The return process is a pillar of both Vendor and Customer Experiences. Therefore, it is essential for you vendors to know what is at stake and how you can develop your brand reputation in the eyes of the customers.
In the meantime, Jumia also wants to ensure that your rights are guaranteed in the different return processes.
What are the different types of return?
The return process varies in function of the return reason:
A/ The customer didn’t receive the item because he rejected it at the delivery or because the delivery failed.
B/ The customer accepted the item at the delivery but then decided to return it for those reasons:
– Customer changed his/her mind
– The item is wrong/defected/used/refurbished/counterfeit
As we know the importance to your business of having cash flow and your items returned on time, we promise you that your undelivered items will be returned to you within 21 days from the shipping date or that you will be paid the item value if we cannot meet this promise.
A/ You will receive an email to warn you when all our delivery attempts failed or the customer did not want to take the item.
B/ In the Seller Center, you can check the reason why the delivery failed.
⇒ Connect to your Seller Center Account, click on: Reports → Account Statements → My Dashboard
On the dashboard, check the category “Return delivery” and click on the different status you want to focus on.
Then at the bottom of the page you can see all the items with this status and in the extreme right column there is the reason why this package is “delivery failed”.
C/ The package will be sent to the same VDO where you dropped it. You will then have 7 days to pick it up:
-If you don’t pick it up at the VDO, the package will be sent to the warehouse where you will still be able to pick it up.
-If you don’t pick it up at the warehouse within 7 days, the forfeiture process will start .
If the item is lost by Jumia, or if Jumia is unable to return your item within 21 days, Jumia will refund you (see below “How do I get paid for items breaching the 21 day vendor commitment?”)
A/ Seller support contacts you within a week past 21 days to request an invoice. Send this invoice to the mail address that contacts you.
B/ Invoice should have:
– Tax ID No.
– Item description
– Cost of goods
– Your signature
– Date
C/ Payment would be made within 4 to 7 business days from when your invoice is received.
NOTE: You will not be refunded if there is no invoice submitted within 14 days of notice.
A/ Jumia After Sales team gets the package back. At this step, they accept all the articles with criterias as following:
– Anything that is resalable unless it has a defect or hidden defect
– The returned product must be in its original packaging
– The product has not been used
– No part of the product is missing
– Sealed products
B/ If the default on the item is confirmed (or the item respects all the criteria mentioned above but the customer changed his mind), then the package will be sent to the same VDO where you dropped it. You will have 7 days to pick it up (a mail will warn you).
If the reason given by the customer to reject the item is invalid, the package will be sent back to the customer.
Jumia can also blacklist a customer from buying items. Indeed, if a customer gets more than 5 shipped orders but with a success delivery rate inferior than 50%, then this customer is banned from Jumia.
Make sure that the person that will pick the item is registered as a “picker” in the Seller Center.
A/ Create a new representative in your Seller Center account.
Go to Settings > Manage Representatives
Click on “Add a representative“
B/ Enter the “Name of the representative”
Click on “Save”
C/ Record the representative’s password, this information will not be visible later. In case of loss, the password must be reset.
To maximize customer satisfaction, Jumia accepts product returns in the following cases:
– The product is not the one ordered
– The product is defective
In addition, Jumia has a legal obligation to offer the customer a UPDATE FOR YOUR COUNTRY-day withdrawal period during which he has the right to change his mind without having to justify himself.
However, customers are not allowed to return product from those categories UPDATE FOR YOUR COUNTRY:
– Innerwear, swimsuits, gym wear, sleep wear
– Perfumes, jewelry, health & wellness products, adult toys
– Products shipped from overseas
If the customer returns an item because he changed his mind, the product must be returned in its original condition.
Example: For mobiles, the item must be sealed in its original condition so you can sell it once again to a new customer, if the item was returned unsealed then JUMIA will not accept the item and return it back to the customer.
Here are some tips to help you minimize the number of returns:
– Make sure the description of your product is 100% accurate and correct, so your customers will receive exactly what is described and shown on JUMIA
– Make sure you send the customer the correct product in terms of color, and size
– Make sure your product are genuine (not high copy , nor counterfeit)
– Make sure to pack your items using the packaging guidelines, to ensure that your customer will receive your product in its’ original condition
– Make sure you ship all the products your customer has ordered from your store.
NOTE: For Jumia Express products, see more information on the returns here