How to easily return a defective product back to Amazon
I recently bought a printer from Amazon which turned out to be faulty. In this article I will share with you my experience of how I successfully returned it and got a full refund.
My printer recently went kaput! This happened on the 10th day after I started using it. What were my options:
1. Take it to an authorized service center for repair.
2. Take it to the dealer who sold it to me.
In both the above options, I had to do a lot of running around. Not to mention the money, time and effort that I need to invest as well. In situations like these, I believe, buying products on the internet can save you a lot of trouble in case the product goes faulty. Here's my story:Flashback:
I needed to buy a printer for home for my occasional printing/scanning requirements. The features I was looking for were simple:
1. Print/Scan/Copy
2. Wireless (internet enabled)
3. Low maintenance cost (ink etc)
After collecting fair bit of information on today's printers and browsing a lot of models on the internet, I finally selected the HP 3545 All-in-one printer from Amazon India. At the time of buying, it was priced almost Rs.1000 cheaper on Amazon than on Flipkart and other online shopping portals. This was too good a deal to ignore. I finally placed an order on the 17th April and the product was delivered to me in two flat days. The box was nicely packed and had protection on the inside to save it from bumps and bruises.
I unboxed the printer, connected it to the power socket, configured it to my Home Wi-Fi network using my laptop and successfully took a test print. This was all too easy and I felt happy at ordering this product.Fast forward to the 10th day:
I needed to catch a flight in the next few days and had booked an airline ticket for myself. The airline concerned had sent me a ticket copy that I needed to take a print out of. I went ahead and pressed the power button on the printer to switch it on, and...
Nothing happened!
I try again, and nothing happened again. I checked all cables and connections to realize that everything was in order and it was indeed the printer that, for some reason wasn't powering on. This made me believe that it was the printer that was faulty. Since it was a pretty new product and I had sparingly used it for 10 days only, instead of claiming the manufacturer warranty and getting it fixed, I decided to return it back to Amazon.Return Process
Amazon offers a 10-day returnable window for printers to its customers in India. Infact, it offered me a few days extra over and above the 10 days of return period. Luckily, I was able to take advantage of this on the very last day. Returning a product on Amazon India is probably the most easiest things to do. In just under 5 minutes, I was able to successfully complete the return formalities on the internet. Here's what I did:
1. Logged onto Amazon.in
2. Under 'My Orders', where I could see the printer I ordered, I clicked the 'Return Item' option.
3. It then asked me for the kind of issue I faced with the product. I mentioned defective product and briefly described the problem.
4. It then asked me a suitable date and time for Amazon to come and pick up the printer. I opted for a Sunday afternoon 12:00 - 1500 time frame.
5. Submit
That's about it. I soon received a confirmatory email stating that someone from Amazon will come to my place on Sunday and collect the faulty printer. This was SUPER! Although, their website gave me an option to print a return label that needed to be pasted on the return box, it also stated that it was not a necessity as their representative would anyway bring it with them. All I now had to do was, repack the printer with all its documentation properly in the same cardboard box it came in.
I re-packed all the items that came in the package as they were and awaited Sunday. On the said day/time, I received a call from an Amazon representative exactly at 12:00 asking me if it was a suitable time for him to come and collect the printer. He then came over, collected the printer and left. Within a few minutes, I receive an email and an SMS that the return was successfully completed, and the refund has been initiated. Since I paid for the printer via my debit card, I received the refund within 3 business days. Here are the timelines for other payment methods on Amazon India:
Cash on Delivery: Refund via a paper cheque (10-12 business days)
Credit card: 3-5 Business days
Debit card: 3-5 business days
Netbanking: 3-5 business daysMy Overall Experience
Overall, my shopping confidence with Amazon India has improved after experiencing their return policy. This was an absolute 'no-question-asked' return that they offered me. Unlike a lot of other e-commerce websites, they did not ask me to get in touch with the seller and made sure I, as a customer, was not taken advantage of. Although, I would've easily accepted a replacement from Amazon if they had offered me, the fact that they straight away offered me a refund and gave me a choice of buying elsewhere shows their professionalism. Kudos to Amazon!Positives:
1. Amazon delivered the product and collected it back from me at no extra cost.
2. Easy 5-minute return process on the internet.
3. No-questions-asked returns.
4. Offered me full refund directly to my bank account (other retailers offer money back in shopping vouchers)
5. Offered me 2 extra days from the delivery date to return the said product. (10 days + 2 days after delivery)Negatives:
None whatsoever!
Please note, that this printer was sold me to by a third party, however, I was pretty confident of my purchase as it was Amazon Fulfilled. The return process for products that are not Amazon Fulfilled may be different from my experience above. I am now in the process of buying a printer again, and would definitely buy it from Amazon India. I hope you liked this article, please let me know in the comments section if you have a question and I will try my best to answer them as soon as possible.
Read Return/Refund Policies Of ShopClues
Follow