Taco Fatigue Sets In Among Americans, So Taco Bell Turns Elsewhere

Investors expect so much from publicly-traded companies. Specifically, they expected sales at the same store to increase 5.9% over last year across the Taco Bell chain, and they only increased 4%. The rest of Yum Brands depends on Taco Bell, but has the company finally reached Peak Taco?

Well, specifically, in the case of Taco Bell, we’d have to call it “Peak Thing Folded In Half And Referred To As A ‘Taco’ For Some Reason.” The company has folded waffles, biscuits, and chicken patties in half and stuffed things inside.

Taco fatigue

These new ideas proved successful, but now even Taco Bell must face the same problem as other restaurants. Groceries are cheap, and supermarkets even offer prepared meals that are more affordable than going out to eat.

Americans may have finally become tired of infinite variations on the taco. That’s why the company is increasing its international restaurant fleet, expanding to new countries like the Netherlands. The company even opened its first standalone Taco Bell in Canada in 20 years, which is impressive.

Taco Bell is opening hundreds of new restaurants in each of the countries where it does business, with a goal of reaching 9,000 locations worldwide in the next five years.

“The team is working diligently to bring the cult of Taco Bell to everyone across the globe,” Keith Seigner, Yum Brands’ vice president for investor relations, said on this week’s quarterly earnings call.

Cult?

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

If You Don’t Have Your Alfred Angelo Dress Yet, You’re Not Getting It: Here’s What To Do

Last month, wedding and special occasion dress maker Alfred Angelo filed for bankruptcy and abruptly closed all of its stores, with some customers’ dresses still inside. The company’s bankruptcy trustee has now announced that if customers haven’t yet received their dresses, they never will.

“Logistical and financial strain”

“While we have been successful in obtaining customer records and delivering many dresses and accessories for customers all over the country, even after the bankruptcy filing date, it has now become apparent that the logistical and financial strain of fulfilling each and every open order makes continuing that course of action no longer possible,” the bankruptcy trustee said in a statement on what used to be the company website.

The financial strain that the company’s under is considerable. We’ll be digging into the paperwork more later, but in its bankruptcy petition filed in federal court [PDF], the company said that it has $3.9 million in money and personal property (like office supplies and business equipment) and $78.3 million in debt.

How to get your money back

The company is asking any customers who made payments and are still waiting for their dresses to file as creditors in the bankruptcy proceedings.

Don’t do that first, especially if you’ve ordered your dress in the last few months: It could take a very long time to get money from the bankruptcy proceedings, and unless the court takes special action to put customers at the front of that line, the secured creditors will be paid first.

Instead, figure out what method of payment you used. If it was a credit or debit card, contact your bank to find out what your options are for reversing the charges. This will differ according to your bank and card type. (When you’ve completed this process, let us know how it went, whether your request is approved or not.)

If you ordered from a boutique that’s an Alfred Angelo wholesaler, check with the store about what to do.

Maybe promising news for future brides

If your wedding is farther out, we wouldn’t be surprised to see giant sample and liquidation sales of dresses that were waiting to be shipped and current inventory from the Alfred Angelo stores that closed. The company lists millions of dollars’ worth of raw materials for gowns and finished gowns among its assets, and those will have to be sold somewhere.

Customers who were waiting for their dresses now, though, are not very happy about the news. People are also deploying social media to match gently used bridesmaid and wedding dresses with orders that will never be filled, using the #dressmatchmaker hashtag.

@AlfredAngelo has filed for bankruptcy? Dream wedding ruined. Officially never getting married

— H♥ (@LatsuHarmony) July 31, 2017

How can you do this to innocent brides who trusted you,gave you their money?!You knew all along & still took $$ You owe me $$ Just wrong

— Tawnya Walton/Snyder (@PRtawny) August 1, 2017

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

American Airlines Strands Reporter At Airport For 24 Hours, Forcing Her To Subsist On Soft Pretzels & Licorice

In what sounds like a terrible idea for a Chopped spinoff, a reporter says she’s had to subsist on a diet consisting solely of snack food after various American Airlines delays trapped her at the airport for more than 24 hours.

Diana Mastrull of The Philadelphia Inquirer arrived at the Philadelphia airport on Wednesday morning, bright and early, headed for Los Angeles.

As of Thursday afternoon, she’s still in Philly, all because of a series of problems: Her first flight had a mechanical problem, delaying the flight. Then a part was found, but there wasn’t anyone to install it — stuck again.

“More waiting,” she writes. “A lunch of soft pretzels, trail mix, licorice, and chocolate bark.”

Sure, a soft pretzel is a fine snack, but that combination of menu items is more indicative of a culinary challenge than a real meal.

While they were waiting for someone to install the part, a storm blew in, stopping all traffic in and out of the airport. And then, even after the weather cleared, there was no pilot available, prompting American to roll out carts of food including actual sandwiches.

In the meantime, the customer service line grew:

A customer service wait 3 hours long @AmericanAir @PHLAirport @phillydotcom Flgt 597 11 hrs late departing & counting http://pic.twitter.com/ReJBF0uDrj

— Diane Mastrull (@dmastrull) August 3, 2017

Though American told travelers that they would be getting a new aircraft to take them to California on Wednesday night, ten minutes later that flight was canceled.

Mastrull was able to work with an airline customer service rep who booked her on a Thursday morning flight to Austin, where they could get a connection to L.A. This morning, however, that flight was also canceled.

Finally, she and her family were rebooked to L.A., and are slated to take off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Whether or not that actually happens, we’ll have to stay tuned. Bring on the licorice!

@dmastrull Diane, our apologies for the long wait last night. We see you've been rebooked for today. Please follow and DM your contact info.

— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) August 3, 2017

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Maybe We Don’t Need To Take So Many Prescription Drugs

Do you take any prescription drugs? If so, you’re in the majority in this country. Drugs are life-saving or life-lengthening interventions most of the time, but can also interact with each other and cause further health problems.

Our colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports took a nationally representative phone survey of adults, and found that most people are on multiple medications, yet haven’t had all of them reviewed by a health care professional, and that different prescribers that we see may pile on more drugs instead of trying lifestyle interventions that may work as well or better without side effects.

Saving lives and money, maybe

Last year, CR reports, 1.3 million Americans visited the hospital because of adverse effects from medications, and 124,000 died as a result of medications that caused severe side effects or interactions. Yet patients rarely think about this. And despite the fact that there are computer systems designed to catch serious interactions, these don’t always work.

Taking too many prescriptions can also be very costly for patients and for insurers. One market research company, MS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, estimates that medications that people don’t need and medical care for the complications that result cost $200 billion every year.

“Pre-disease intervention” can lead to excess medication

Providers may prescribe drugs to treat chronic conditions before patients have officially developed them, like diabetes and hypertension. Yet these patients have prediabetes or prehypertension, which means that the disease hasn’t yet developed, and patients may be able to reverse them through diet and exercise.

While you should make sure to discuss your own issues with health care professionals, CR flagged a few conditions that can often be helped with weight loss, changes in diet, or other lifestyle changes before trying prescription drugs.

Conditions like insomnia and heartburn may also have other answers before adding prescription drugs to your regimen.

Brown bag it

One exercise that may be helpful, especially for people who are taking ten or more different medications, is what’s called a “brown bag review.”

That’s when you throw all of the drugs and supplements — prescription and non-prescription — that you take into a bag and review them with a doctor or pharmacist to see if perhaps you can stop taking any of them. Your doctor will help you safely stop taking any medications you don’t need or that interfere with others, gradually decreasing the dose if needed.

Consider these tips to manage your drug regimen:

• Have a review with a doctor or pharmacist once a year of everything you’re taking.

• Don’t cut the dose or stop taking a drug without checking with your doctor first.

• Make sure that all of your health care professionals have a list of the medications you’re taking, and that the person who is your emergency contact also has a list in case of a health care emergency.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Women Accused Of Stealing $69K Worth Of Cosmetics From 32 Walgreens, CVS Stores

How many CVS and Walgreens locations do you have to steal lipstick, eyeshadow, concealer, and other beauty products from in order to get to $69,000? According to the Miami Dade Police Department the answer is 32.

WPLG in Miami reports that four women were arrested on a slew of charges after they allegedly stole more than 6,000 cosmetic items from local Walgreens and CVS stores over a four-month period.

Officials with the Miami-Dade Police Department say three of the women were responsible for 32 thefts at the stores between April and July. The alleged thefts occurred when the women would enter and stuff their purses with the beauty items.

Each theft allegedly involved between $300 and $1,100 in cosmetics, CBS Miami reports.

During the investigation, police identified a fourth woman, who they claim was purchasing the stolen cosmetics from the women and then reselling them for a significant markdown, often at her home.

When police executed a search warrant on the fourth woman’s home, which they believed served as a “fencing operation,” they found the woman in the middle of a transaction involving lipstick.

Read More: Dumpster Diving For Beauty Products: Is It Legal And Safe?

In all, police tell CBS Miami they found 6,982 cosmetic items valued at $69,368.63.

The three women accused of stealing the products were arrested on multiple grand theft charges, while the fourth woman was arrested for dealing stolen property, WPLG reports.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Lawsuit Claims Airbnb Failed To Properly Vet Host Who Allegedly Assaulted Guest

An Airbnb guest accused the company in a new lawsuit of negligence by failing to protect her by performing a thorough background check on a host, who she claims later sexually assaulted her.

The New York Times reports that the lawsuit, filed by a former Airbnb guest, accuses the company of negligence in failing to properly screen hosts.

That failure, she claims, resulted in a California host sexually assaulting her in July 2016.

The Alleged Incident

According to the lawsuit, the woman had rented a studio apartment in Los Angeles that was attached to the man’s home.

The woman said she booked the room for a month after finding that the man was listed as a so-called “Superhost” because of previous reviews on the site.

After arriving at the property, the woman said the man’s behavior made her uncomfortable, noting that he allegedly made sexually suggestive comments, used drugs in front of his child, and pounded on her windshield.

She left after just three nights.

However, she says she returned a week later to retrieve items she had left in the still-rented room. At that point, the lawsuit claims, the host said he wanted to show her something in the studio apartment.

The woman contends that the man then locked the door to the room after she followed him in. The suit then claims the man forced her into a chair and began masturbating in front of her. As she left the scene, the man allegedly reminded her to leave him a good review on Airbnb, the suit states.

The man has denied the assault took place, the Times reports.

Airbnb Reaction

A rep for Airbnb tells the Times that the woman contacted the company a month after the incident and it immediately removed the host from the site.

“We supported her right away and took him off our platform,” Nick Shapiro, the company’s global head of trust and risk management, said.

Despite this, the woman says the company could have, and should have, done more. Specifically, she claims that Airbnb should have done a more thorough background check on the man.

If that had occurred, the suit claims, the company would have found that the man had previously been arrested and charged with battery.

The Times notes that the man was never convicted of a crime, but was referred to an anger management program after the previous arrest.

Shapiro tells the Times that he couldn’t comment on the man’s background, but noted that a check by the company found he had no prior convictions.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Marijuana Company Turning Entire Town Into Pot Tourism Destination

If the idea of a marijuana-friendly town gives you an anticipatory buzz, you may consider taking a trip to California, where one municipality is slated to become one big pot tourism destination.

Recreational marijuana will be legal in California as of Jan. 1, and in an effort to take advantage of the impending green rush, American Green Inc. — a company that makes cannabis products like body balms, pet treats, and mints — has purchased the entire town of Nipton for $5 million, Bloomberg reports.

The goal is to turn it into a weed-friendly tourism spot over the next 18 months by using some existing structures and building others, all powered by renewable energy.

For example, a new facility will make water infused with Cannabidiol or CBD, which doesn’t make you feel stoned but is believed to have medical benefits. There are plans for edible marijuana products, retail stores, and even artist-in-residence programs as well.

Greenwashing the town will not only appeal to travelers looking for a buzz and revitalize the area, the company says, but the hope is that others will follow suit.

“We thought that showing that there was a viable means of having a cannabis-friendly municipality and further making it energy independent could be a way of really inspiring folks to say, ‘Why can’t we do that here?’” project manager Stephen Shearin told Bloomberg.

American Green also recently launched smart vending machines — an idea we first heard about back in 2014 — that it says uses biometrics to ensure only people of age are purchasing

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Health Insurance Telemarketer Faces $82 Million Fine For Illegal Robocalls

A health insurance marketing company that allegedly placed more than 21 million illegal automated phone calls, interrupting the enjoyment of Modern Family reruns for Americans everywhere, now faces fines in excess of $82 million for violations of the Truth In Caller ID Act.

At the core of today’s FCC action is the practice known as “spoofing,” which is when you disguise your outgoing number so that the recipient of a call does not see your real number or other information. There are several legal, justified reasons for spoofing, like making anonymous tips to law enforcement or the media, or hiding the actual location of someone hiding from a stalker or abuser.

But the Truth In Caller ID Act prohibits anyone from spoofing caller ID information “with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.”

According to the FCC, a North Carolina man named Philip Roesel — the owner of a company called Best Insurance Contracts, doing business as Wilmington Insurance Quotes — is believed to have made millions of automated “robocalls” for the purpose of selling health insurance, and that he falsified his called ID information to hide the real source of the calls.

Like a recent FCC action against a robocaller accused of impersonating TripAdvisor and other legitimate businesses, Roesel’s alleged deluge of unwanted, automated calls caused interference with an emergency medical alert network.

Spōk, a company that provides medical paging services, alerted the FCC in Dec. 2016, that its network was being disrupted by robocalls. Pager systems are generally not equipped to handle voice calls, so when a robocaller’s machine starts blasting out calls to random pager numbers, it can cause interruptions in this vital service.

The FCC says that the information provided by Spōk helped lead investigators to Roesel, and that they were ultimately able to verify that he’d made 82,106 insurance-related robocalls using false caller ID information. The Commission is now proposing that Roesel be fined $82.106 million — that comes out to $1,000 per verified incident.

But those 82,106 calls account for less than 1% of the 21.5 million calls that the FCC believes Roesel was responsible for. According to FCC Chair Ajit Pai, this operation was making around 200,000 automated calls each day over a three-month period.

“Perhaps worse is the gall [Roesel] evidently paired with his gumption,” said Pai at this morning’s monthly open meeting of the FCC commissioners. “The record shows that he instructed his employees which consumers to pick on: ‘the dumber and more broke the better.’ He was even quoted as repeatedly bragging and ‘joking’ to co-workers that his actions were minor legal violations, akin to driving above the speed limit.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Facebook Changing Its News Feed Again, Here’s What To Expect

Facebook is continually updating its Newsfeed algorithm and what users see, from testing auto-play ads to reducing clickbait. Now, the social media behemoth is at it again, this time giving pages that load faster higher priority in your feed and offering fact-checked articles when false news articles are posted. 

The changes come as Facebook’s latest attempt to not only improve the content users see when they log-on, but make it faster.

Fast Loading, More Prominence

Facebook announced in a blog post today that it will begin showing stories that link to faster loading webpages.

“We’ve heard from people that it’s frustrating to click on a link that leads to a slow-loading webpage,” Facebook engineers Jiaya Wen and Shengbo Guo wrote, noting that the company’s research shows that if users have to wait too long for a page to load, they’ll abandon it.

If this occurs, the user could abandon Facebook altogether in search of the desired news. That means users won’t spend as much time on the platform.

To fix this, and keep people on Facebook, the company says it will begin updating News Feed to give priority — or higher placement — to stories that will load quickly on mobile.

In order to figure out how quickly a page will load, Facebook says it will take into account estimated land time and factors such as a user’s current network connection and the general speed of the corresponding webpage.

Facebook says the change will roll out gradually over the coming months. While the company anticipates that Pages won’t see a significant change in their distribution in News Feed, those that are particularly slow could see decreased traffic referral.

So what does this mean for users? Tech Crunch suggests that the change might result in users seeing more posts from companies that use Facebook’s Instant Article program.

Instant Articles is Facebook’s mobile publishing format that enables news publishers to distribute articles to Facebook’s app that load and display as much as 10 times faster than the standard mobile web. Facebook does not address Instant Articles in its blog post.

Crackdown on Fake News

In other Facebook News Feed news, the company is expanding its efforts to cut back on the sharing of inaccurate or false news.

Facebook said in an update today that it is expanding its “Related Articles” feature to more users.

Facebook said it will start using updated machine learning to detect more potential hoaxes and send those articles to third-party fact checkers to determine if the content is false or misleading.

The system will then provide users with previously fact-checked articles when they share or click on a potentially fake story.

Here’s how it works: When someone posts an article that is believed to be false, Facebook will provide a list of fact-checked “related” articles on the same subject directly below the originally shared post.

“Since starting this test, we’ve heard that Related Articles helps give people more perspectives and additional information, and helps them determine whether the news they are reading is misleading or false,” the company said of expanding the service, which began in April.

“We will continue testing updates to Related Articles and other ongoing News Feed efforts to show less false news on Facebook and provide people context if they see false news,” the company says.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

People Are Shocked That TV Signals Over The Air Are Free And Legal

Were you aware that you can get some local major network channels for free, without having to pay for a cable or streaming service subscription? If you were, you’re ahead of 30% of adults, most of them young enough that they wouldn’t remember the fuzzy, rabbit-eared past.

According to The Wall Street Journal that statistic comes from a survey commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group for broadcast stations, who are the ones paying for the transmitters that put out the signals that now only a minority of Americans use.

Antennas aren’t the latest victim of millennials’ wide-ranging killing spree. If you grew up with cable, then became a cord-cutter who gets TV programming through streaming services as an adult, this whole “over-the-air” idea might seem kind of exotic and possibly illicit.

“They don’t trust me when I say that these are actually free local channels,” the seller of TV antennas at a swap meet in California told a WSJ reporter.

There always have been free channels, of course, but the changeover to digital broadcast signals led to a lot of confusion among consumers, since they had to buy digital antennas or decoder boxes. Even Consumerist was desperately trying to educate people and keep them from signing up for cable that they didn’t need.

The digital broadcast changeover apparently led to a common misconception that the government had actually turned broadcast signals off in 2009. Even the son of one of the industry executives who worked on the legislation that switched us over to broadcast signals told the WSJ that he was under the impression that old-fashioned broadcasts shut down in 2009.

There are disadvantages to broadcast signals, of course. You have to watch the programming in real time, can’t use a DVR from your cable company, and need to buy an antenna to catch the signal.

The advantage is that unlike Hulu or the networks’ apps, you can get TV news from your local affiliate.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

FedEx Ditching Most Holiday Shipping Surcharges This Year

It’s only August, but already the holiday shipping wars are heating up: After UPS announced recently that it would be tacking on new surcharges during the busiest time of the year, FedEx says it won’t be adding extra fees on most packages shipped near the holidays.

On Thursday, FedEx noted that it won’t add on special charges for most packages shipped between Nov. 20 and Dec. 24.

That means that Standard FedEx Express and FedEx Ground residential shipments won’t be subject to any extra surcharges. Instead, FedEx will only tack on surcharges for packages that require additional handling or are oversized.

In contrast, UPS will be charging “Peak” rates during certain periods: Between Nov. 19 and Dec. 2., it’ll cost $0.27 per package for all ground shipments sent to residential addresses.

The surcharges then go away during the early December lull, but return with a vengeance for last-minute shoppers: Between Dec. 17-23, there’s a $.27 surcharge for ground shipments, $.81 for Next-Day Air, and a $.97 fee for two- or three-day delivery.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

No, You Don’t Need To Buy A $20K 88-Inch TV

Here’s the thing: If you have $20,000 to spare, you could buy Samsung’s new 88-inch, 4K Ultra HD TV. But you really don’t have to.

Best Buy is currently selling the pricy model for $19,999.

At that price, you will get an 88-inch QLED screen with a 2,160p resolution, HDR, and built-in WiFi. Samsung says the QLED TVs are the only ones that can achieve “100 percent color volume,” claiming that they “reproduce rich and colorful images just as they were intended to be seen using metal quantum dot technology.”

In any case, you could spend a lot less money and still get in on that QLED action, our colleagues at Consumer Reports say, like on this 75-inch version (which CR has not yet tested).

“Well, you could spend $20,000 on the 88-inch Q9 set and earn the envy — and perhaps derision — of your friends,” says Jim Willcox, senior electronics editor at Consumer Reports. “But the 75-inch version of that set is a relative steal at just $9,000, so you’re paying almost $850 for every extra inch of screen.”

You could also opt for Samsung’s 75-inch MU850D-series set (UN75MU80D), which is a comparative steal at just $4,000.

“It, too, has excellent picture quality,” Willcox notes. “And I doubt few of us will complain that a 75-inch set is just too small.”

If you’re willing to go down to a 65-inch screen, prices will drop as the screen size does. For example, according to CR, the Samsung 65MU6500 ($1,500) has excellent HD and very good Ultra HD picture quality, while the LG 65UJ7700 ($1,300) has very good HD and Ultra HD picture quality.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Elon Musk Compares Model 3 To Hamburgers

Listen, Elon Musk is not worried that around 63,000 people have decided against buying the Model 3 so far. Why? Because that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things and besides, the car is just like a hamburger. Wait, what?

While Musk noted that total orders for the Model 3 — which is positioned as the company’s most affordable car yet with a starting price of $36,000 — dropped from 518,000 to 455,000, those cancellations were over the course of the year and so there’s nothing to worry about.

“I think this is inconsequential because with a small amount of effort we could easily drive the Model 3 reservation number to something much higher, but there’s no point,” Musk told investors. “It’s like if you’re a restaurant and you’re serving hamburgers and there’s an hour and a half wait for the hamburger, do you really want to encourage more people to come order hamburgers? It doesn’t make sense.”

We’re not sure if it makes sense or not — is Musk the cook in this restaurant scenario? — but now we’re pretty hungry for a hamburger.

He’s not wrong about the wait, though: If you place a reservation right this very minute, you probably won’t get your car until the middle of 2018 or even later, Wired.com notes. And those who reserved the Model 3 at the first chance in March 2016 still have to wait a few months, as delivery begins this fall.

Our colleagues at Consumer Reports have not yet tested the Model 3, but predict that it will score just two points out of five for reliability, but five out of five for owner satisfaction.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Dunkin’ Donuts Dropping The “Donut” In California Test

It’s just common knowledge that shortening your name makes you so much cooler; Alexander to Alex or Robert to Bob or Christopher to Topher. Okay, might not always be true, but Dunkin’ Donuts appears to be embracing its nickname in hopes that it will bring in more customers to buy drinks, sandwiches, and pretty much anything other than donuts: The chain will go by just Dunkin’ at some California stores. 

Nation’s Restaurant News reports that a soon-to-open Pasadena, CA, location will simply go by Dunkin’, as the chain attempts to get the point across that it serves much more than just donuts.

The company notes in a statement that it has long referred to itself as simply Dunkin’ in advertising, as seen in the chain’s “America Runs on Dunkin’” campaign.

But plastering the front of a store with just the single word, and no trace of “Donut” is certainly a departure for the Massachusetts-based company.

“While we remain the number one retailer of donuts in the country, as part of our efforts to reinforce that Dunkin’ Donuts is a beverage-led brand and coffee leader, we will be testing signage in a few locations that refer to the brand simply as “Dunkin’,” the chain said in a statement to Nation’s Restaurant News.

The redesign, which will be adopted by other stores in California this summer and fall, could become part of a larger, already planned redesign the chain is expected to be unveiled next year.

It’s not entirely uncommon for companies to embrace their nicknames, but it doesn’t alway work out in their favor. Take for example, RadioShack. The once vibrant, much shopped retailer dropped “Radio” from its moniker back in 2009 in an attempt to turn around business and embrace the new digital world. We all know how things have turned out for that retailer.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Amazon Changes Return Policies For Third-Party Sellers, Who Worry About Fraud

One of the ways that Amazon has been able to offer such a wide selection of items has been through its Marketplace, or third-party sellers. These businesses or individuals would ship from their own bookshelves, garages, or warehouses, handling order fulfillment and letting Amazon expand its inventory without building any new warehouses. Now a new policy makes it clear that sellers who handle their own orders are at a disadvantage.

Returnless Refunds

CNBC reports that the change that Amazon announced to its sellers involves how returns work. If an item can be returned, the customer will be able to print a return label instantly, without having to first contact the seller and get the return authorized. This change applies to sellers who handle their own fulfillment, and who may not want Amazon generating free shipping labels for customers.

Sellers are also concerned about “returnless refunds” for sellers who fulfill their own orders, though this looks like an opt-in program. Have you ever had a problem with a product, and the seller told you not to bother to send it back? Sellers will be able to allow that for certain items, where customers can request a refund but the seller doesn’t want to bother to pay return shipping.

Fulfilled by Amazon vs. Fulfilled by me

Why this matters is that sellers who fulfill their own orders are deliberately not part of the Fulfilled by Amazon program. Sellers have the choice of storing and shipping their own merchandise, or sending it to an Amazon warehouse to be part of the Fulfillment by Amazon program. They effectively are renting space in an Amazon warehouse and also paying a commission. Some sellers prefer this. Getting merchandise out of your garage and eligible for Prime is an advantage, for smaller sellers. Other sellers who have their own robust shipping operations, and who might have their own employees, don’t.

This sometimes leads to consumer confusion, since from a shopper’s point of view, the thing they purchased ships in an Amazon box with free Prime shipping. Yet for the purpose of the manufacturer’s warranty or other problems, the shopper didn’t buy the item from Amazon; they bought it from Steve’s Headphone Store.

These return policy changes are meant to make the process of returning an item to Steve’s Headphone Store the same as returning an item to Amazon, or to a Fulfilled by Amazon seller.

Some sellers aren’t happy about the new system and having these rules apply to them. Sellers even expressed fear that scammers will find a way to game this system and defraud sellers, especially with returnless refunds. Will these policies crush small sellers, as some complained, or force them to use Amazon’s warehouses? At least Amazon is rolling out this change a few months before the holiday season.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist