That happened to me and I also didn’t have many sales at the time so noticed and worried about it lol and I ended up reaching out (as they didn’t download it so I assumed they were having trouble) . The customer didn’t mean to purchase it twice and was grateful for the refund but also said she was waiting for her daughter to come by to help her download it.
So im glad I made her happy by refunding the extra purchase but what I learnt was really just to wait next time for them to contact me because I think I just confused her a bit.
So my advice to you is just let it be and if they message you for help then help them and obviously refund one of them at that point, but if you hear nothing then keep in mind it is entirely possible they bought two copies on purpose, perhaps to give to a friend. Some people are honest!
Awh I have similar customers, they don’t want to bug me and they always say they’ll wait for their daughter to come by to help them download it. It makes me so sad. Like no please bug me I would love to help! It’s usually someone’s grandma that’s just trying to make gifts for their kids/grandchildren so I would love to help them!!
I refund when I notice, but I don't usually notice. I've got no reason to check a buyers purchase history unless they reach out to me about something and I see all their purchases in the conversation sidebar.
I would refund them without being asked. Aside from being the right thing, is the amount of the extra sale worth what you’ll potentially receive in positive reviews or other word of mouth from this customer. I was given a 5-star review the other day but the review said they didn’t like their color choice and wish they had ordered black, but they were really happy with how it functioned. After reading the review, I sent them one in black the same day. I went from a $9 profit on the sale to a $4 profit by sending them an extra one. I’m going to get more business when she shows her coworkers what she got and tells them about the customer service. It’s worth it to me to treat customers the way I want to be treated as a customer.
This is the way. Gotta look at it as a customer acquisition cost. Only cost you $5, but the potential glowing review showing you went above and beyond is priceless goes a long way to improve conversion rates.
Sure, not everyone is going to leave a great review, but the more positive experiences you provide customers, the more positive reviews you’ll get.
Never pass up on an opportunity to invoke a positive impression on your customers.
definitely leave it alone - at the risk of sounding harsh, the purchase of an item is the customer's responsibility, not yours. if they made a mistake, it's up to them to contact you. no harm done at all on your part!
Thanks for this! I was thinking for a few minutes about those Venmo or Zelle scams - but I think human error is way more likely. If they need a refund and ask for one, I'm happy to provide.
This has happened to me. I reached out to the customer to let them know they'd purchased this thing once already. They told me they made a mistake but said I did not have to refund them; however, I'd have felt so guilty doing that lol, so I did end up refunding them for that item.
I don't make things that encourage repeat buyers, (though I do have them!) but I do make things that encourage others to tell their friends about my shop. But even without that in mind, I'd have given the refund.
Exactly. It’s really that simple. Treat a buyer the way you would want to be treated. It more often than not, pays off in the long run. I have refunded things when I certainly didn’t have to bc an honest person is tough to find these days. And it is greatly noticed by customers. You lose out on a sale that was never supposed to happen anyway. Nothing negative ever results when you operate honestly
I’ve done this and requested a refund that the seller thankfully honored. I seriously wish Etsy would implement a little banner or something like Amazon does that says ‘You purchased this on 0/0/00’. I buy a lot of digital stuff, sometimes I just can’t remember lol.
I had a customer do that with a physical item just the other day. I'm in Canada, she is in Australia so the shipping on each one was high. I wasn't sure if after purchasing the first one she decided she wanted two and then ordered another, or if somehow she double bought. I contacted her and yes, she did not mean to order the second one. I refunded it right away and she was so thankful. I probably could have shipped both and in the end Etsy would have refunded her at their cost, but by giving quick customer service, it makes the buyer trust in you as a seller.
Since I sell crochet patterns, I auto refund duplicates. Usually the first time they had their email but weren’t logged into an Etsy account and had trouble downloading it so they ended up logging in and buying it again.
I don’t send a message through the normal messages but with the refund note section. Something like “Hi, I noticed this was purchased twice so I’m refunding the one that wasn’t downloaded! Thank you for your order!”
I had a few single downloads that I later combined into bundles. I’ve seen the same person buy the single and the bundle at the same time essentially buying the single twice. This has happened several times but because my store caters to a niche within a niche and my goal is to get returning customers, I’ve reached out and refunded them half of the lesser priced item. It’s resulted in five star feedback each time and only cost me a few dollars overall.
We sell physical, but often if orders are placed like this it’s a connection or forgetfulness issue. But sometimes it’s on purpose. Customers are always happy to have a proactive fix or even a double check.
It happened to me too when I was a beginner , I refunded it back and sent them a message about the double purchase. They left a positive review for me. Goodluck to you and may you get many more sales in the future! :)
Some duplicated digital items are brought by mistake, but some people are truly buying them twice because the 2nd copy is for their friends or families. I used to email people to ask and it is interesting to hear their reasons to buy a second copy. I always cancel duplicated orders when they requested.
I’d contact the buyer and check if they wanted the two. I wouldn’t wait and see
Even if they meant to buy two, you checking would feel like good customer service to me and make me more inclined to buy from you again.
Yeah. Read OP's comments on this thread. He isn't asking for advice. He is soliciting affirmation. Agreeing with anyone who tells him to keep the money. No integrity.
Reach out.
Unless they are doing the right thing by buying the same digital item for someone else (instead of making a copy of the one they originally bought), it's an accident or something is wrong.
That happened to me and I also didn’t have many sales at the time so noticed and worried about it lol and I ended up reaching out (as they didn’t download it so I assumed they were having trouble) . The customer didn’t mean to purchase it twice and was grateful for the refund but also said she was waiting for her daughter to come by to help her download it. So im glad I made her happy by refunding the extra purchase but what I learnt was really just to wait next time for them to contact me because I think I just confused her a bit. So my advice to you is just let it be and if they message you for help then help them and obviously refund one of them at that point, but if you hear nothing then keep in mind it is entirely possible they bought two copies on purpose, perhaps to give to a friend. Some people are honest!
Thanks for this!! I think this is the way. If they reach out, I'm happy to refund.
Awh I have similar customers, they don’t want to bug me and they always say they’ll wait for their daughter to come by to help them download it. It makes me so sad. Like no please bug me I would love to help! It’s usually someone’s grandma that’s just trying to make gifts for their kids/grandchildren so I would love to help them!!
I would do the same
I've accidently purchased digital items several times. No one ever let me know and I wish they would have.
I refund when I notice, but I don't usually notice. I've got no reason to check a buyers purchase history unless they reach out to me about something and I see all their purchases in the conversation sidebar.
Same, I accidentally bought a crochet pattern 3 times once lol, not sure how I managed to do it
I would refund them without being asked. Aside from being the right thing, is the amount of the extra sale worth what you’ll potentially receive in positive reviews or other word of mouth from this customer. I was given a 5-star review the other day but the review said they didn’t like their color choice and wish they had ordered black, but they were really happy with how it functioned. After reading the review, I sent them one in black the same day. I went from a $9 profit on the sale to a $4 profit by sending them an extra one. I’m going to get more business when she shows her coworkers what she got and tells them about the customer service. It’s worth it to me to treat customers the way I want to be treated as a customer.
This is the way. Gotta look at it as a customer acquisition cost. Only cost you $5, but the potential glowing review showing you went above and beyond is priceless goes a long way to improve conversion rates. Sure, not everyone is going to leave a great review, but the more positive experiences you provide customers, the more positive reviews you’ll get. Never pass up on an opportunity to invoke a positive impression on your customers.
correct answer.
This is how I handle it too. Issue the refund right away, message them and let them know and thank them for their interest in my store.
I've bought the same item more than once. I'll buy it, forget I did, and purchase it again. The seller offered to refund one for me
[удалено]
I think this is where I'm landing. Happy to refund, but only if asked. Thanks!
definitely leave it alone - at the risk of sounding harsh, the purchase of an item is the customer's responsibility, not yours. if they made a mistake, it's up to them to contact you. no harm done at all on your part!
Thanks for this! I was thinking for a few minutes about those Venmo or Zelle scams - but I think human error is way more likely. If they need a refund and ask for one, I'm happy to provide.
This has happened to me. I reached out to the customer to let them know they'd purchased this thing once already. They told me they made a mistake but said I did not have to refund them; however, I'd have felt so guilty doing that lol, so I did end up refunding them for that item. I don't make things that encourage repeat buyers, (though I do have them!) but I do make things that encourage others to tell their friends about my shop. But even without that in mind, I'd have given the refund.
Happened to me. Turns out she was buying them as gifts. Such a sweet and honest customer
What would you want you to do if you were the buyer?
Exactly. It’s really that simple. Treat a buyer the way you would want to be treated. It more often than not, pays off in the long run. I have refunded things when I certainly didn’t have to bc an honest person is tough to find these days. And it is greatly noticed by customers. You lose out on a sale that was never supposed to happen anyway. Nothing negative ever results when you operate honestly
I’ve done this and requested a refund that the seller thankfully honored. I seriously wish Etsy would implement a little banner or something like Amazon does that says ‘You purchased this on 0/0/00’. I buy a lot of digital stuff, sometimes I just can’t remember lol.
Yeah Etsy only does that if you open the listing from your receipt. They should do it on anything.
I had a customer do that with a physical item just the other day. I'm in Canada, she is in Australia so the shipping on each one was high. I wasn't sure if after purchasing the first one she decided she wanted two and then ordered another, or if somehow she double bought. I contacted her and yes, she did not mean to order the second one. I refunded it right away and she was so thankful. I probably could have shipped both and in the end Etsy would have refunded her at their cost, but by giving quick customer service, it makes the buyer trust in you as a seller.
Since I sell crochet patterns, I auto refund duplicates. Usually the first time they had their email but weren’t logged into an Etsy account and had trouble downloading it so they ended up logging in and buying it again. I don’t send a message through the normal messages but with the refund note section. Something like “Hi, I noticed this was purchased twice so I’m refunding the one that wasn’t downloaded! Thank you for your order!”
I had a few single downloads that I later combined into bundles. I’ve seen the same person buy the single and the bundle at the same time essentially buying the single twice. This has happened several times but because my store caters to a niche within a niche and my goal is to get returning customers, I’ve reached out and refunded them half of the lesser priced item. It’s resulted in five star feedback each time and only cost me a few dollars overall.
The right thing.
We sell physical, but often if orders are placed like this it’s a connection or forgetfulness issue. But sometimes it’s on purpose. Customers are always happy to have a proactive fix or even a double check.
It happened to me too when I was a beginner , I refunded it back and sent them a message about the double purchase. They left a positive review for me. Goodluck to you and may you get many more sales in the future! :)
Some duplicated digital items are brought by mistake, but some people are truly buying them twice because the 2nd copy is for their friends or families. I used to email people to ask and it is interesting to hear their reasons to buy a second copy. I always cancel duplicated orders when they requested.
I’d contact the buyer and check if they wanted the two. I wouldn’t wait and see Even if they meant to buy two, you checking would feel like good customer service to me and make me more inclined to buy from you again.
Yeah. Read OP's comments on this thread. He isn't asking for advice. He is soliciting affirmation. Agreeing with anyone who tells him to keep the money. No integrity.
Reach out. Unless they are doing the right thing by buying the same digital item for someone else (instead of making a copy of the one they originally bought), it's an accident or something is wrong.
It might be a dropshippers warming their account