They should not charge for returns at all.
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If itâs the same business, under consumer law they must replace to refund the product.
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I agree, but only if faulty or not fit for purpose. That shouldnât apply for change of mind or if the customer didnât do simple checks, like they didnât measure it using specs and found itâs too big.
I think you want the convenience of being able to return a product in store, you should be prepared to buy it there in the first place. Might make some lazy Aussies get off their backside and shop locally.
Why should it matter if I choose to buy something online vs their physical store if it isnât suitable and it is in condition that it can still be sold. Sure there is an additional cost involved as there is in the physical store. Itâs a cost of doing business. For all online businesses they compete with Amazon in most cases which have a very good returns policy they need to as well if they are to succeed.
I donât think itâs really fair to the local store, who are often franchisees and given they donât get any money from the sale because youâve chosen to buy direct online, but then you expect them to deal with returns?
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Well that is a problem with the management as far as the customer is concerned itâs the same business they donât think it is a franchise or any different management structure. Overall a franchise is representing a brand and are responsible for how the brand is represented . Not accepting returns because it is purchased online gives the brand a bad taste in the mouths of existing customers that will impact their bottom line in the future. So I would argue it is in their interests to accept returns and the franchiser should make the process as easy as possible for the franchise operator to handle such matters.
Perhaps if the parent company is prepared to pay a franchisee a handling fee or some sort of compensation for their time, that would be a workable solution.
I imagine Amazon has to pay newsagents/pharmacies for handling returns too⌠but Iâd be interested to know how often that happens, how much that costs Amazon etc.
If say I operated say a Harvey Norman electronics franchise and I made the decision that I would accept online returns as its the right thing to do for the customer but a different franchise decided it was too much hassle and did not I would not be impressed as that franchise indirectly is taking business away from me and making the customer preceive the Harvey Norman brand negitively. One personâs bad experiences they tell others who tell others and they may post to social media impacting the business more significantly than you would think. Itâs better to avoid such situations in the first place.
Alot of Fast-food places complain about this with platforms like Uber eats, Manu log ect. They make less money via these sales, but they have to be on there to compete. As for everything else. It doesnât matter unless you buy from overseas. Alot of the retailers that are franchises are owned by one or a few people who invest in them. Unless you buy from some completely unknown business that sells something different or provides a diffrent service.
I didnât know My Kitchen Rules did deliveries! 
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Going to be some changes to three of the region group shopping centres including lavington square that im near that hasnt had tlc since its last expansion https://www.shoppingcentrenews.com.au/latest-news/industry-news/region-group-unveils-pipeline-of-repositioning-projects/
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Thatâs good news, i fear the move to online shopping will mean less investment in shopping centres in the future.
The two largest centres here in Newcastle havenât had much done to them in the last 15 years, apart from new dining precincts.
Here a few stores are moving around. Eb games has looked the same for year. They could be moving to a different store or staying in the same spot at the centre. High rent has kicked a few store out though.
Weâve had a few odd store moves.
H&M closed down their 2 level store at Charlestown Square last year, and returned only two months ago 50 metres away in a smaller 1 level store where Rebel Sport was.
And Rebel moved into half of the old H&M space!
Well if you bought online, it doesnât matter to them anyway - you never purchased from their store so they arenât losing business compared to getting a return and factoring that into their daily budgets and targetsâŚ
Or the return goes off the âonline storeâ budget and not impact the stores trading performanceâŚ
My point is the average customer does not know the internal structure of the business all they see is the brand not that the for example the Harvey Norman electronics store at Broadway is a completely different entity to the Moore Park store, they just see Harvey Norman. If they canât return something purchased from online at the Broadway store they associate that to the over arching Harvey Norman brand not the Broadway store. Whether online and the Broadway store are completely different entities is completely irrelevant to the customer and is not a reason to not do the right thing by the customer and accept the return. Whether it requires additional accounting work that is not the customerâs issue.
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Also several posts back talking about returns. I ordered something online a Miele vacuum filter which at the time was cheaper at Retravision online even with shipping from WA to regional Qld.
It arrived after a week or so and was the wrong one ⌠No issues i rang and sent an email and they said keep it and sent a new one out the same day !
In regards to Carlâs Jnr I am not sure why they are keeping them open in Qld . The Rockhampton one has been apparently on the market for years and no one wants it.
Also for some reason Amazon is using Aramex on every order I make now ! It started off ok and the orders were coming in just as quick but I am not sure what is going on in the last 2 weeks (Prime Day Sales ? ) i ordered last Thursday and still waiting from an order from Sydney⌠says delayed .
Last time this happened it arrived on the very last day estimated by Amazon⌠so now it is taking 7 to 9 business days to get something from Sydney to Yeppoon which Auspost can manage in 3 at worst 5 !
I donât think the public at large know that in many Harvey Norman stores, the electrical franchise can be held by a different person to the furniture franchise despite being under one roof.
Harvey Norman have a corporate structure that only makes sense to a very small minority of people (all of whom work at HN corporate)
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