Clicked, bought, delivered. Online shopping makes shopping easy. But not everything that is acquired in this way pleases. It must then be sent back. Amazon and DHL now want to simplify things: with returns without a box.
There is almost nothing on the Internet that does not exist. Consumers often find what they are looking for at the online mail order company Amazon. The way to get hold of the desired thing is very simple. A corresponding amount is also ordered. If you don't like the goods, you can generally return them within a two-week cancellation period when you buy them online. It's also practical that returning items that you feel don't fit to Amazon is usually free of charge.
It's just stupid that you can't just put the hair dryer you bought as a bald head on a shopping spree on the next mailbox, which is then returned to Amazon as if by magic and you have the money for the bad buy back in your account promptly. No, online trading hasn't got that far yet.
But the matter with the returns is at least easier. At least if you can believe reports from the online portal Paketda. According to this, Amazon customers can hand in unpackaged returns to DHL from October 10th. An additional shipping carton is not necessary; the normal product packaging is sufficient. In addition, customers do not have to print out a parcel label. Because the DHL label is printed out directly on site using a QR code that the customer received by email from Amazon when ordering the return.
This makes things easier for those who, in their impatience, tore up the original box when the goods were delivered or otherwise made them unusable. The simplified return without a box should take place as follows: In the DHL parcel shop, the employee puts the goods in a paper bag and attaches a label. For label printing, the customer receives a QR code from Amazon, which must be presented in the DHL shop. The paper bags with the returns are collected in the branches for up to 7 calendar days and then sent to the Amazon returns center.
However, the procedure is not entirely new: the online mail order company has been offering unpackaged returns for two years with the courier express parcel service UPS. But it is not as widespread as DHL, which means that many more customers should enjoy the relief provided by the new service.
But this will not apply to all products. If the new procedure for a hair dryer is still conceivable, there should be problems getting it into the paper bag with a washing machine or fridge-freezer combination. Accordingly, the following applies: If a product is too large or too heavy for the shipping bag or is also sensitive to impact or fragile, Amazon will continue to require a classic return with additional outer packaging.
It is still unclear when Amazon will refund the purchase price. This would be possible either immediately upon delivery of the goods to a DHL branch (as has sometimes been done up to now) or only after receipt at the returns center. It is also unclear whether the DHL branch operators will receive more money from the online giant for the work they do for the customer. Or whether returners and other DHL customers will soon have to prepare for longer waiting times due to the additional work for the employees.
It remains to be seen when, whether and under what conditions returns can actually be handed over to DHL unpackaged. A corresponding request from ntv.de to Amazon has so far remained unanswered.
(This article was first published on Friday, September 02, 2022.)
