We have another how-to blog post for you today. Our theme: Policies. More specifically the policies you’ll want to include on your store for customers to reference when making a purchase – a shipping policy, a returns policy, and a privacy policy.
Shipping:
Let's start with shipping. When writing out this policy, you’ll want to consider your business model and then answer the questions below. These are just a few main points to touch on. If you can think of more, or if there are special circumstances related to your store that need to be addressed, make sure you include them. Another important piece of information to include on this page is your contact information so that if a customer has questions, comments, or concerns they can easily open a line of communication with you.
- How long does it take to ship?
- What carriers are used to ship the store's orders?
- What if there's a problem with the customer's shipment? i.e. It’s been lost or is delivered to the wrong address. What do you do?
- Where does your store ship to?
There are several ways to write a shipping policy. You can use a paragraph format, a question and answer format (think FAQ’s), or bullet points. All formats work equally well provided they adequately convey your terms. The style you decide on is simply a matter of personal preference and what you feel will most clearly display your policies to customers. Remember: None of your policies need to be overly complex, or full of legal jargon. In fact, it’s best to keep things as concise as possible while still covering the key points mentioned above. This makes it easy for customers to understand. Here's an example of a Shipping Policy for you to look at. Feel free to use it as a reference when building your own shipping policy, however, do not copy it verbatum. Your shipping policy must be specific to your site, your business, and must adhere to your shipping rules.
Returns:
A returns policy lets your customers know that they can (possibly) return an item that they've ordered from your store should it be defective or ordered in error. It outlines a time-frame as well as any exclusions and potential fees associated with the process. It's important that your customers know your returns policy so they are aware of your store's rules prior to making a purchase.
Here are a few points you'll want to include when writing this policy:
- How long does the customer have to request a return?
- Do you charge restocking fees if the product was ordered in error or has been used by the customer?
- How does the customer have to initiate a return? (Check out our previous blog post on Creating a Contact-Us Form so your customers can contact you to initiate a return!)
- What does the customer have to do after they want to return the product?
- Does the item have to been in the original packaging?
- Must they include the original receipt?
- Do you accept returns on products that show signs of misuse?
- Do they have to wait for specific shipping instructions prior to sending the product back to the Merchant?
- Who pays return shipping?
- Does a customer have to send in a receipt to be reimbursed for shipping
- Do you reimburse for shipping all the time, or are there very specific circumstance (i.e. damaged delivery only)
Again, these are just a few points you'll want to touch on in your returns policy, there are many more to consider especially if you’re using multiple suppliers. When using multiple suppliers, as most Shopster members do, you will need consider and account for their policies when building out yours.
Like your Shipping Policy you can write your returns policy in a paragraph format, in a question and answer format or with bullet points.
Important: If your products have any exclusions (i.e. certain products you carry that cannot be returned at all), you'll want to make sure that you've highlighted those in your returns policy as well.
Creating a well fleshed-out shipping and returns policy page lets your customer know what to expect when they order a product from you. It's important to make sure that you cover both the basics of your shipping and returns policies, and any exceptions your store may have. Potential exceptions include products that are crafted at the time of ordering, or products that can only be returned for a refund and cannot be exchanged (like certain clothing items).
If you're looking for a returns policy that you can use as a template, take a look at Shopster's Storefront Returns Policy. While we designed this policy for a previous iteration of our service and it’s no longer applicable today, it’s still a great reference. Please note: While we have no issue with individuals referencing this policy, do not link to it on your storefront. Your returns policy must be specific to your site, and the one above does not account for all the Merchants you can connect with in the Network.
Privacy Policy:
A Privacy Policy is important to include in your site polices as it acts as a trust mark to let shoppers know that you’re a real business (and not a scam). You will need to let people know what you will be doing with their private information, for example do you use it to fulfill their orders and then forget about it, or do you sell it to third parties? You’ll also want to let customers know why you're requesting that they provide their personal information (answer: to fulfill their order).
Some questions you'll want to answer and address in your Privacy Policy include:
- Why are you taking your customer's information?
- Who sees the customer's information?
- Will you be doing anything with the customer's information?
- Will any of the customer's information be shared/sold to any third parties?
If you're unsure of how to write a privacy policy, look at what other online retail sites such as eBay, Best Buy, and Amazon are doing. By getting an idea from a few different sources on how their policies are written, you'll gain a better understanding of the things you should include in yours. The most important thing I can stress about a privacy policy, is that it is not something you can “borrow” from someone else. The people who buy from your site, are your customers and you must tell them how you will be using their information. This is not something that Shopster or anyone else but you can determine.
Good luck and happy selling,
Creating web forms online has never been so easy.
Posted by: formchamp | March 30, 2010 at 01:14 AM