Drop shipping could be a very nice advent for retail companies that save time and money when distributing orders to their consumers. There is one downfall to the availability to this option and that is product returns. Product returns can be routed back to the manufacturer, but restocking fees and return shipping fees may need to be covered by the retailer and can become costly with defective products and normal returns. There is, however, some simple ways to combat this nuisance of returns that any online retailer can put into use.
Customer Rerouting
There are two simple ways to go about customer rerouting. The first requires you to receive the package to make sure the product are not open and that it can be packaged and shipped to another customer that wanted the same product. The second requires a risky but useful return label that sends the package to the next customer in line. If the previous customer opened the product or used it, this method may prompt negative feedback or customer complaints that cost even more money to send replacements and the like. This is an effective way to save money on costs for restocking by redistributing them to other customers and keeping everyone content with customer service at the same time.
Reselling and Clearance
Having the items routed to your office can easily be a way to make extra money for the items carried in your store normally. They can be used to make listings on eBay or Craigslist or be listed on a personal site for sale at a discounted or clearance pricing. This is especially useful when the item has been opened and it is not suitable to be sold as new, but simply discounted or repackaged as “refurbished” for people who do not mind products previously owned but restored.
eBay has become a major buying and selling outlet for unusual, unique and used products and people are willing to pay near retail price and even more for certain popular items. Even if the product has been opened or has never been used, they can fetch a variety of values depending on how well they fare on the auction market. This is similar on Craigslist or other types of classified listings for products and services and can usually be sold at near retail price. These options certainly reduce the costs of restocking and can even bring in more money than they were intentionally supposed to through retail in many cases.
Personal resale on personal sites or directly through retail is possible when listing as clearance at reduced price. Many consumers do not mind having items at clearance pricing, especially if it is usable and has minimal damages. This is even more common when popular products are returned in working condition for whatever reason but cannot be resold otherwise. Small aesthetic flaws can make a product unsatisfactory for one customer, while another customer will only care that the product functions correctly. Having individual listings for used merchandise is also helpful to list what may be wrong with the product and advise potential recipients about these flaws to prevent second or even third returns.
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