marine depot gripe: 20% restocking fee

[Shane Kennedy]

i've ordered from MD numerous times in the past w/ no problems. my
recent $800 order included 3/4" & 1" hose clamps & a LiterMeter
water-exchange-module.

i have some hose w/ 3/4" inner diameter & 1" outer diameter. didn't
know which size to order from MD, so i order both. their 1" was too
large & their 3/4" was too small.

the other LiterMeter item i returned my fault i guess, for not better
researching what i was getting. out of a page long explanation of the
LiterMeter pump, MD had only 1 sentence describing the
water-exchange-module.

i searched their web site & their catalog for a return policy. none
was listed. when i called them, they stated the policy was @ the
bottom of my invoice. not the invoice they email you, but the one
that is delivered with your purchase when it's too late to change your
mind.

the fact that they charge such a high restocking fee & they go out of
their way to hide their policy has left a bad taste in my mouth. i'll
take my future business elsewhere.

after some negotiating, they reduced their restocking charge from 20%
to 10%, then to 5%, then to 0% if i ordered the same $ amount i was
returning & i payed for shipping.

[Pszemol]

The only thing I can say to you is that I have returned many
things purchased in www.drsfostersmith.com and they have
always refunded the whole purchase price (less shipping).

[Toni]

"Shane Kennedy" > wrote in message >
> i searched their web site & their catalog for a return policy. none
> was listed.



Actually it is...
http://www.marinedepot.com/a_info_policy_return.asp?CartId=



--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/reef.htm

[Pszemol]

"Toni" > wrote in message k.net...
> "Shane Kennedy" > wrote in message >
> > i searched their web site & their catalog for a return policy. none
> > was listed.
>
> Actually it is...
> http://www.marinedepot.com/a_info_policy_return.asp?CartId=

I am sorry, but this policy just sucks :-)
Thanks for pointing this out - I will remember
to not order anything from them now that I know...

Unable to accept returns of opened items at all?
20% restocking on unopened items? Ridiculous...
I would understand this for a regular store, where
you can see the product on the shelf, ask questions,
compare to other products on the shelf, but for online
or mail-order store? Returns must be handled with no
artificial barriers like that 20% restocking fee... come on.

Both online stores I am buying from (www.petsolutions.com
and www.drsfostersmith.com) offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
with every item they sell. If you are unhappy with any item
purchased from these stores you just return it for replacement
or refund within 30 days - opened or not, it does not matter.
They even compete with each other in terms of prices - when
I found one item in my petsolutions.com cart is cheaper at
drsfostersmith.com I just put this info in my order description
field and petsolutions always match lowest advertised price
from others. Highly recommend!

And prices at marinedepot are not as much lower to explain
so harsh return policy either... Others can do it with more
easy returns - MarineDepot should be able to do the same!

[Shane Kennedy]

big gay als bigalsonline.com & aquaticeco.com also have no return
charge & will match competitors prices. i read up on the policies of
all my mail order catalogs since marinedepot incident.

[Dinky]

"Shane Kennedy" > wrote in message
om...
> big gay als bigalsonline.com & aquaticeco.com also have no return
> charge & will match competitors prices. i read up on the policies of
> all my mail order catalogs since marinedepot incident.

Not to belittle your gripe, but from a business standpoint, such fees are
sometimes needed.

If customers are made aware of this up front, you avoid people who buy ****
just to copy it and build one themselves, or use it once for a project, or
buy on impulse then ultimately return it. Businesses can lose HUGE amounts
of money this way, and with the economy the way it is (in the US at least)
the profit margin is pretty narrow in most businesses. Someone buys a $200
filter that cost Al $140, then returns it, between the labor and shipping
costs, and his normal overhead, that little exercise cost Al money. You
can't run a business that way for very long, unless your sales volume or
profit margin are large enough to absorb it. While the policy will alienate
some customers, it will discourage the aforementioned customers that Al (and
others) don't want anyway.

Again, I'm sorry for your inconvenience, felt I needed to comment,
though.

b

[Bill Kirkpatrick]

There is some validity in your point, but 20% is often equal
to the margin in the sale. If parts are returned in
re-sellable condition, the vendor gets a pretty good wind-fall.

Sure, order processing costs money. Say, $7/hr for someone
to pack the order, plus the packing. Customer is paying
shipping both ways. So, they buy a $100 pump, find it
doesn't work as expected, and have to pay $20 to return it.

But, your costs to pack were in the low single digits.

If people are buying, copying, and returning, en-mass, it
suggests you are not offering products of acceptable value
to your customers. Why copy if the T&M, plus two way
shipping, exceeds the cost of the product?

So... You have people that make honest mistakes of choice
and are willing to return fully resellable goods. Not like
most sites, or manufacturers, fully disclose their product's
weak points. Why not charge shipping AND handling, and
factor handling out of your prices accordingly? That covers
that.

You have people that buy and break, or buy and discover
damage, and you really can't tell which - and it doesn't
matter - you claim back to the Manufacture anyway. Worse,
you may be causing customers to needlessly break goods in
order to end-run you not so polite 20% fee as a warranty claim.

Buy-copy-return, is a reach. I imagine it happens, but how
does one "copy" a pump, or a CO2 regulator, or a fitting, a
heater, carbon, light bulb, or ballast, for instance? Why
would they suffer the trouble, what can't they find plans
for on the web?

Why not select high-value inventory, easily subject to
replication, and mark those items as returnable for exchange
only? Be real clear about it, on the product page, and I
don't think you'd have the problems you are.

BTW, I don't buy-copy-return. Nor do I willingly buy from
anyone with a 20% restocking fee. If I feel the product was
misrepresented, I demand to return it without being counted
a criminal.

***************************************
Dinky wrote:
> "Shane Kennedy" > wrote in message
> om...
>
>>big gay als bigalsonline.com & aquaticeco.com also have no return
>>charge & will match competitors prices. i read up on the policies of
>>all my mail order catalogs since marinedepot incident.
>
>
> Not to belittle your gripe, but from a business standpoint, such fees are
> sometimes needed.
>
> If customers are made aware of this up front, you avoid people who buy ****
> just to copy it and build one themselves, or use it once for a project, or
> buy on impulse then ultimately return it. Businesses can lose HUGE amounts
> of money this way, and with the economy the way it is (in the US at least)
> the profit margin is pretty narrow in most businesses. Someone buys a $200
> filter that cost Al $140, then returns it, between the labor and shipping
> costs, and his normal overhead, that little exercise cost Al money. You
> can't run a business that way for very long, unless your sales volume or
> profit margin are large enough to absorb it. While the policy will alienate
> some customers, it will discourage the aforementioned customers that Al (and
> others) don't want anyway.
>
> Again, I'm sorry for your inconvenience, felt I needed to comment,
> though.
>
> b
>
>

[Shane Kennedy]

> Not to belittle your gripe, but from a business standpoint, such fees are
> sometimes needed.
>
> If customers are made aware of this up front, you avoid people who buy ****
> just to copy it and build one themselves, or use it once for a project, or
> buy on impulse then ultimately return it. Businesses can lose HUGE amounts
> of money this way, and with the economy the way it is (in the US at least)
> the profit margin is pretty narrow in most businesses. Someone buys a $200
> filter that cost Al $140, then returns it, between the labor and shipping
> costs, and his normal overhead, that little exercise cost Al money. You
> can't run a business that way for very long, unless your sales volume or
> profit margin are large enough to absorb it. While the policy will alienate
> some customers, it will discourage the aforementioned customers that Al (and
> others) don't want anyway.


i agree such fees may be sometimes needed if a business experiences
abuse of their return policy. & i'm -not- trying to say marinedepot
sucks & no one should ever buy from them. but as a customer, it makes
more sense for me to purchase from a business that offers the same
products/pricing w/o the restocking fee.

[Benjamin]

I still use them and can live with the restocking fee. I would be quite a
bit more happy if they did two other things however.
1) Put all the useful details in their catalog instead of the generally
worthless information they have now. Needing to call their non toll free
number to get an answer to a question that should be in the product
specifications in the catalog is just rude.
2) Use an order system that makes their order takers much more accountable.
As it is they have got something wrong on over 50% of my orders and arguing
with them gets me nowhere.
--
--

My Web Site: http://showcase.netins.net/web/reefpage/


"Shane Kennedy" > wrote in message
om...
> > Not to belittle your gripe, but from a business standpoint, such fees
are
> > sometimes needed.
> >
> > If customers are made aware of this up front, you avoid people who buy
****
> > just to copy it and build one themselves, or use it once for a project,
or
> > buy on impulse then ultimately return it. Businesses can lose HUGE
amounts
> > of money this way, and with the economy the way it is (in the US at
least)
> > the profit margin is pretty narrow in most businesses. Someone buys a
$200
> > filter that cost Al $140, then returns it, between the labor and
shipping
> > costs, and his normal overhead, that little exercise cost Al money. You
> > can't run a business that way for very long, unless your sales volume or
> > profit margin are large enough to absorb it. While the policy will
alienate
> > some customers, it will discourage the aforementioned customers that Al
(and
> > others) don't want anyway.
>
>
> i agree such fees may be sometimes needed if a business experiences
> abuse of their return policy. & i'm -not- trying to say marinedepot
> sucks & no one should ever buy from them. but as a customer, it makes
> more sense for me to purchase from a business that offers the same
> products/pricing w/o the restocking fee.