to try on a few different sizes but only buy one of them

[marryj]

Nc but regular.

I shop with a certain online store regularly - thousands spent in years. For clothes I often buy a few sizes as I find they vary a lot between brands. Then I usually keep one but send back the others in pristine condition. Nobig difference to a normal shop I thought. But this but retailer has now sent me a snooty email, basically saying they don't want to do business with me and have closed my account.

Aibu?

I had this from a company specialising in narrow fitting shoes. As you can imagine it is very hard to buy shoes by mail order especially if you have 'problem' feet. I always paid for the P&P - cost a fortune both ways to buy and return- and after a while they said they did not wish to send me any more shoes because I returned so many!

I often buy more than one size, and style. That's whats internet shopping is all about!

Read recently that amazon are really keen to grab a larger share of clothing market as they diversify even more, I think they'd probably really welcome your feedback if this is an automatic sort of response.

People buy clothing differently to anything else and need flexibility. Amazon need to recognise this if they want to match an established clothing retailer like Asos (who I think have massively got it right), not reject customers who want to return clothes that don't suit.

Was it Amazon themselves or one of their market place sellers you ordered from? Not sure if it would make a difference, but it might.

Clothing is a recent-ish addition to Amazon, but if they are going to do it they should do it properly and allow regular returns such as this. Otherwise it is like a high street store saying you are obliged to purchase all items you take into the fitting rooms with you regardless of whether or not they fit. Not how the system is meant to work.

TheJoyfulPuddlejumper
WMittens but what if you want a particular brand or type of clothing (plus-size, petite, tall etc) and there are no suitable shops nearby?

I don't know; what did people do for the 234 years between the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the founding of amazon.com?

There seems to be a huge sense of entitlement here - "I can buy and return as much as I want at the company's cost, and they have no right to refuse to do business with me!"

Any business can make an economic decision not to do business with a client - if every single client of a business cost that business money, obviously there would be no business, it would go bust. A client that is a net loss to that business is not a good client, no matter how much money they put in. Some companies I deal with, they will actively decline further business if it makes economic sense to do so.

They probably used catalogues, Mittens.

Online and catalogue stores generally encourage you to order different styles and sizes, otherwise the whole idea doesn't work. Who can buy clothes without trying them on? There's no undue entitlement going on.

How odd. I've always had to pay to return items to Amazon. Maybe it is the cost of returns if you've not had to pay the postage.

Is it definitely a genuine email?

RoganJosh
They probably used catalogues, Mittens.

Wow, I didn't realise they'd been around for over 250 years.

Online and catalogue stores generally encourage you to order different styles and sizes, otherwise the whole idea doesn't work. Who can buy clothes without trying them on?

Erm, that's exactly what is happening - people buy clothes, then try them on. Credit/debit card details have been handed over, the card has been debited, goods have been provided, ergo a sale/purchase transaction has occurred and a contract entered into.

There's no undue entitlement going on.

There is if you think a company, any company, has to do business with you.

Catalogues ( or equivalent) have been around since the colonial period. The Army and Navy store used to mail out across the world including corsets and underwear.

"A few sizes" does seem like overkill. Surely two sizes would be enough?

I agree that it's normal for customers to order more than one item and keep the one which fits. I can imagine an online store getting fed up with someone who repeatedly orders loads of stuff and sends it all or almost all back. I think there's an expectation that, if you order multiple sizes to see which one fits, you'll normally keep one of them. It's not sustainable for them to have customers who regularly order three sizes all in multiple colours and send them all back.

Are you returning via the online returns centre and saying there is something wrong with the item to get free returns? Because amazon pay free postage when they cock up. If you want to return items cos you changed your mind, that's your cost

I was thinking the same thing, TakeMe. I have to pay to return unless it's their fault or it was 'an unauthorised purchase'.

I've never had to pay for Amazon returns, its always been free

does Amazon Prime do free returns?

I think it very rude of them to close your account...

how many things do you send back in an average month?

Jo prime isn't free returns.

An account specialist would have reviewed your account and would have to have a genuine reason for banning. Do you have multiple accounts and frequent returns? Have you got back to them?

I do this because you cant trust sizes these days. Recently ordered 12 black dresses from Very and returned 9. No problem.

Amazon returns have always been free for me but I got charged for one recently - this was after a spate of accidental orders and returns by me. Maybe they have a limit.

I have been known to order £800 of clothes from asos and send all but £20 worth back! It's so handy though...

It would never occur to me to do this, either.