Page 2 | Buying loads of stuff online with the intent of returning 99% of it

ChocChocPorridge · 19/07/2016 16:39

Boden send a warning?

Well, if they do that to me I shan't bother again. Stuff for the kids I buy a size up so it'll fit eventually even if it doesn't now, stuff for me, I always order a couple of sizes because even from the same retailer the fit can be different.

I can't go and try it on at a shop, so if I can't order a couple of sizes to check what it looks like, it's just not worth it - I'm not going to muck about back and forthing to get stuff in the right size

specialsubject · 19/07/2016 16:40

there's still catalogue shopping with the same business model, senior relative does it as she likes new clothes and can't get to the shops. She doesn't return too much but there are occasional parcels, usually when the retailer got the size wrong.

reallybadidea · 19/07/2016 16:40

Who says it is destroying online retailers? You've made a statement but I'm not sure what you're basing that on.

descalina · 19/07/2016 16:42

I don't order things for the fun of it, but I often order stuff in multiple sizes, or similar items with different colours/prints, and send a good chunk of it back.

This practice is destroying online retail. Retailers can't afford the cost of postage, re-packaging, re-warehousing etc....
Then they need to up their prices to cover it

What do you think? I understand people doing doing it if they are seriously trying to find that ONE outfit. But it's my understanding that a lot of people do it for the 'thrill' and because 'it's fun to get packages in the post'.
I doubt there are more people doing this than go into shops and try stuff on with no intention of buying it.

Nowadays though, companies make it so easy to return things.....it's like a changing room, but at home.
Yes because that's a good sales tactic. It's hard to tell if something fits without trying it on. If I didn't have the option of returning it I'd buy an awful lot less!

Would be curious to know what you think about the morals of it all.
Nothing. They're businesses, not charities. They don't have to offer online sales, free delivery, free returns. They do it because they think it's a good business model!

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 19/07/2016 16:45

Yes who says that?

I recently bought over £350 worth of bras and bikinis from Brastop. I fully had the intention of keeping a couple of bras and a couple of bikinis. However, none of them fitted (more fool me for not going into Bravissimo in the first place).

What am I supposed to do, just hang onto them on the off chance they fit me in the future?! This is the risk that online only shops take when they open. And if you're talking about physical high street shops trying to muscle in on the online business, then maybe they should stick to their original USP if they can't suck up the cost of returns? Or not allow returns? Or not allow free returns?

I'm not really sure why you are putting the blame on some people that make big orders, they are businesses, if they can see something isn't working because of that they should make a change!

youlittlecharmer · 19/07/2016 16:50

I work in retail/fashion, we have shops and online, and 20% return rate is average. Goes up a lot at sale times obviously but yes, it's all planned in and forecasted, which is reflected in budgets etc.

youlittlecharmer · 19/07/2016 16:50

I work in retail/fashion, we have shops and online, and 20% return rate is average. Goes up a lot at sale times obviously but yes, it's all planned in and forecasted, which is reflected in budgets etc.

gamerwidow · 19/07/2016 16:50

Rubbish anyone selling clothes online knows they run the risk of customers returning stuff it's built into the business model.
How can you know what's going to fit or suit you before you've tried if on? I always order loads and keep the bits that look good and return the rest.
If I couldn't do this I wouldn't bother ordering online because I'd be taking too much risk of ending up with clothes that aren't right.
Nothing to do with wanting to receive packages just practical.

foursillybeans · 19/07/2016 16:54

I am not bothered about destroying the online retailers. Life will be a lonely place when shops disappear and we live in a 24/7 online world. Working hours v family time will be completely messed up and we won't ever be able to get it back. We should all think carefully about online shopping and shopping at 11pm regarding the longer term future for our society and for our children.

trixymalixy · 19/07/2016 16:58

Sometimes it's their own fault. For example topshop offers free delivery over £100, so I buy the things I want in a couple of sizes just to be sure they fit making the order over £100 for free next day delivery, fully intending to send most of it back.

If delivery was free at a lower threshold then i wouldn't have bought so much.

TaraCarter · 19/07/2016 17:01

I think the staff of high street stores expanding into online sales also anticipate significant returns.

Let's face it, if you work in management of a clothes store and don't realise ahead of time that people will have to buy several sizes at once from the online arm and return most/all of them, the business is already doomed.

Bonhomie321 · 19/07/2016 17:03

I agree with pp that retailers factor in all their costs, and that these costs are worth it considering many many shops have reduced the number of physical shops on the high street. In the past 10 years, Mothercare and The ELC are practically online only. Most of their outlets have been closed in my area. I resent paying p&p and return costs if I am forced to buy online, and then wait around, or get a card asking me to collect an item at the local sorting office whose opening hours are inside my working hours. I would rather see and pick up items myself rather than take a punt on sizing and quality. I don't feel bad whatsoever when I return carefully chosen items I have bought online, especially if I am 'forced' to buy multiple sizes because I cannot see the item before I buy. I think Next have it spot on, however. Order before 9pm and collect the following day from a store of your choice for free. Perfect. It is the final mile to the customer's address that costs the most apparently, so free store pick up is ideal. If I am charged to collect from store, I will not buy. I do think retailers should offer more incentives to get customers to write reviews to aid online purchasing, advising browsers of quality and sizing. This really does help and should be rewarded.

BlueFolly · 19/07/2016 17:06

You're asking about the morals of it, seriously? It's neither moral nor immoral.

tigermoll · 19/07/2016 17:08

Vagabond, you seem to be...how to put this politely....making a helluva lot of assumptions about widespread practice which is threatening the very fabric of online retailers based on very little evidence indeed.

You say that you overhear conversations about people who overorder with the intent to return the unwanted items and from this you extrapolate:

That this is done purely for the thrill of receiving a package (and then having to box it up and return it to a dropoff point/post office, but never mind)

-That this means that 99% of items are returned

-That as a result of this, online retailers can't compete and are folding.

There is NO EVIDENCE any of this. Online retail is booming. Have you read any stats about this "problem" or is this something that you just worry about with no foundation in reality?

What, apart from a few conversations with a few people, makes you think this is a serious issue?

DollyParsnip · 19/07/2016 17:08

The flipside to this is that it's also making physical retailers dependent on online too - the M and S near me and the one in Bluewater both stock a limited range and, when asked if another size / leg length is in stock, they always reply with "try online". No effort to even see if they have one in the stock room. I've given up shopping there at all as just get the same response.

tibbawyrots · 19/07/2016 17:25

I live 9 miles away from town. Limited bus service. I buy clothes online and often buy 2 of each item to get the one that fits me best, with the intention of returning one of everything that I buy.

It also usually takes me over the level for free delivery, too. Retailers know that customers do this and it's built into their business model.

I sell online (not clothing) and have potential returns built into the costs but returns for me are a very tiny % of my turnover.

665TheNeighbourOfTheBeast · 19/07/2016 18:02

Most of the mass clothing ordering is from inconsistent sizing. Although retailers provide a table of sizes they are not accurate, certainly not on a garment by garment basis. If they were that bothered they could actually provide more unique garment sizing information, or insist their garments fitted fixed measurements..but they don't. So really, if your feeling sorry for themyou, dont, must realise they create the problem by their own inertia.

AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 19/07/2016 18:35

No effort to even see if they have one in the stock room

LOL, why do some people continue to be convinced that high street retailers have vast stock rooms "out the back" somewhere which they just can't be bothered to check

amuses everyone on retail, lots of us go and stand in the staff stairwell for a few mins then go back and say "sorry, we're all out" because people just will not believe that retail floor space is incredibly valuable and new stock gets put out when it arrives ^because the retailers want to sell it all not hide it"

DollyParsnip · 19/07/2016 18:57

I presume your sarcasm was aimed at me? I say this as other, similar sized stores to that of Bluewater (eg Sheffield Meadowhall) do go and say they check their stockrooms to see whether more stock has arrived. What the store assistants actually do with that time is unknown to me as I'm just a customer and don't have anything other than the words of the shop assistant to go on.

AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 19/07/2016 19:00

Customers don't accept "we don't have anything out back" (for some reason, obv think retail space isn't at a premium) so retail staff are often TOLD to pretend to go and look in training to keep bonkers customers happy - there's nothing there!

DollyParsnip · 19/07/2016 19:09

In the past staff have always been very helpful and have managed to find things from "the back" that aren't on the shop floor, especially in the larger stores where deliveries are seemingly endless. Which is why I try to support the high street and not shop online as I think that customer service is invaluable.

HopeClearwater · 19/07/2016 19:22

This practice is destroying online retail.

Proof?

TaraCarter · 19/07/2016 21:15

Adulting I guess the items I've bought after they were produced from "the back" must be figments of my imagination, then?

I think the issue here is that "Retail" isn't one great Procter&Gamble monolith. Different shops, different folks. I guess the stores you work in are efficient and as soon as stock comes in it's put out, and as soon as shelves and racks are emptied they are refilled. However, it is not always so, which is why Dolly and I have had instances where we asked if they had an x in size y in the back when we couldn't find it on the shop floor, and got one!

Onesieisthequeensselfie · 19/07/2016 21:43

There are a few retailers who will offer a refund only if you buy online. If you buy in store they will only give you a credit note.

As a result of being stung a couple of times (including once when I changed my mind literally five minutes after leaving a shop because I found another outfit I preferred in another shop) I now only ever shop online.

HuskyLover1 · 19/07/2016 21:45

Yeh but some people can't get to the shops! I work from home and because of what I do, I literally can't go in to town.

I have a wedding coming up. I ordered about 15 dresses on-line, kept 3 and returned the rest. I had no choice.