreciate the comments! On the returning end of things, we can make the time frames longer. The only time we can’t control is the initial 7 days from Buyer Payment to Seller Shipping (otherwise the Seller won’t be covered by PayPal policies in the event their shipment gets lost).
Hi Suzanne,
cheers. let’s ketchup soon!
Here are my thoughts. It looks good to me but:
Does “in writing” include an email or fax when referring to a returned item either from or to the seller?Also, 7 days might be good to either clarify 7 working days or 7 calendar days. And I might even up it to 10 days incase someone is one vacation or away. It would give them a little more time to deal with the situation.
That’s it. HOpe it helps.
Hi Leigh,
Thanks for the input! We will clarify “in writing” — had Email in mind for that. The 7 days is from receipt of the package. We had a similar request for up the 7 days for returning the package to 10 days. We’ll look at these again (especially with two mentions!).
Thanks!
Suzanne
Congratulations to Melanie for winning the drawing! Melanie gets a $35 gift certificate to her favorite children’s clothing retailer.
Watch the video of the drawing here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535dOU3ADEQ