A large part of the after-sales service of cross-border e-commerce is to deal with various disputes arising during the transaction process. Therefore, it is particularly important to master the methods of handling and preventing disputes.
1. Types of disputes
There are roughly the following reasons why buyers submit disputes.
(1) Non-receipt of goods Disputes caused by buyers not receiving goods mainly include the inability to query logistics information, logistics showing that the goods have been delivered (buyers still complain that they have not received the goods), customs detention, goods in transit, goods returned, sellers privately changing logistics methods, etc.
(2) Buyer’s own reasons
There are many reasons for buyers themselves, among which the most important reason is that buyers refuse to sign for the package. Buyers’ refusal to sign includes justified refusal and unjustified refusal. Justified refusal means that when the goods are delivered to the buyer (including the buyer’s representative), the buyer finds that the goods are visibly damaged or the goods do not match the order, such as the goods are not the same as the order, and the buyer refuses to sign on the spot: unjustified refusal means that when the goods are delivered to the buyer (including the buyer’s representative), the buyer refuses to sign for them without any reason.
(3) The received goods do not match the agreement
The goods do not match the description
The goods do not match the description
The goods do not match the description
2. The impact of disputes
Once a dispute is filed, it will not only affect the buyer and seller, but also affect the buyer’s trust in the platform.
(1) Impact on the buyer’s shopping experience
The impact on the buyer’s shopping experience is mainly reflected in the fact that the goods received by the buyer do not match the description, the received goods have quality problems, the waybill number is invalid, and there is no goods tracking information for a long time.
(1) Impact on the buyer’s trust in the platform and the seller
Due to the buyer’s poor shopping experience, the buyer not only doubts the seller’s integrity, but also indirectly affects the buyer’s trust in the platform, and thus questions the cross-border e-commerce platform, platform suppliers and their products, which ultimately creates a vicious cycle.
(2) Impact on the smooth progress of transactions
The occurrence of disputes will directly affect the smooth progress of transactions. First, there is loss of customers, that is, buyers lose confidence in sellers, and thus lose the opportunity for a second transaction; second, the capital collection cycle is extended, because the funds of disputed orders will be temporarily frozen by the platform, so sellers cannot make normal loans and refunds, which in turn affects the capital flow of cross-border e-commerce stores.
(4) Impact on stores
No matter which platform, if the seller’s dispute rate is relatively high, the authority of the store will be affected to varying degrees. Take Amazon’s “A-to-Z Claim” (Amazon Marketplace Transaction Guarantee Claim) clause as an example. Once an A-to-Z claim is established, it will affect the seller’s performance indicators, such as the Order Defect Rate (ODR) and Perfect Order (POP) scores. The negative impact on the seller is obvious. If the seller does not have many orders, he should be more careful. There may be a risk that the account will be reviewed, frozen, or even closed because of one or two A-to-z claims.