Ecommerce firm Flipkart has revised its return policy for buyers. As per the new policy, a customer who has bought a product on Flipkart can now return the product within 10 days. Earlier the return was allowed within 30 days on most top-selling products.
Additionally, it has increased the commission charged to the sellers on the platform. The increased commission rates will be applicable from June 20.
The return policy followed by Flipkart led to additional operational expenses for sellers on Flipkart, as they have to pay for the return shipping.
A spokesperson from Flipkart said, “The revised return timeline is aimed at ensuring a more seamless experience for both sellers and customers to ensure quicker arrangement of products and timely replacement. The new returns policy along with the revised structure in shipping and returns will enable sellers to improve their quality of services while offering them increased predictability.”
Currently, the 10 days return policy is applicable on electronics, mobiles, books, home & kitchen, furnishing, sports items, toys, etc.
The move is in a bid to streamline the return process and to boost seller confidence about the products sold on its channel.
“The standardisation has been designed to encourage sellers who offer superior customer experience and is thus a win-win for both our customers as well as our customer oriented sellers. Our commission and fee structure remains competitive and in many categories better than other market places. Flipkart is closely working with all the sellers to ensure a smooth transition,” said Flipkart in response to a query.
The 30 days return is still available for apparel, footwear, sunglasses, watches, televisions, washing machines, jewellery, etc.
Talking about the move to levy higher commission, the spokesperson said, “The revised structure across shipping, commission and returns will enable sellers to have predictability and better manage their online business.”
Flipkart is also discontinuing the Zero+ Commission Policy. Under this policy, it had stopped charging commission from certain groups of sellers, instead asking them to advertise on its platform for a fee. The policy also barred sellers from charging shipping fee from customers.
Recently in April 2016, Amazon had also increased its commission charged from sellers.
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