Flipkart makes return policy stricter: All sales final, no refunds

While vendors have welcomed the move, experts say this may alienate customers.
Flipkart makes return policy stricter: All sales final, no refunds
Flipkart makes return policy stricter: All sales final, no refunds
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As the war for the most market share in the ecommerce sector rages on, Flipkart has tightened its return policy for several items sold on its platform. As per a report in Economic Times, while this move will help the company and vendors on board to cut operational costs, it may alienate customers.

Refunds on categories like mobile accessories,, personal care appliances, computer and camera accessories, office equipment, smart wearables and bi-ticket items like mobile phones, large appliances and furniture has been removed.

“Refunds are not offered. All sales are final,” states the return policy for these categories on Flipkart’s website. But it does say that if there is any trouble with the product, Flipkart will first help troubleshoot.

“If a defect is determined within the 10-day period following a delivery, a replacement of the same model will be provided at no additional cost. Only in cases where the replacement product is not in stock or has been permanently discontinued, a refund of the entire product or parts of the product will be provided by the seller,” it says as per the ET report.

As per ET, while vendors on the platform have welcomed the move, believe that this will impact traffic, given the fact that returns were one of the most important reasons why ecommerce became a huge hit in India.

But these policies were also why logistic costs were soaring for most ecommerce players.

However, as per a report by Inc42, Flipkart has denied reports of a change in return policy. The company says that changes have been in place for over a year now.

As per a company statement to Inc42, “Flipkart’s returns policy is extremely customer-friendly and has been fine-tuned over the years. Our customers can do most of the tasks associated with requesting for a refund, directly on the website. There has been no change in Flipkart’s returns policy in over a year. The last time modifications were made to the policy was in April 2016 when the return window was reduced to 10 days from 30 days — a move that was communicated extensively to our customers and sellers at that time.”

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