How to handle exchanges, replacements, and refunds with print on demand
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
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With print on demand, just like any other product-based business, there is bound to come a time when you have a customer that wants some form of return, refund, or exchange.
For new sellers in particular this can be a very intimidating experience, so For today’s video, I want to walk you through a few common scenarios and strategies for handling them with confidence.
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When the printer makes a mistake or the print quality is bad, I use the Printify chat to get a response right away. Then I can send them the photos, explain the issue, and then they place the replacement order right away.
I love your advice, Mandy! You have one of the few Etsy/print-on-demand TH-cam channels I find honest, ethical, and with a high level of valuable information.
I'm just putting in my two cents: Taking a loss on a sale should not be looked upon as a disaster. Savvy, seasoned, and highly successful business owners understand it happens and believe providing the highest level of customer service is critical to running a business well.
I had an art rubber stamp business several decades ago, but I’m relatively new to Etsy as a seller and print-on-demand as a business model. One of my first POD sales was from a customer who ordered a youth large t-shirt instead of an adult size large. It was an honest mistake on her part, and she didn’t ask me to fix it for her, but I knew she needed the shirt for a Halloween party. I immediately sent out the size she needed with priority shipping so she would have it in time. I didn’t ask her to return the original. (I might have if it was something I could resell, but it was custom.) And, wouldn’t you know it, not only did I get a glowing review, but a month later, she ordered 20 shirts for her Christmas staff party, and I’m already aware she’ll be ordering more for her staff for St. Patrick’s Day.
It's always wise to take excellent care of your customers, but with a print-on-demand T-shirt business and the insane level of competition, I believe anything and everything you can do to provide sterling customer service should be top of mind.
I'm so new I haven't had to deal with this...but this video makes me feel a lot more confident to deal with a tough situation! Thank you
Something to note when you duplicate an order for replacements, the amount may differ because of shipping costs on Printify where the first item cost more to ship than the second onwards (e.g. Mugs). In those scenarios, I’ve lost a few dollars since shipping a single replacement will be charged the full first item shipping cost vs. if the original order had 2+ items, the shipping cost was lower. However, a few dollars difference is not a big deal to get a replacement faster for your customer.
I have been selling antiques on Etsy for 10 years. I always have accepted returns and it is extremely rare that people return. Maybe 1 a year with about 500 sale a year. I am starting a new Etsy shop with POD so I was questioning myself if I would accept returns or not. Thank you that was really informative ❤
Thank you, Mandy. Your are the best teacher.
I just opened my shop yesterday, I’m in the middle of learning everything and definitely this video has been very informative. Thank you!
Congrats on your new shop! Cheering you on!! 🎉✨
"Giving in out of fear"--guilty! A few losses to avoid negative reviews were a partial factor making me want to question if the extra income was even worth it despite a very robust 4th quarter! Thanks for the encouragement. Would you consider doing more videos on realistic expectations on total revenue vs net profit and also more pricing for profit factoring in expenses & etc?
You are not alone - it can be very intimidating!
I have a video on maximizing profit in case it’s helpful 😊 th-cam.com/video/OlFEaVEzMZI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vfMyjV0fenowMxUy
This is a wonderful video, I learned a lot, thank you
fantastic tips, thank you for sharing ☺☺☺
Thank you Mandy for the great information!
This is excelent Mandy!
Extremely helpful! Extremely! Mandy. You rock!
Thank you so much for teaching how to handle this! Your channel is extremely helpful!
How would you handle a review that your product isn't up to expectations? Ex: Too Light, Too heavy, bigger/smaller than expected. It's their subjective opinion. What's the plan to keep a happy customer?
It also helps if the customer is professional or not. In Q4 one was my fault, other was customer didn't like how DTG printing looked. I apologized via etsy messaging and also replied publicly to the review.
So very true! You just can’t win with some of them 🥴
My second customer (I have only 2 so far) ordered a bunch of bathing suits with their company logo on them and the printing company screwed up on a couple of the logos. Meaning they didn’t place the logo within the sewing area and let it go over the edge and then the other ones didn’t have an elastic on the bottoms or linings so overall they’re just crappy bathing suits and she doesn’t like the quality at all. She ordered like 10 bathing suits and I’m telling the print company that the quality was low and I showed pictures of how they bunch up and all the stuff and they’re just wanting more pictures and more pictures, they wanted barcodes. I showed the picture of how the logo wasn’t fitting correctly in the right spot and now they want more pictures. The pictures are not gonna show that there’s no elastic on the bottoms, so are they trying to weasel out of a refund? I wonder🤔still going back-and-forth with them is there some sort of trick I can use to get them to just refund me?
Not sure who the provider is but I’m in a similar boat with a large order with swiftpod. I’ve been doing this awhile now and never had a mess up this bad. I had an order for a group event (13 shirts). I’ve sold this design/shirts before and this time the design came out orange when it’s mauve. A blatant mess up. Long story short I sent photos from the customer AND the customer message. Had to refund the customer cause Swiftpod was takingtoo long to get back to me. They came back days later saying they want a VIDEO showing every shirt and tag. The customer is mad and won’t do this (plus I don’t feel comfortable because Etsy messaging doesn’t allow videos and I don’t want the customer to have to email me or really do this at all). I am livid and out so much money. Swiftpod is popular but I’ll never use them again. Printify is trying to help but I am going to push until I get my refund. They made a huge 100% blatant error and won’t refund me. It’s unacceptable.
Bottom line: KEEP FIGHTING FOR YOUR MONEY! When they mess up, they should own up to it and should understand that sometimes customers will refuse some requests. After all, this is POD so they need to have some understanding that we don’t hold inventory as sellers and customers will sometimes only do so much.
What do you do when a customer tells you they did not receive the package but it shows as being delivered?
Answer your customer right away and tell them you'll call the post office/find out what is going on and contact the print provider.
I have been doing that, but the customer still thinks I should send out another shirt for free since they paid for one and never got it @@erhodesx2346
I once had a customer who didn’t like the color of a hoodie she ordered, she said it was “nothing like the mock-up” so I offered to send her in a different color and she complained about THAT as well (after she kept the first one) and demanded a refund. I wanted to just be done with her so I refunded both and the cost of both pretty much ate up any profit I made from 12 previous orders which was the sum total of all my orders that week. I cried so hard. 😅 I now add sample squares taken from the color catalogs alongside the mockups, have two sizing charts and a bunch of disclaimers. Now if someone is unhappy with their order, I just default to a refund and never an exchange. Does anyone else do this too?
I would like to reach out to you from Australia.
I have the business knowledge, the designs, seo understanding and the ability to dedicate at least two years to make an online presence.
My problem is the unique mockups I would like to use and my inability (after weeks of trying) to figure out PhotoPea or Photoshop (despite hours and hours of TH-cam and research) so Im able to setup a template and drag/drop my designs onto the product.
After watching so many, you are my vibe!!
Do you offer coaching, mentoring and assistance?
Kind regards,
N
Mandy, how much time do you usually spend in total in a day handling customer service issues? I understand you probably batch these throughout your day, but is it 30 min in total for the day, an hour or more? I'm just trying to get a rough time estimate. Thank you!
If it's a busy season, I spend about an hour working through messages answering questions or creating custom orders. It varies a lot, that's just my experience over the past 8 years.
My customer said that she doesn’t get the package. but with a tracking number, I see that her order is delivered to the address she provided.
What can I do to make this custom happy?
I ask them to wait a few days and also check with neighbors , sometimes the mail system tracking isn’t accurate and it will appear. If not, contact Printify. Let them know that customer confirmed they didn’t receive it and that you had them wait a couple days and check around for it they will send a replacement 😊
This has been happening to me more and more lately. They request a replacement or refund saying the package wasn’t delivered but tracking shows it was.
@brittanywilson1733 Unfortunately this is a USPS issue that happens frequently (especially Q4) - I experience it with my handmade as well. Thankfully Printify is always good about replacing things when needed (I don’t have that luxury with handmade- I have to remake it and eat the cost myself) 😅
I’m not working with Printify. I made it myself with embroidery. And it was a big package around $250
Oh bummer! In that case I would file a claim with whoever you used for the shipping service. They may be able to locate it or in some cases cover some of the cost (for example, USPS Priority will cover up to $100). Unfortunately with handmade the only other option is to either remake it and take a full loss or offer the customer a discount to purchase it again since it was out of your control. Sorry that happened for you!