The ‘no questions asked’ has been scrapped. Customers on Snapdeal can return electronic products like smartphones, computers and others only after getting a document from the brand’s authorised service centre declaring it defective within 7 days.
While from the perspective of bringing more sellers on board it seems nice, it would surely dissuade buyers from purchasing top-selling electronic items from Snapdeal and further divert them to rivals such as Flipkart and Amazon, experts say.
Though Snapdeal states this policy as old, sellers say they have only received it through mail recently. In the mail sent on July 11 to its sellers, Snapdeal stated, “Electronic items: We require a document from the brand/OEM’s service centre confirming that the delivered item was defective. We will carry out a quality check to validate the complaint before processing any request for refund/replacement. Returns/replacements will be accepted for only those items which are found to be faulty/defective.”
Some are of the opinion that considering the hefty amount companies have incurred to acquire customers and acquainting them with the online experience, more and more e-commerce players would feel the need to cut costs or pass on the liability to the customers.
Around 10-15 percent of what is sold online gets returned or exchanged that influences the delivery cost. This change will surely reduce such cases and might also bring down the fraudulent cases.
The move has been welcomed by sellers. Sanjay Thakur of e-Seller Suraksha Forum told media, “The biggest change is the removal of the ‘no questions asked’ policy and fixing seven days for returns. This will reduce irrational returns and frauds by buyers. The only negative point is charging sellers for products not delivered to customers and those not accepted by customers.”
The marketing fee for almost all categories has been revised by Snapdeal, effective July 14. While some categories have seen an increase ranging between 0.5% and 5.5%, for others the marketing fee has been reduced in the range of 0.2-18%.
The mail to the sellers read, “Implementation of the revised standard marketing fee would result in a change in the selling price of Product (s) listed by you, but your seller proceeds will not be impacted. However, if the revised selling price becomes more than the MRP, the selling price of the product(s) as listed by you shall not change and your seller proceeds shall be adjusted accordingly.”
While Snapdeal will bear costs for reverse pickup and payment collection, the packaging and shipping will be borne by sellers. In case of replacement or exchange, reverse picks up costs will be borne by Snapdeal, as a part of its new policy.
Vishal Chadha, the senior vice president of market development, said: “We believe the reduction in marketing fees will foster growth for our sellers. Reducing returns from the market by ensuring best in class logistics and technology advances is a key focus area for Snapdeal. While we share costs with our sellers in case of return; we will continue to forego marketing fees to reduce the costs for sellers.”
