Not only do I use PayPal to shop online, I also use it to send and receive money from friends and family across the country. Spending a lot of time online means I’m always discovering great new products and services…and then making lots of online purchases! In many cases I purchase items I cannot normally get in Canada, which makes the experience even more exciting. And even though I usually forget about my purchase as soon as the order is placed, I’m always so excited when my package arrives! Like a little kid at Christmas, I tear apart the packaging just as quickly as I can to get to the reveal.
Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t get what you expected. For example, I once ordered a gorgeous black trench coat online. It looked like something off the runway and it was reasonably priced; a fashion-lover’s dream come true! Since I was trying to be more cost-conscious, but also wanted to have something my friends in Canada didn’t have, I didn’t hesitate to buy it from the small online store in the United States. Hello new trench coat!
A couple of days later, my package arrived. And as luck would have it, I was going to have the opportunity to wear it that evening! Thoughts of how great the coat would look with my outfit were racing through my mind as I tore open the package. But quickly, my smile turned to shock. Instead of being black, the coat was more of a charcoal grey and the buttons were made of a cheap-looking plastic. While I could live with a charcoal grey coat, I couldn’t tolerate those cheap buttons. After all, the buttons are like the jewellery of a trench coat! Now all I could think about was the fact I had to wear my “old” trench coat that evening because I would NEVER wear the new one. I made plans to return the trench coat the next morning.
Regretting my Online Purchase and Returning the Trench Coat
I have to say that I rarely return any of my online purchases. I tend to only buy things that I really want. The thought of ordering something and then having to pack it up and ship it back to a retailer is too time consuming and tedious for me. But in this case, I made it a priority to return that poor trench coat the very next morning. Much to my dismay, I found out I had to PAY to return the trench coat to the retailer.
I had to pay the shipping fees for a product I wasn’t going to keep?
I work hard for my money so I don’t want to be covering the cost of shipping fees for an item that I am returning. Obviously I would prefer to purchase something I can keep but if I do get an item that needs to be returned, I don’t want to pay even more to return it! After that experience,I started putting a lot more research into my clothing purchases. I decided on that day that I would only purchase from retailers that offered a FREE return shipping policy. I hated to do it at times, but I had to abandon my shopping cart on many smaller eCommerce sites because of that. The result was me losing out on some very cool merchandise AND the online shopkeeper losing out on my sale.
No More Online Shopping Regrets
Well thanks to PayPal, I not longer have to suffer online shopping regrets and I no longer have to abandon my shopping cart for purchases I may be unsure about! PayPal has launched its new ‘Return Shipping On Us’ program, which lets users return items free of charge, in nearly 40 countries. If you’re in Canada, you can now get up to 10 refunds of return shipping costs per calendar year on eligible online purchases. This is such a cool addition to PayPal, because Canadian shoppers who are dissatisfied with their items have the option to send them back absolutely free of charge.
Sign Up For PayPal & Get Free Returns on Eligible Purchases!
If you don’t have a PayPal account yet, I highly recommend that you create a PayPal account today to take advantage of the ‘Return Shipping on Us’ program. I love knowing that my checkout is secure and that my online purchases can be sent back at no cost to me if I’m not satisfied. You can also download the amazing PayPal app on your smartphone to keep all your purchases and payments organized. Download the App here.
Now that the PayPal is offering free returns, I’m even more confident about using PayPal when I shop online. And it’s added more incentive for me to stay a loyal customer too. After all, when a company not only lets me safely and securely pay for for all my online shopping with any method I choose, but also helps make it easier for me to return an item I don’t love, why would I want to trust my transaction to anyone else?
To share your thoughts on PayPal’s ‘Return Shipping on Us’ program, make sure to follow @PayPalCA on Twitter and don’t forget to ‘Like’ their Facebook Page. We can’t wait to hear from all of you!
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