How Amazon’s return policy changes in Italy

17 March 20242 months ago babelfish

Starting from March 25th, Amazon will revolutionize its return policy: the return period for consumer electronic products will in fact adapt to the rules on the right of withdrawal. Until now, the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos had had far more flexible terms

Among the innovations that the e-commerce giant offers its users is not only the green possibility of having a product delivered to your home without additional packaging. In fact, within a few weeks, the terms regarding Amazon's return policy will change. Moreover, as we will see below, even those have an environmental cost to take into consideration. The details.

IS AMAZON SAYING GOODBYE TO LONG-TERM RETURNS?

The Seattle-based online store has announced that it intends to shorten the return period for purchased goods that, for some reason, do not satisfy the consumer. To be precise, it will intervene within about ten days, halving it. For consumer electronics products (PCs, tablets, smartphones, video games, so to speak) the deadline will therefore go from the thirtieth day of delivery to the fourteenth.

In all likelihood, part of the success enjoyed by the fifth largest company in the world was due precisely to the extreme elasticity of long-term returns: Amazon in fact granted (and for the moment grants) 30 days to return an item without additional costs , provided that the item was at least like new.

AMAZON'S NEW RULES ON THE RETURN OF GOODS

The e-commerce platform founded by Jeff Bezos will implement the new rules starting from March 25th, but a 30-day transition period has already been foreseen (between March 25th and April 25th 2024), during which it will still be possible to take advantage of a now bonus 30-day return window.

It can therefore be said that Amazon's return policy will change, with no more discounts for anyone, from April 26th. To make it easier for customers, the new return period will be displayed on the purchase page of each product. The new rules for consumer electronic products thus conform to the more stringent limits provided for by the right of withdrawal in force in Italy.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL

The right of withdrawal, provided for in article 52 of the Consumer Code , is an additional right that the legislator wanted to place on the consumer who makes purchases outside of commercial premises and at a distance, and therefore also in the case of online purchases.

The rationale of the rule on the right of change of mind concerns the fact that, on such occasions, not only cannot the goods be "touched" but also, according to part of the doctrine, the consumer is not "psychologically ready" to purchase.

Precisely for this reason, while for online purchases the legal terms are, as a rule, equal to 14 days (the seller can grant more generous, but not more restrictive, terms), the withdrawal period is instead extended to 30 days for contracts concluded in the context of unsolicited visits by a professional to a consumer's home or excursions organized by a professional with the aim or effect of promoting or selling products to consumers (see always art. 52 Consumer Code).

In short, it is one thing to decide to independently cross the threshold of a shop because you want or need something, but when one is outside traditional commercial contexts the legislator is convinced that the consumer is less "prepared to purchase" and runs the risk of buying goods or services that in reality you really didn't want (this is why the period doubles in the case of touts: you could accept just to get them away, only to regret it later).

Naturally, like all rights, it is in the primary interest of those who have them to exercise them within a reasonable time, otherwise they expire. After all, if you buy a smartphone, a laptop, or a video game, 14 days are more than enough to develop your definitive conviction to purchase or, on the contrary, to return the good. Keeping it for longer makes the late return a little suspicious…

FEWER RETURNS, LESS POLLUTION?

It is naturally not easy to find a suitable deadline which on the one hand fully satisfies the consumer in developing his own conviction, sufficiently testing the purchased good, but on the other hand does not too much harm the interests of the seller, who for several days has the responsibility sword of Damocles of a possible restitution.

It must be said that an overly permissive policy regarding returns can generate a negative phenomenon: that of compulsive returns. According to Statista , in Italy on average 4 out of 10 buyers return a product purchased on an e-commerce site because they simply didn't need it. And they only noticed it after delivery.

And then there is the environmental issue. Because the ping-pong of deliveries for the same good between consumer and shopkeeper requires a double movement of goods by road, rail and perhaps even by plane. If to all this we add the wasted additional packaging and the fact that to be resold to third parties the rejected good will have to be repackaged "as new" by the seller, we can imagine the environmental cost of a process that can easily take turns motivated by the mere whim.

According to a study by the consultancy firm Optoro, in the United States alone, returns from online purchases generate approximately 5 billion kilos of waste and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. There are no similar studies for the Italian market, but taking Statista's data at face value, we can say that out of 100 online sales there is 40% of 'excess' emissions simply due to returns. Think about it the next time you click on the return button.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia-on-demand/come-cambia-la-politica-di-amazon-sui-resi-in-italia/ on Sun, 17 Mar 2024 15:28:56 +0000.