"Time-based rules are more common than percentage-based or product-type [rules]," he says. "Also, [the system] can be configured to not allow returns of out-of-print products ... [as well] as products purchased as 'firm sale.'"
Some publishers require pre-authorized returns, whereby the bookstore must contact the publisher to confirm a ship date. "The user can key all this in, print a returns authorization and send that to the customer. The customer can then include that paperwork in the box with the books. When the box arrives, the publisher confirms that the paperwork matches the contents of the box. If it does, then the books can be automatically received and processed without the need to scan each book," Jacobson says.
Cover Story: Rethinking a World With No Returns
"Time-based rules are more common than percentage-based or product-type [rules]," he says. "Also, [the system] can be configured to not allow returns of out-of-print products ... [as well] as products purchased as 'firm sale.'"
Some publishers require pre-authorized returns, whereby the bookstore must contact the publisher to confirm a ship date. "The user can key all this in, print a returns authorization and send that to the customer. The customer can then include that paperwork in the box with the books. When the box arrives, the publisher confirms that the paperwork matches the contents of the box. If it does, then the books can be automatically received and processed without the need to scan each book," Jacobson says.