Amazon Bans Customers Who Make Too Many Returns

Are you one of those people who buys something on Amazon just to try it, only to return it a couple days later? You might have to put that practice to bed, because according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is banning customers who make too many returns.

Amazon users who spoke with the Wall Street Journal reported that their accounts were shut down without warning or explanation.

“We want everyone to be able to use Amazon, but there are rare occasions where someone abuses our service over an extended period of time,” an Amazon spokesman said in a statement to the Journal .

Although Amazon hasn’t disclosed how many people have been subjected to this ban so far, one former “policy enforcement investigator” for the company told the Journal that people who cause “a lot of headaches for Amazon,” are likely to have their accounts terminated.

For instance, customers should be careful that they aren’t too often flagging an unusual reason for their return. If the majority of customers gave a seller good feedback, but you flag that the item is defective, that’s likely to raise Amazon’s suspicions.

As CNBC points out, the policy is a little odd. While it might make sense to have strict return policies at clothing or electronic stores where customers are able to test or try out products, in the case of Amazon, customers have to blindly trust that what they’re receiving in the mail works and is in good condition.

However, if you're someone who has had to make several returns in the past year, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll automatically be banned, or that you’ll be banned permanently. In fact, many of the Amazon customers who spoke with the Journal reported that their accounts had eventually been reinstated once they reached out to Amazon customer service, which is good news because now your Whole Foods rewards hang in the balance.