‘Tis the Season for Returns

‘Tis the Season for Returns

Keep Your Cash Flowing and Your Shelves Tidy

Even if you had great holiday sales, January is the customary season for major returns, so here are a few simple tips to help you out.

Orderly returns keep your cash flow moving and your shelves browsable.

If you ordered direct from a large publisher, there are no restocking fees, and you can usually return anything in print (small and university presses may have other restrictions).

Of course, returns do have a cost.  You have to pay for return postage and staff time.  And if returning to a wholesaler, you may encounter restocking fees or hit a returns limit, so take care to do it right.

The first rule of returns: Be sure you are returning to the correct address!

Small presses may have shifted distribution between the time you ordered and the time you make your returns.  Occasionally, even large suppliers change their returns address because they built a new warehouse.

To find the correct returns address for a supplier, check a recent invoice, statement, the supplier’s website, or contact Customer Service.

Looking for more advice? Purchase our Returns class in the PBS Independent Study Program

Checking distribution for a title can be a little trickier. One of the easiest ways to start is with Pubeasy’s free availability search.  Pubeasy is designed for ordering, but if a title is available to order, it is also available to return!  As a bookseller I used Pubnet for electronic ordering, but I found it worth my time to set up a free Pubeasy account to use just for returns validation.

Want to learn more?  Here's a quick video on using Pubeasy to check for returnability!

Before I added this validation step, I had a few costly snafus. If you send books back to the wrong supplier, they may either invoice you for the freight to ship them back to you or simply destroy them. Either way you’ve lost money.

Have other tips and tricks for returns? I’d love to hear them!

-Jill Hendrix,
Customer Success Specialist
MVB US
j.hendrix@mvb-online.com