eBay returns 101
In this podcast episode, we’re talking about a topic that affects all online sellers: returns. Our guests are Maximilian Uhlenberg, e-commerce expert and Key Account Manager at Greenworks Tools, and Jeannette Schröder, Business Development Manager for DIY, garden, and patio at eBay Germany.
Both know the topic of returns inside out. That’s why our hosts Isabell Butterwegge and Tino Propp brought them into the studio to clarify some essential questions: What problems often come up in the returns process, and how can you overcome them? How can I implement sustainability in my returns process, and how does eBay actually support sellers on this topic?
Answers to these and many other questions, plus helpful tips for improving the returns process, are available in the ABCs of returns management with Maximilian and Jeanette.
Also back again: the “eBay Trade Overview” with current news from e-commerce and the “eBay Ads Insider” with Stephanie Tschirner, Marketing Manager CSEU at eBay Ads.
**Important links**
**Sources eBay Trade Overview**
- More info on the right to repair
- More info on “What shoppers want”
- More info on the currently most popular products on eBay
*** Chapter markers ***
- 00:00:42 to 00:02:46: Data and facts about returns in Germany
- 00:02:46 to 00:03:59: The eBay Trade Overview
- 00:03:59 to 00:06:35: Return rate of Greenworks Tools
- 00:06:35 to 00:11:29: Challenges for sellers and possible solutions
- 00:11:29 to 00:17:41: Returns process at Greenworks Tools
- 00:17:41 to 00:19:07: The eBay Ads Insider with Stephanie Tschirner
- 00:19:07 to 00:21:58: Sustainability in the returns process
- 00:21:58 to 00:24:53: Partner solutions for logistics
- 00:24:53 to 00:25:17: Final tip from Max
Max: I think that, in general, every customer expects to be able to return items for free. It already puts some customers off at the point of purchase when it says: okay, return shipping has to be paid by the buyer. Above all, people also often expect that they can send everything back within 30 days or 100 days.
Tino: Hello, dear listeners! Welcome to our new episode of the podcast for our sellers and, of course, for everyone who wants to become one. I’m Tino Propp, Category Manager for Collectibles, Toys, and Model Making at eBay Germany, and today I’m hosting together with my esteemed co-host and Seller Engagement Manager, Isabell Butterwegge.
Isabell: Hey, Tino! What a great day for another recording here in our studio in Dreilinden! Today we’re talking about a topic that affects all sellers: returns. A new T-shirt, a pair of sneakers, maybe a new pair of pants that’s currently on sale: in Germany, a lot is ordered online and a lot is sent back too. According to a study by the University of Bamberg, Germany is even the European champion for returns. To give you a few numbers: in 2021, goods worth 99 billion euros were bought online, and one in every four parcels was sent back, either fully or partly. An estimated 530 million parcels with 1.3 billion items were returned to sellers.
Tino: Those are insanely high numbers, Isabel. Why is the return rate so high, especially in Germany?
Isabell: That’s a very good question. The reasons lie mainly in the uncomplicated and often free returns. Fees or cost-sharing are demanded by only one in ten German online sellers. In other European countries, it’s one in two. By the way, 91 percent of returns are clothing and shoes.
Tino: And that naturally makes me wonder: what happens to all the returns?
Isabell: Well, only one percent of returned items ends up in the trash. Which is already very good, I think. More than 93 percent could be sold again directly as new, while the rest is offered as B-stock, sold to industrial recyclers, or donated. Still, returns are a burden on the climate. Returns in Germany in 2021 were estimated to account for 795,000 tons of CO2. That’s about as much as 6.6 million cars emit on the drive from Munich to Hamburg. I keep asking myself: does it really have to be this way? What options do sellers have to minimize returns? And on top of that, the costs of handling returns keep rising. Does it even pay off for small and large sellers? Our listeners will learn all that and much more in today’s eBay podcast episode.
Tino: But today we’re not alone, of course. This is Jeannette Schröder, or as we simply call her: Jette. She is Business Development Manager for DIY and Garden & Patio at eBay Germany and has already held several panels and deep dives on special topics in returns management, such as seller protection at eBay Open 2022, so some listeners may already recognize her voice. She is an absolute expert in this field and has brought exciting eBay insights with her today. Hello, Jette!
Jette: Hello, both of you, and I’m glad to be here.
Isabell: We’ve also invited Max Uhlenberg from Greenworks Tools to join us. Greenworks Tools sells a wide range of devices and tools that make gardeners’ hearts beat faster. Max is a Key Account Manager and an absolute e-commerce expert. He knows exactly what matters when it comes to returns management. So a warm welcome, Max!
Max: Hello, thanks a lot for the invitation: Isabell, Tino, and also to Jette: hello. I’m happy to be here.
Isabell: Max, tell us a little bit about Greenworks Tools. Roughly how many employees do you have?
Max: Worldwide, it’s just under 5,000; in Europe, we’re 50 to 60.
Isabell: And roughly how many parcels do you ship per day?
Max: Right now, in the off-season, it’s 50 to 100 items going out to end customers. In peak season, it’s then 300 to 500 items.
Isabell: And what’s your return rate?
Max: We operate, as you said, in the garden and tools sector. Luckily, our return rate isn’t that high, at around five to ten percent.
Tino: And has it always been like that for you with the return rate?
Max: In the past, we only sold B2B goods, or rather sold to DIY stores. For almost two years now, we’ve had our own online presence, and that’s when returns appeared as a major topic for the first time.
Tino: Jette, as mentioned earlier, you held a session on seller protection at eBay Open 2022. But today we’re talking about returns management. How does that fit together?
Jette: So, in a certain way, both are connected because the buyer or, in this case, the seller doesn’t necessarily have to take back the item 100 percent in a return. They can also offer the buyer a partial refund and thus, for example, prevent a return. Or, when the item comes back, we also protect the seller if the item arrives defective, dirty, or similar. There are also mechanisms the seller can use to, for example, offer an item they could no longer sell as new first as B-stock, or have it cleaned, and at the end of the day offer the buyer a partial refund there too.
Isabell: Jette, after that session there’s always a Q&A. What questions really stood out to you on this topic? Maybe you can share one or two examples.
Jette: Oh, one or two examples... That’s a good question, because there were many questions asked by the sellers there. One was, for example: “How do I even deal with it when the buyer doesn’t actually want to send the item back?” In other words, the buyer initiates a return on eBay, but it’s similar to the case I just mentioned, where the buyer says, I’ve got a scratch on it, and I don’t want to send it back at all. Do I then have to accept it, and does the return absolutely have to go through? Or can I also tell the buyer: “Look, let’s make a deal: if the scratch is maybe in a place that isn’t visible anyway, I’ll give you X percent back.” Stuff like that... And: how do you do that? And that’s where the topic of partial refunds comes in, for example.
Isabell: What are buyers’ expectations these days when it comes to returns?
Max: I think, in general, every customer basically expects to be able to return things for free. It already puts some customers off at the time of purchase when it says: “Okay, return shipping has to be paid by the buyer.” Above all, people also often expect that they can send everything back within 30 days or 100 days, which is of course a big promise and can also create major problems for many sellers, because a 100-day return policy makes it pretty hard to calculate how much will actually be left over in sales in the end.
Isabell: Still, with such flexible return options, I’m basically inviting customers to return things, right? Or is there anything I can do so my return rate doesn’t explode?
Max: I think the approach could start a bit earlier, right in the buying process. If I provide the customer with as much information as possible about the item, then they may not return it because they bought the wrong thing. You also mentioned the return rate in the fashion sector earlier. I think it would also be good there, for example, to say: “Okay, take a photo of a model, describe that model’s measurements, and also what size they wear.” That way you might already avoid customers ordering three sizes at once.
Jette: Max just brought up the images. It doesn’t start with images only or stop there only, but the title — and that brings us to the topic of listing optimization. Title, images, item specifics, and the description are important so the buyer knows: What are they buying? If I only fill out half of it, or only have a little add-on there, then I buy the product and end up disappointed, and then I have the return — as a seller. But if I show everything correctly, I reduce returns, and the buyer is happy at the end of the day. Of course I can’t rule it out 100 percent, but I do reduce it a lot, a lot.
Isabell: We just heard that in the fashion sector 92 percent of all items are returned. And now we’ve just heard from Max that for you it’s 5 percent. Those are pretty big differences. So how does eBay support these different... well, seller challenges, in this case?
Jette: One way we support is, for example, the buyer... especially when I’m new to eBay. Because then I may not yet have the knowledge of how to even initiate a return on eBay. In that case, I always recommend using eBay Academy and taking a look there. There are many, many episodes there. Returns management is one of them. Or if I’ve been around longer and, for example, have booked an account manager or am in one of the eBay Seller Programs and have a direct contact person, just reach out to that person and ask the account manager: “Hey, what options do I have? How can I do even better at managing my returns, or maybe even avoid a return becoming a return in the first place and instead reach an agreement with the buyer?”
Tino: Jette has already talked about a few challenges. Max, have you also had to deal with these challenges already?
Max: Yes, I think especially the topic of partial refunds is a very good one that we’ve already used or had to use more often: when buyers may not have ordered the right thing or had problems with the order. But there are also other challenges, like when a customer sends a return to the wrong address. The customer sees a sender on the parcel and thinks: “Okay, I can just send it straight back there!” Or they look up the business address on our website and send a return to the business address, where, for example, we can’t accept lawn mowers.
Tino: And were you able to find solutions for those challenges?
Max: Yes, I think the most important thing is dialogue with the customers. As soon as a customer wants to make a return, first find out why they want to make that return. Because often you can already find solutions for how to avoid it. For example: we sell battery-powered devices, and many customers buy a device and are surprised that the battery and charger aren’t included, even though that’s stated in the item description, and they may just not have read it properly or looked closely enough. Then we might offer to send the battery and charger afterward at a discounted price, for example, so it doesn’t turn into a return at all. If the customer is still happy with the product, or if the customer wants to send something back: provide them with a shipping label right away so it goes to the correct address. And especially in our internal processes, it’s then also easier to identify the return again, than if a customer creates their own return label and sends it off. Then in the warehouse I often can’t even see: “Okay, who is this anyway? Why is he sending me something back?” and the warehouse worker is actually the one who has the worst of it, because they have no idea what to do with the goods.
Isabell: What exactly does it look like when you get goods back? Could you maybe explain the process in more detail, how practice works for you?
Max: Yes, of course. So if we now talk specifically about eBay, it works like this: the customer first requests a return or requests a refund. We check that, then look at which item it is, when they bought it, and above all what the problem is. So, for example, it could be that the customer thinks the item isn’t working properly. Maybe then we can clarify in a short discussion or brief written exchange how the device works correctly. If the customer still wants to return it, then we create a return label. We assign it a number that we also store in our internal system so the warehouse employee immediately knows: which item is it? Who is it being returned by? And what should also be in this box? When it then arrives at the warehouse, the goods are classified. That means we distinguish between three categories: A, B, C. Category A is goods that we can put straight back into the system because they are sellable and could also be shipped to any other customer as is. Category B would be: “Okay, we need to freshen up the item a bit.” That means if the customer may have used the device once or twice, we still refund the full purchase price. But we try to get it back into a sellable condition as much as possible so that we can sell the item again at a reduced price. And category C would be: “We can’t use the device anymore or sell it anymore.” Accordingly, it is then either disposed of, or we try to recover the individual parts.
Tino: What would that be like, for example, if you get something back but not in the original box? Would it no longer be sellable, or could it still be sold again without the box?
Max: It could be sold again online. But since we also do B2B, or rather sell to regular retailers, they need the original box, because if they put the device back on the shelf, I can’t do that in a gray box; it should already have the original Greenworks box on the outside. If that’s not possible, then in the future we plan to sell it on eBay as B-stock, which is one of our next big projects.
Isabell: So you’ve actually developed a real process for handling returns. Jette, would you advise sellers to think about the returns process before selling on eBay? So, I’m thinking now from the perspective of a seller who is just starting out, maybe still toying with the idea of founding a business: should they deal with returns before selling?
Jette: In my view, yes, because returns management is a key point in the buyer experience. So it’s not just: I buy the item and get it and am happy at the end of the day, but also: If I’m not satisfied, what’s my experience with the return? I send it to the seller, the seller maybe doesn’t reply or doesn’t send the money back to me right away. All of that are bad experiences in a certain sense, if we’re being really honest. But if I have good shipping of goods to the customer and can also handle the return shipping really well as a seller, then I always have a customer who still comes back. It doesn’t just mean that because they send a return, they won’t buy from me again, the buyer or customer at the end of the day. And then maybe it also depends on what kind of product it is. Is it fashion? Is it DIY? So: garden, patio, or home improvement. A cordless drill is easier to handle than “I buy five pairs of pants and realize all five don’t fit because I bought them too small.” A seller who wants to start fresh can use eBay Academy at any time. There are many, many topics there around “How do I get started on eBay and, of course, returns management?” Just a little note on the side.
Tino: And we’ll also link eBay Academy again here in the show notes.
Isabell: Another topic that is becoming increasingly important is sustainability. How can sellers become more sustainable in the area of returns as well?
Jette: Exactly, Max already said it well just now: everything that comes back as a return... if, for example, the box is no longer original because it’s been torn up so badly that I can’t use it as a seller anymore, we do have our Refurbished program on eBay, where sellers or brands can get certified. So there are different item conditions that can be used there, like ‘certified refurbished’ or ‘good refurbished,’ for example, and then there are certain criteria a seller can — or should — meet in order to offer those conditions. And here there’s the option to put this product, let’s take the cordless drill I already mentioned, for example, into new outer packaging. As a seller or brand, I check again whether the product works, whether the battery works 100 percent, and then I can list the product with us directly.
Tino: Max, you already mentioned B-stock earlier too: how do you implement the topic of sustainability in your returns process?
Max: Yes, I think I should briefly say something about what you mentioned earlier: I think the returns process is already optimized for us now. Of course, it wasn’t always like that. It took an eye-opener to get there. So two years ago, when I started at the company, I visited the warehouse and found almost 35 pallets of returned goods there, and nobody knew what to do with them. They were just lying around. That means: this is also a topic that keeps growing and that you have to address, as I said. We approach sustainability in the sense that we recognized: okay, this goods could appear in a sellable condition again if we have it repaired. After that, we talked to our warehouse service provider, who now keeps 15 employees available for us, so to speak, who can repair goods when they come back. Even if it’s a device that was used for half a year, for example, we can now repair it and then sell it again at a reduced price, which means, for example: okay, we give 50 percent off already used items that are in a condition where we can responsibly sell them again.
Tino: Max, and what percentage of returns are later resold as B-stock?
Max: Yes, that’s hard to estimate now. I said we have 5 to 10 percent returns. I’d estimate we can still resell half of that as B-stock. At the moment, that’s being resold to resellers; in the future, though, we plan to sell it ourselves on eBay.
Tino: Jette, now we also have partners for logistics solutions at eBay who can make returns management easier. When does it make sense to consider a partner like that?
Jette: That’s a good question, as they say. It varies. It always depends on the seller, how big they are, how structured they already are, or whether they have their warehouse in Germany, for example. In Max’s case, I know they used one of these partners. But maybe Max can say something about that later. And sellers also like to use it during peak times, especially during, for example, Cyber Week. Or when peak season is coming up and you don’t have such a large warehouse or know that there can be a lot of sales. To handle that workload accordingly, people then use the partners during peak times, but not throughout the whole year.
Isabell: And would you recommend the partners to small sellers too, or rather only from a certain size onward?
Jette: Especially for smaller sellers, it’s particularly interesting with the background that they don’t have to — I’ll make it really small now, for people just starting out who maybe aren’t shipping 500 to 1,000 parcels a day yet, or maybe 200 — precisely for them it’s interesting: they can store the parcels or store the products. Then you don’t go to the post office with every parcel and drop it off; instead, you have the partner who ships it — or sends it, in this case — and if you want, you can even start shipping parcels worldwide or across Europe right away. So you have different options, maybe, than if I did it on my own. Of course, and this always has to be said, it depends: how do I want it, how do I want to get started, and how is my business generally set up?
Isabell: And which partners exactly do we have at eBay now?
Jette: I did my research beforehand. We currently still have, and this is listed so nicely on our help pages, especially in the seller portal as well. We have Packlink, for example, which you can work with, we have Orange Connex, and we have FIEGE, with whom we currently work, and as I said, you can also find all the information about this in the seller portal.
Isabell: And we’ll definitely put the link to that in the show notes too. Max, Jette just teased it: you also use one of these logistics solutions, right?
Max: Exactly, we chose Orange Connex last year. That helped us extremely, because with Orange Connex we were able to ship items within one day, which automatically gave the listings a little boost. We ranked higher in searches, the items were more visible, and you also get the eBay Plus badge if you make one or two other settings, for example by setting return shipping to free, and that made our items much more visible and definitely gave us the first big uplift.
Isabell: Unfortunately, we’re already coming to the end of our episode. Max: do you have a final tip you’d like to share?
Max: I think returns are like the recycling cycle: first, you should try to avoid returns. Second, you should recycle them. And only as a last possible resort should you dispose of them, so that you handle returns as sustainably as possible.
Tino: And as you probably know, at the end of the podcast we ask our guests what they last bought on eBay. So, dear Jette, what did you last buy on eBay?
Jette: The very last thing I bought was a 30-kilo sack of birdseed for the birds, for the wild birds that always sit in our birdhouse and need something to eat now and then.
Tino: And did you keep it or send the item back?
Jette: Of course I kept it. I’m someone who rarely or never sends things back, because as a rule I know what I have or what I bought or what I need. And for that reason, I’ve always been happy with the product so far, knock on wood: whether it was a cordless screwdriver or a chainsaw, everything was fine, and at the end of the day I was happy.
Isabell: Very exemplary! And Max: what did you last buy on eBay?
Max: I bought a new chessboard the day before yesterday that was actually supposed to arrive today, but since I’m here, I changed the delivery day to tomorrow.
Isabell: And what did you last sell?
Max: During my last move, I sold a Wi-Fi repeater that I no longer needed.
Isabell: And was it returned, or...?
Max: Since I sold it as a private seller, it couldn’t be returned.
Tino: Very nice. That brings us to the end of our eBay podcast episode on returns management. Thanks for the helpful tips for our listeners, so they can improve their management in a targeted way or — if needed — use our eBay partner solution.
Jette: Thank you so, so much. I’d love to come back. I really enjoyed it.
Max: Thanks for the invitation, I really enjoyed it a lot, and hopefully until next time.
Isabell: Yes, dear listeners, we’re always happy to receive your feedback. You help us improve eBay as a marketplace — and of course our podcast too. Feel free to write to us in the eBay Community and tell us which of Max’s tips helped you the most and what hurdles you ran into with returns management. And of course, how you solved them.
Tino: If you also have any questions for Jette or Max, you’re welcome to send them to us via the eBay Community as well. We’ll get back to you with an answer as quickly as possible. Don’t forget to leave us a subscription or a like wherever you’re listening to us right now: that helps our podcast grow, and with that: bye and see you next time!
Isabell: Bye!
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4 comments
miriam@ebay
Thank you for your openness and for sharing your feedback so honestly with us, @dorth0. I can very well understand how you feel, and I’ve now added a voucher to your eBay account to compensate for the shipping costs. Please note the voucher terms and conditions before redeeming it 🤗.
We apologize for the negative buying experience; next time, the process will definitely go smoothly again 🙂.
Kind regards
Miriam
dorth0
·2 years agoSee attachment.
What annoyed and angered me – the seller’s standard reply 4 times, who did not take my replies into account and did not bother to check his incoming mail for goods.
Note: the eBay help on the topic was also worthless; a direct contact to eBay with a detailed description of the problem is apparently not intended.
Sent from Mail<> for Windows
miriam@ebay
Hello @dorth0 and thanks for your comment! I’m sorry to see that you haven’t received your money back for the returned item yet; we’re happy to help here.
At this point, we can’t trace the tracking number for the return shipment of the pants in the return case. So I’ve sent you an email, and please reply with the tracking number. As soon as we can confirm successful delivery to the stored return address, we’ll initiate the refund for you 🙂.
Kind regards
Miriam
dorth0
·2 years agoResult for me: goods paid for, the too-small pants sent back, exchange for a larger pair agreed, no replacement received. Picture of the parcel and postal receipt with tracking number sent to the seller, communication 4 times with the same reply each time Dear buyer, I deeply regret the inconvenience. We have not yet received the item, but I will check it again tomorrow in our warehouse in case one of my colleagues found it and forgot to record it.
Women's jeans shorts destroyed Bermuda stretch hotpants denim short pants (No. 194750375334)
Seller does not respond, eBay does not respond to it either, t