“I said I would never make such a video. Well, it doesn’t go any further. And I won’t say it calmly.” This is how the video she uploaded to TikTok — and has already been viewed by over 50,000 passers-by on the platform — begins with the owner of the Woman Sense boutique, with items of clothing, not one or two in front of her, but seven parcels returned to her online store because no one got them.

“Why; We owed you?” he says. “We forced you to order them? Why are you playing with our nerves? By what right are you playing with our work?” he continues, threatening to “speak” by name next time.

It’s not the only relevant video on social media. Search by hashtag #undelivered reveals a problem that many online stores face today: non-receipt of packages from customers who have chosen to pay by cash on delivery.

“Yes, unfortunately, the phenomenon of undelivered parcels exists”, – says Mirto Pavlini “K”.which she opened several years ago with her sister Semeli Balter online jewelry store.

“For a small business like ours, this is a big problem, because in addition to the fact that we have already been charged for transport for sending the package, we are charged by the courier company and additionally for returning it.” As he also says, the courier company does not immediately return them, with the result that when the packages finally return to their base, either the code is used up, “or we no longer work with it.”

For small businesses with little inventory, too, delaying a product to not get it ends up depriving someone else of it. “We thought about removing cash on delivery from payment methods, but unfortunately this cannot be avoided, and this is unfair, because many people either do not have a card or are hesitant to pay online, but want to support a small Greek business. Those who create the problem do not understand how much it costs us. They expect the product to be returned and we will resell it. They do not understand that everything is so little calculated on marketing, packaging, shipping, that this return, which you will make at no cost, can confuse me, ”concludes Ms. Pavlini.

Many packages are returned, which creates financial problems for businesses, especially small ones, who are charged for shipping costs.

“General Practice”

The problem also affected her Elena Pacuwho, in the midst of quarantine, decided to open her own online store with items for home and decor (mummystyle.gr).

“It’s common practice,” he says. “Even in very human-centric businesses like mine (Elena runs a successful YouTube channel from which she draws most of her online store clientele), there is a different kind of customer contact.

This is a practice similar to taking something home, not taking into account that the profit from the product may be less than the cost of transporting the returned packages. She herself considered excluding cash on delivery from payment methods, but “this cannot be avoided.”

Indeed, at any rate, it surprised her. Vanessa Milianu when he opened it Celano online store with hair accessories, was that 70% of the orders were made by cash on delivery. Therefore, the decision to refuse cash on delivery was a bold one. There were not too many cases of non-receipt of packages, but enough to create a problem for a business like hers.

“I have too much respect for my efforts, my time, my products and their packaging, to put them through the torturous process of unfairly moving back and forth, paying for shipping for no reason,” she says. ink”. “Of course, I accept various excuses that sound from time to time, for example, I did not come, I did not have money with me, I was not notified, I was not there when the courier arrived. I refuse to believe that someone deliberately orders and does not receive, knowing that in this way it harms the business.

And the team behind the brand “Probably no” with T-shirts with famous sayings from the Greek series (and not only), h Silena, Chrysaphenia and Alexander, I prefer to believe in the good will of people, while maintaining the possibility of paying by cash on delivery. “If someone who is not receiving their order knew what it would cost the business, they would think twice before making a decision.” they say “K”. The personal work that an online store requires is great, and the relationship that develops with the buyer is not impersonal. Kids need to remember the coronavirus era when the market was inefficient and courier companies reached a point where they could only handle minimum orders during normal times. “Then we started and walked all over Athens from door to door, in the rain, in the cold and met hundreds of people in masks, but in the best mood! They gave us chocolates, Christmas sweets, even granny candle food to take with us until the end of the day’s itineraries.”

This phenomenon also applies to major market players, but to a lesser extent. Such as Giorgos Hatzigeorgiou says “K”.its co-founder and CEO skroutz.gr, the platform only has a 20% cash on delivery rate and a very low non-delivery rate. “We know which consumers are doing it, they have two opportunities to do it, and then they miss out.”