The one of Paul and Rachelle Baron It was a success story: yet another example of how Amazon can boost even the smallest businesses, making it possible to build an empire from a simple, well-executed idea. washable diaper that they designed for their son quickly became a best seller thanks to Amazon’s algorithm, which led to five-star ratings and positive feedback from satisfied customers.
Then e-commerce made a huge mistake, ruining their business and their life. One customer wrote that he received a used diaper and stained with feces, complete with photo of horror attached to the review. From there everything went to pieces. Too bad the two entrepreneurs were not at fault.
Returned Items Sold As New: Does Amazon Check?
Amazon claims to inspect every return before putting it back into inventory and then offering it for sale to other potential customers. But it is clear that things do not always go smoothly: the volume of returns is enormous, to the point that thee-commercefor some small value items, prefers to return the money to the customer without asking for the item back.
Such amount of returned items every day make a thorough check virtually impossible. It can therefore happen that the customer receives a smartphone that does not work. Or a used diaper, as in this case.
The couple promptly notified customer service of the sensational incident, but the e-commerce did not lift a finger, leaving that review remained online for several years. The bottom line? Sales plummeted and the Barons had to go into debt to keep their business open. Now they both work two jobs: the husband consults for other entrepreneurs, while the wife works part-time in logistics.
The Customer Service Wall
Unable to get a positive response from Amazon support, the two entrepreneurs attempted to contact the buyer, who was initially sympathetic. “They explained to me that Amazon handles returns and shipping on its own,” he told Bloomberg. “I had every intention of going back and changing my review, but life is complicated and between one commitment and another I forgot to do so.”
Bloomberg reports that, after contacting him last June for the interview, the customer initially seemed not to even know what the journalist was talking about. He had no memory of the diaper or of leaving a review. Yet his comment was enough to send a company into crisis.
In the meantime, Amazon has partially changed its rules. Now sellers can choose not to accept returned items to be automatically relisted by Amazon: by selecting this option, at least in theory, incidents of this type should not happen again.
In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson explained that the company remembers that incident very well: “Since it happened, four years ago, we have changed our inspection procedures: now we also check the inside of the packages to make sure everything is ok”.
