Amazon UK tightens return policies for international sellers

Amazon is introducing new return policies in the United Kingdom on November 11. International sellers will be required to provide a domestic return address or issue a return label; otherwise, the customer will receive a refund without needing to return the item.

According to Amazon, these new rules are necessary to establish clear guidelines for sellers and simplify the return process for customers. UK buyers must be confident that they can return an item to a domestic address and that return costs will be covered by the seller if such an address is not available. To this end, a prepaid return label with tracking must be provided to UK customers.

Refund without return

Sellers will have four calendar days to offer one of the above return options to UK shoppers. If the shopper does not receive a domestic return address or free return label within this timeframe, they will automatically receive a refund and may keep the product.

After four days, the shopper will receive a refund.

To assist sellers, Amazon is providing a list of international return providers, including Evri, Royal Mail, UPS, DHL, and La Poste Groupe.

Extended return period

Amazon has recently introduced more changes aimed at increasing customer convenience, which require merchants to adjust. The undisputed leader in ecommerce in the United Kingdom, Amazon, recently announced an extended return period for the holiday season. This measure will apply not only to its store in the United Kingdom, but also to its stores in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Belgium from the end of this week: items purchased between November 1 and December 25 can be returned until January 31 or within 30 days of the purchase date (whichever is later).

Tracking policy changes

Separately, last week, Amazon required sellers in Germany to implement changes to its tracking policy. The stricter conditions, affecting both domestic and cross-border shipments, have raised questions and concerns among sellers.