Bamboletta Blog

New Policy

As many of you know we have dropped our one a month doll limit. It feels like supply is meeting demand so we didn’t feel it was necessary to have the limit in place. We’ll see how it goes for a bit , nothing is set in stone, but it’s something we’d like to try for a while.

What has been happening now, however, is a high rate of people returning the dolls. Usually only after an hour or so after buying them. We’ve never had returns before like this – it’s only been since we dropped the limits. I know things come up unexpectedly and one may have to return a doll because something financial came up but we have a feeling this is something different. I’m not sure what is going on but we are going to have to charge a 10% restocking fee from now on.  It takes time to email back and forth, do the refunding, find and pull the order (make sure it doesn’t get processed in our system for shipping) and then relist – and because this is happening more frequently we need to cover our costs here. I’m also hoping this would be a bit of a deterrent for people doing this – we have preview pictures – so please only buy a doll if you really want her.

We are coming in close to having our new system in place. We are testing it like crazy and really taking our time with how it runs. At this point we are thinking of setting up a 5 minute cart time as opposed to the 30 minutes that is set up by Big Cartel (that we can’t change). The developers at Big Cartel just emailed me a bit ago about groups of dolls being held in carts – dropped – then held again. Don’t know what’s going on but it’s holding some dolls up for HOURS. This is really crazy frustrating on all ends. Now, I’m not sure if we should go back to a system where the first person to check out gets the doll. Or, if I should just list randomly? There are so many pro’s and cons to each way. We’ll roll out our new site in a few weeks and see how that goes. I wish there was an effective way to do the Serendipity’s like how Hyenacart had it – if anyone knows of anything that comes close – I’d appreciate it so much if you let me know!

Thanks so much for all your amazing loyalty and business over the years! I feel like you are all growing with me and I totally appreciate all the input on how to make Bamboletta better 🙂

xo
Christina

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15 responses to “New Policy”

  1. Amy Fisher Avatar
    Amy Fisher

    A restocking fee makes sense–I had NO idea that was going on!

    I agree to a shorter time in the cart–I’m not sure 5 minutes is enough time if there is a paypal problem, but then with your excellent customer service I can also see that the buyer could simply email you and let you know the situation so that you can take care of it if there is a legitimate paypal issue, so 5 minutes might be perfect. (I, too, am tired of a doll I or a friend wants being unavailable for hours but not purchased.)

    Finally, as the supply and demand seems to be evening out a bit, PLEASE don’t make it that the first person to check out gets the doll–for myself, it is SO nice that I don’t have to worry about making any mistakes while checking out in paypal because I am trying to go so fast…not to mention that if folks want to choose an alternative form of payment other than their primary, they are guaranteed to lose. Less time in the carts seems a better solution to me.

    Good luck as you figure this out–and thank you for your continued high standard in all aspects of your business.

    Blessings,
    Amy

    Reply
  2. Ida Norwood Avatar
    Ida Norwood

    I think a 5 minute cart time would be best. The other way where who ever checks out with the doll first is hard and frustrating if your computer isn’t fast enough. I hope this all works out for you because your offering a great product and have such a great demand. REALLY appreciate how your trying to make it fair for everyone. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  3. Leah Killian Avatar
    Leah Killian

    Good for you guys! I’m for getting it in my cart and having 5-10 minutes to check out. The first to check out is extra hard.

    Reply
  4. Claire Avatar
    Claire

    I agree with you, a restocking fee should be charge, hopefully this will discourage some people from loading their cart with unwanted dolls.

    Anyone noticed the amount of Bamboletta dolls for sale on ebay? Why buy if you don’t really want it?

    Reply
  5. mark Avatar
    mark

    Just FYI, in order to comply with credit card policy you will need to put a note on each listing specifying the restocking fee, otherwise someone can dispute the restocking fee with their credit card company, which will be a big hassle for you, and the customer will win the dispute. Just sort of like if an item is “Final Sale”, that has to be on the product description page for each item, or clearly stated on the checkout page works too. Just make sure you clearly state the restocking fee somewhere in the checkout process 🙂

    This I know from working with Visa, specifically.

    Reply
  6. mark Avatar
    mark

    P.S I’m looking forward the new cart system – 5 to 10 minutes is a much more reasonable cart ‘hold’ time 🙂

    I hope it isn’t first to check out – paypal can be so difficult sometimes! The idea of random uploads is fun.

    Reply
  7. Dora Avatar
    Dora

    I am so sorry about the high rate of people doing returns:( I do however agree with the 5 minute holds it gives tons of hopes;o Thank you for being so considerate of your customers/fans especially when were nearing the holidays. “Blessings to Bamboletta”

    Reply
  8. jennifer Cain Avatar
    jennifer Cain

    I would pay double for a custom doll. Got to at least put it out there. Thank you

    Reply
  9. cas Avatar
    cas

    definitely agree w/first come, first served.

    Reply
  10. NAJ Avatar
    NAJ

    I agree! It’s unfortunate that so many are returning dolls, but if that’s the way it is, then a re-stocking fee makes complete sense.

    On the cart time change, though, I support shortening the time but feel that 5 minutes is just too short. I personally had one purchase that I was having so many PP issues with that night that I almost missed the doll, and there’s no way I could have gotten the PP stuff worked out in 5 minutes. I would have been crushed if that doll had dropped out of my cart through no fault of my own. Maybe a happy medium like 10-15 minutes?

    Reply
  11. Rickiann Avatar
    Rickiann

    I like the idea of the earlier drop time I think 5/10 mins is good .
    You do have previews up the day before after all .

    Reply
  12. Mary Jane Avatar
    Mary Jane

    In my humble opinion, all sales should be final unless a doll is defective in some way. If people change their mind, they can resell the doll. The fact that adults are carting and then actually buying dolls that they don’t want is ridiculous. Maybe this is just sour grapes from someone who hasn’t been able to cart let alone buy a doll that I’ve fallen in love with, but this whole return/refund thing shouldn’t be your problem. And if there are some crazy people out there who are just carting dolls and letting them drop for the fun of it, then I hope you can figure out some way to block them from shopping at all.

    Reply
  13. Jill Cruz Avatar
    Jill Cruz

    I commend you for the 10% restocking fee. I just don’t understand why people would buy a doll without intending to keep it? So silly. With regards to the 5 minute checkout – I have to say this scares me. So many times I have had paypal ask me xyz security questions, enter in my CC number again, wait for the phone call, enter the secret code, etc. etc. This has happened to me even while at home – if paypal decides to be funny, I know I won’t be checking out in 5 minutes. Sometimes it can take up to 10 to sort it all out.

    Reply
  14. admin Avatar
    admin

    We will also have an option to just pay with your credit card and not use pp at all. We really appreciate all the input…SO MUCH!!!!

    Reply
  15. mark Avatar
    mark

    wow, I REALLY love that you will also allow other payment options besides paypal, Bamboletta!! I have solid relationships with credit cards, but not so much paypal – so am really happy for this news. e-checks can be a thing of the past 😉

    Reply

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