Packages And Returns

It seems as though there is one package or another that arrives at the office on a daily basis. All different shapes, sizes, and weights. Some business and others personal (especially around the holidays). Also a common sights is the occasional box that is put aside to be picked up and returned to where it came from. I have heard all the reasons for send something back even though I rarely do so myself from wrong size or color to poor quality, wrong item all together, or arriving too late and everything in between.

Every time I see one of those packages heading out the door I can’t help but think about the cost of those returns and how the “free returns” policy isn’t really a free service as those anticipated costs are factored into the price of the object. When I looked into the data behind returns (focusing on the online side of things) I was taken aback by the percentage… in 2013, The Wall Street Journal found that nearly a third (33%) of all online purchases were returned for one reason or another. That is a lot of money spend on “free returns”.

Beyond the money it just seems like a pain in the what to have to go through that process and I tried finding some more information on what impact it has on the retailer. From a recent survey I found the following statistics:

• 54% of respondents stated that the reason for returning an item purchased online or by phone is because the item is the incorrect size or color
• 97% of respondents stated that the return process is important to their future intentions to shop with a retailer
• 73% of respondents who receive an incorrect item after already returning it once stated that they are much less likely to shop with that retailer online or by phone again for future purchases
• 45% of respondents who have experienced continuous return process issues with particular retailers stated that they have limited shopping with that retailer altogether (both online and in-store)
• 26% of respondents expect the correct item to be shipped to them within one to two days after returning the incorrect item

While I rely more on the end cost of the item and tend to put up with these errors, it seems as though I am among the minority. But it makes me think more about the disconnect that many people have from the products they buy while maintaining the “I see it now and I want it now” mentality. While I prefer going into a store and buying the items that I want or need, online is an inexpensive alternative to get the same thing at a much better price. I wonder how many of those in the above survey could have avoided the return had they seen the color in person and determined if something ran large or small while trying it on in the store.

We have to remember that while online shopping is convenience and cheaper, the in-store experience is sometimes worth the ten minutes out of your day and ten cents out of your pocket. Heck, sometimes it is cheaper to buy in the store if you simply talk to the sales person, manager, or owner. That little bit of time can end up saving you a lot of aggravation if not money and if people stop returning so much stuff online it might even drive down some of those “low prices” even further.

I’m Not Dead Yet!

Earlier this week People Magazine posted a well written obituary of Kirk Douglas. It was the kind of tribute that you would expect to read when a Hollywood legend passes away. The only problem is that Kirk Douglas is still alive. I wonder if John Cleese had anything to do with the decision to declare someone dead before they stop breathing. Maybe Eric Idle?

While uncommon, unfortunately this is not the first time that such an error has been made especially in the celebrity sphere. While there was a concerted effort to curb such leaps made in the wake of the Reagan assassination attempt, in an era of the 24 hour news cycle and the ever presence of social media, these kinds of things will almost certainly become more common as time passes. This leaves us asking the question of who is going to be the next person to read about their own demise.

While disturbing in many regards, there can be some good to come from such an egregious error. Mark Twain is the most famous example of the good humor that can come about when one is forced to face their inevitable fate a little earlier than nature or reality has intended. Although, in this instance, no actual obituary was published word spread and Twain eventually found himself on the receiving end of his own departure. Specifically, he is quoted as saying, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."

On the other side of things, some are forced to come to terms with their legacy no matter how good or, as in the case of Alfred Nobel, bad. When it was thought that the inventor of dynamite had departed this world for the next, a French writer did not hold back in his obituary titled “Le marchand de la mort est mort” ("The merchant of death is dead") etching into the mind of the millionaire that he “became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.”

It was this obituary that made Nobel reconsider his life and his legacy. It was because of the premature reporting that he took his considerable fortune and created the Nobel Prize. A bit of misinformation and the world was changed in an instant changing the historical perspective of what many considered a controversial person in his own time.

For now, despite recent rumors and false obituaries, Kirk Douglas, Macaulay Culkin, and numerous other public figure of varying stature as still alive. But, with the inevitable increase of such instances bound to take hold in social media, it makes you think about the changes that could possibly occur as a result of this increased penchant to find the breaking news before anyone else. The question for everyone is, what would your obituary say if you were thought to be dead?