How Do You Handle People Wanting To Cancel Orders.

[billymac814]

I make and sell holsters online and have for a few years now and never had an issue with people ordering and then later trying to cancel but twice this week it has happened and both times I had already started their order. I maintain a posted 8-10 week wait list and almost always deliver on time. Both of these orders are paid for and even ahead of schedule by a little bit, I have not yet refunded their money and part of me doesn't want to but I also don't need someone posting negative things about me either. The one order I can easily resell the other would be more difficult and because of this I really don't think I'm giving him a refund. From here on out I'm going to have a written policy. These incidents are why policy's exist I suppose.

For the one that would be difficult to sell I considered telling him that since its already started that it is too late to cancel but if he really doesn't want it I will assist him in selling it.

FYI the reasoning behind the cancelations is the one guys decided he thinks a kydex one would be better and the other said he didn't think it would be this long so he made "other arrangements" but as I already said this order was or will be finished before the promised date. I don't think these are good enough reasons frankly. In the past I had a few people who had problems with their gun and traded it in and I just refunded them as I didn't start on it yet anyway and I had one guy who said his financial situation drastically changed and he really needed the money he spent, I refunded him and still sent him the holster.

[DoubleC]

I have recently made up a written policy for this very reason. I am the world's worst at collecting money. I have on there a 50% non refundable cutting fee for a custom order and if it's personalized like by initials or a name, that sort of thing, it's 100%. Something like that is almost impossible to sell.

I guess it depends on how much you care about what these two guys say about you and I don't really think they can hurt your business much if you're working that far out. I agree, I don't think either of them are good reasons, so I'd advise you say no. But then that's easy for me to say. Cheryl

[Glendon]

Yep, you're right. This sort of situation is exactly why policies get written out. Personally, I agree. Neither sounds like a particularly good excuse to pull back on a deal. My response would be that once the project is started, the sale is final. You did not say so, but it sounds like one holster is pretty stock and the other is custom in some way, thats why it would be hard to sell I assume? For the more common one, I might suggest framing it in the terms that you would not give him a refund, but would be willing to buy it back from him at a reduced price for the trouble of having to resell it. For the custom one, I would say the sale is final since you would not have an easy time selling it to someone else.

[bluesman1951]

I wonder what Judge Judy would say in regard to the contact and prepayment. If you have honored your end I would refund nothing . I dont deal with fools and in my world there is no such thing as a refund . Bill

[JustKate]

Don't forget to take into account the amount of time that "stock" item spent in your work queue, that you could have spent completing orders for other paying customers. That is also tantamount to lost income.

[camano ridge]

I tell my customers and have a policy, that they may cancel up to the point where I begin construction. I normally try to let my customers know about one week before I begin work on their project that they have reached the top of the list and that I will be starting their project. Once the knife hits the leather there is no refund. If you had put in an email the date of projected completion or had the wait time clearly posted on your web site, then he was aware of the projected completion date and should have contacted you before making other arrangements. I would tell him that upon completion that you will be sending him his new holster, however since the project has already been started no refund is available. I would not offer to help himj seel the holster, in his mind it will then become your responsability to sell it and get him his money. As to the other gentleman he should have decided on kydex before he ordered from you and paid for a custom holster. Just my two cents worth.

[billymac814]

Ok, I think everyone confirmed my thought on it as well.

The hard to sell one isn't a customized or personalized item, if it was i wouldnt even consider a refund, its just an ankle holster which I don't sell many of and its for a model of gun that I don't sell many holsters for, plus a mag pouch for a different model which would sell quickly but combined its about a 200.00 dollar order, and combined with the other order it's 300.00 bucks.

I collect 100% of the payment, mainly because its far to complicated to do it any other way with the amount of items I make. I tried it other ways and it was a mess as well as doubled the invoicing/paperwork portion. I make exceptions on occasions but only for larger orders like a motorcycle seat or something where I'll take a down payment but I don't do many of those anymore.

I'm not really concerned with them hurting my business per se but I have maintained a good reputation and would like to keep it that way and as long as I'm in the right I don't care if they post their experience even if it didn't turn out the way they would have liked. Most normal people would understand and disregard it, those who don't wouldn't be a good customer anyway.

To Bluesman, I'd love to know how you filter out all the fools because I'd say anyone who's in business has to put up with a bunch of fools. Most of my online sales are all good people but I have a shop with a retail location doing a lot of repair work as well and I unfortunately can't prevent them from coming in and the really bad ones I generally turn down if I foresee an issue but I still gotta feed my family and fools money spends just as good, sometimes better!

Thanks for all the replies.

[billymac814]

I agree camano, my wait time is clearly posted on every page of my site and he is a repeat customer so it was no surprise. The only reason I'd offer to sell it is because he's a repeat but I don't think I'm going to mainly because I know it won't sell quickly.

I'd like to be able to notify my customers prior to starting them but it takes up too much time that I don't have, I'm already working ridiculous hours to keep the wait time where it is, though they do get notified when it ships with tracking info. I've thought about making a calendar so customers can gauge where their order is but I haven't worked all the details out yet.

[TwinOaks]

I don't have the internet sales that you do, so my situation is different. I deal with customers mostly face to face. For common gun holsters (1911, Glock, etc.), I have a 50% non-refundable deposit. Period. If I make the holster and they don't want it, but I know I can sell it, I'll refund them their 50%...but ONLY 50%. If its a custom rig, 100% up front, non-refundable.

When we take an order, we have to account for time (layout, construction), and materials. That's time/material that could be spent on other projects, and like Kate said, that's lost income if we don't collect.

[grittyroots]

i always take a deposit for my furniture work. it is usually 50% this should cover my materials and time. if i have bought the material and have started the project i will not refund the deposit. if i have bought the material and haven't started i will refund the deposit less material.

hope this helps

gritty