Aussies all over the country will have no doubt hit some of the biggest retailers for their Christmas shopping this year. But now that the festive day is all over, there might be some people who will need to return their gifts.
These shoppers need to be wary of one major issue if they’re taking items back for a refund or exchange at Kmart, Big W, and Bunnings. If they bought the products in store, it should be no problem.
But if they bought them from the retailers’ Marketplace, that’s a different story.
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What is the Marketplace?
Kmart, Big W, and Bunnings have a dedicated section of their business called Marketplace or Market.
While pretty much all of the items that you’ll see in store will appear on their websites, there are thousands more products available solely online through Marketplace and Market.
These platforms are comprised of curated sellers who use the big-name retailers to promote their items in a range of categories.
QUT consumer expert Gary Mortimer told Yahoo Lifestyle the Marketplace idea is part of the “endless aisle” philosophy.
Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
“The philosophy says a retailer can have 60,000 items available, but maybe only 20,000 available in store,” he said.
“So the ones that they have in store are traditionally the high-turnover, in-demand products.
“And then there’s always going to be another range that they want to carry to satisfy a smaller segment of the market.”
But none of the items listed on Marketplace or Market can be found in any of the stores.
And this is where the big problem arises.
How do you return an item that you bought off Marketplace?
While you might have purchased an item from Kmart’s Marketplace, they aren’t responsible for returns, refunds, or exchanges.
If you check each retailer’s policies, they state this very clearly.
“Marketplace purchases should be returned by contacting the relevant third party Seller named on your order confirmation directly,” Bunnings says on its website.
“Return of products purchased from marketplace sellers on kmart.com.au can only be processed online and cannot be returned to or processed by Kmart stores,” Kmart added.
It’s the same story for Big W, too.
You cannot take these items to the retailer and ask them to process and send the item to the seller.
The websites of Kmart, Bunnings, and Big W all state when a product is from their stores or on their Marketplaces.
Marketplace returns can differ from place to place
The big-name Aussie retailers state on their websites that these third-party sellers on Marketplace don’t have to accept your return request.
These sellers also can have different time limits on return requests.
Big W has a 90-day window for customers to return items, but for Market customers, that doesn’t apply.
SHOP:
“Please check the relevant BIG W Market Seller’s returns policy by navigating to the product and clicking on ‘BIG W Market Seller’. This will take you to the relevant returns policy,” the retailer’s website states.
“If the BIG W Market Seller allows a change of mind return, they will ask you to follow their own policies and procedures for the return.
“Items that are returned without the BIG W Market Seller’s approval will not be eligible for a refund.”
At Kmart, Marketplace shoppers have 30 days to return a product, while OnePass Members have 365 days.
Kmart has a whole list of items that will not be accepted for returns, which you can find here.
Bunnings states that if the Marketplace seller is “unable or unwilling” to accept a return, you can contact the hardware store’s customer support via email on customersupport@bunnings.com.au.
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