Written by Umang Saini
on 

Order

With rise in popularity of e-retailers in India, there are clear benefits and few downsides. Recently I came across an unexpected issue with "Returns"

My colleague and I ordered Tennis racquets from a popular and reputed e-tailer. We have had good experience with this vendor, however things went south in this particular case. As both of us were new to Tennis, we relied on product description to guide us for deciding on the purchase. After considering several factors, my colleague picked Prokennex Shredder 26 racquet. However, on the first day of practice our coach and guide informed us that the racquet is suited for kids, and not adults. You need minimum 27" racquet with a 4"+ grip for 18+ year players. We felt we will easily be able to correct the situation, and I promptly sent the following email to them-
Hi,
My friend and I are beginning Tennis course, for which we bought these two racquets. However when we took them to our coach, he finds the 26" Prokennex as small for adults, and is asking us to replace with 27" racquet only. The item is unopened and unused. I intend to order a different 27" racquet immediately, once this one is returned.Kindly accept return of this item as it's description mentions this as a 'Senior' racquet, but it is only suitable for kids from 12 to 15 range. We are first time tennis players, so didn't have a clue that 26" and 27" makes that much of a difference.
Thanks a ton,Umang
Image source Wikipedia - Creative Commons
Image source Wikipedia - Creative Commons
Here's the reply - 

Hi Umang,
Order id: ODABCDEFGHIJ
Item: Prokennex Shredder Ace 26 Strung Tennis Racquet (Graphite Matrix)
We certainly understand your concern and we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.
As of now we do not have a buy back or exchange policy for the above mentioned product. As per the company policy, we can issue replacement of the same item if the product is defective or damaged or not as described.
We regret the inconvenience caused. We look forward for continued association with you.
Did I solve your problem?
Please write back to us should you have any other questions or need further assistance.
Regards,
ABCDEFGH
Customer Support

Obviously this didn't solve my problem. My friend is with a kids racquet and will have to adjust to the same. We preferred online purchase as it was significantly cheaper than physical store, however in this case when one orders wrong or unwanted items, there's no way to return them unless they are defective or damaged.

So be careful on what you order online. You are likely to only get a canned reply from their support staff.

Best,
Umang