Amazon Shortens Return Period to 14 Days

Anyone who has ordered something from online shipping giant Amazon in the past has benefited from a unique and extremely generous return period of 30 days. This applied to all products, whether clothing, video games, smartphones or anything else. However, this will soon come to an end: from the end of April 2024, the Amazon return period for many products will be reduced to 14 days.

Amazon halves return periods

Ordered a sweater but don’t like the color? Ordered a new graphics card, but you’re missing 5 fps for a smooth gaming experience? No problem at all. Anyone who has ordered from Amazon in the past has benefited from the provider’s unique returns policy. you can return items for 30 days – even if you don’t like them.

This will soon come to an end, as Amazon is currently announcing in an email to sellers. In future, the Amazon return period will be reduced to a maximum of 14 days. The period begins on the day of delivery and is independent of the shipping channel.

This initially affects the following categories, which Amazon notes in the email:

• Cameras
• Electronics
• Office supplies
• Computers
• Wireless products
• Video Games
• Music
• Videos / DVDs

Amazon’s own products such as Echo speakers, Kindle, Fire TV and Amazon Renewed products are explicitly excluded.

The new return periods will be automatically displayed on the details page of each product. Prime customers are apparently also affected, as nothing else is explicitly mentioned in the email.

Once again, this is unlikely to please customers. The streaming service Amazon Prime Video recently caused annoyance, as the subscription is now also being torpedoed by adverts. According to rumors, the free alternative Freevee is even on the verge of being discontinued completely.

Transition period until the end of April

To ensure a smooth transition for customers, the new Amazon return periods will be introduced with a transition period. Between March 25, 2024 and April 25, 2024, returns can still be requested via the online returns center with a return period of 30 days.

From April 25, 2024, the new period of 14 days will apply. At the very least, sellers will no longer be obliged to offer returns. However, sellers will still be allowed to voluntarily take back items even after the 14-day period has expired. However, retailers will then have to pay for the processing themselves.