Assurz offers refund guarantee program for online shoppers

[mandy]

A program offering 100% refunds to subscribers for returns of any online purchase is getting a trial run through the end of January. Assurz.com guarantees a full refund on any product bought online if a retailer can’t or won’t return or exchange merchandise in a manner satisfactory to the customer, says David Andrews, a marketing consultant at Assurz.com.

In the test, limited to a few hundred shoppers, customers paying a $7.95 subscription fee get all their money back if they decide to return any item purchased in December from an online retailer. Assurz covers the purchase price, tax, shipping and re-stocking fees and provides packaging materials if needed...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=20928

  1.  What is Assurz?
      We are an independent company that lets online retailers offer customers the option of additional confidence with the Assurz Satisfaction Guarantee.

  2. What is the Assurz Satisfaction Guarantee?
      With the Assurz Guarantee, if you are unhappy with your purchase, and the merchant can’t return or exchange your merchandise in a satisfactory manner, we’ll refund your money, including sales tax and shipping fees. We’ll even pay the shipping cost of returning the merchandise.

  3. How do I buy a Satisfaction Guarantee?
      When you shop with one of our participating online merchants, the option to buy the Assurz Satisfaction Guarantee will be offered in your shopping cart when you check out. If you select the option, the price of the Guarantee will be added to the total purchase price of the items you’re buying.

FAQ: http://www.assurz.com/ASSURZ_FAQ.html
website: http://www.assurz.com

[BellisimaJ.]

  3.  How do I buy a Satisfaction Guarantee?
      When you shop with one of our participating online merchants, the option to buy the Assurz Satisfaction Guarantee will be offered in your shopping cart when you check out. If you select the option, the price of the Guarantee will be added to the total purchase price of the items you’re buying.

If I am reading this right, the consumer must purchase the guarantee every time they make a purchase that they would like to have covered by this guarantee?

If so, I would think it would only be worthwhile on very expensive items----jewelry, etc.. Interesting..........

[thentavius]

And the merchant has to be a participating store.

[amy]

If I am reading this right, the consumer must purchase the guarantee every time they make a purchase that they would like to have covered by this guarantee?

The Internet Retailer article says "shoppers will be able to buy an annual subscription priced in the low teens...The guarantee also will be available on a per transaction basis"

[Assurz]

I’m Greg from Assurz, and I think I can help clear this up: When you buy our subscription, Assurz guarantees your online purchases anywhere you shop during the term of your subscription, at no additional charge – you only pay the initial fee to subscribe. Alternatively, when you shop at a participating merchant site, you can get an Assurz guarantee to cover everything in your shopping cart for that purchase. Some merchants will charge a small fee for the guarantee, others may simply include it at no charge as part of their customer service program. We’re a new service, but if your favorite merchants haven’t enrolled in our program, you can still have your online shopping covered via our subscription service.

[BellisimaJ.]

[quote author=Assurz link=topic=6472.msg38630#msg38630 date=1167521023]
I’m Greg from Assurz, and I think I can help clear this up: When you buy our subscription, Assurz guarantees your online purchases anywhere you shop during the term of your subscription, at no additional charge – you only pay the initial fee to subscribe. Alternatively, when you shop at a participating merchant site, you can get an Assurz guarantee to cover everything in your shopping cart for that purchase. Some merchants will charge a small fee for the guarantee, others may simply include it at no charge as part of their customer service program. We’re a new service, but if your favorite merchants haven’t enrolled in our program, you can still have your online shopping covered via our subscription service.

[/quote]

Thanks for the clarification, Greg. 

  to TT!

[mandy]

Another article on Assurz:

Steve Hoffman, the CEO of Assurz, explained that his company offers your customers three things. One, they get 90 days to evaluate the product, a period of time Hoffman said should be all the time necessary. Two, there's no hassle whatsoever in getting all of their money back, including costs for such hot-button items as gift wrapping, restocking fees and expedited shipping. (Also, if they purchase three items and need to return only one, Assurz can help.) If a customer's credit card statement lists a charge of $47.82, that's exactly what the refund will be. Three, Assurz takes care of the return shipping and will even provide the requisite packing materials.

Hoffman said that the goal of Assurz is to take the risk out of the buying process. If a consumer feels as though she has nothing to lose (ie, shipping charges or restock fees), she'll be more apt to make a purchase. Also, it covers circumstances in which the e-tailer did nothing wrong; say, for example, a man orders a new shirt online, and when it arrives, his wife is repulsed. There's nothing really wrong with the shirt: It's just that it doesn't suit the wife's taste...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions...hp/3714501

[bargainbloodhound]

If I am reading this right, the consumer must purchase the guarantee every time they make a purchase that they would like to have covered by this guarantee?

BuySafe is the same way but people do buy coverage--especially on higher ticket items. 1/6 of our buyers in the past 30 days have bought BuySafe coverage..

[mandy]

Update: Assurz discontinues its refund and return service:

Assurz tells retailers its returns service is no more

Home improvement e-retailer eImprovement and other merchants have been scrambling to remove the Assurz logo from their shopping carts after a sudden notice on Friday from Assurz Inc., a third-party returns service, that it would no longer honor its no-questions-asked return and refund program.

“The notice was out of the blue, no phone call to say, ‘Hey, things aren’t going well,’ just an e-mail that our service was cut off and that was it,”...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=26630

[amy]

There's nothing on Assurz's website about the discontinuation of the program.