Back Yourself Up Against Chargebacks!
How Good Shipping Records Protect You
Mike Silverman, eCommerce Entrepreneur

As a reputable merchant, one of the key things that should concern you is the elimination of chargebacks. Chargebacks are not only expensive, but can ultimately hurt your company's ratings with merchant services vendors. One thing I have found from being in the webstore business is that many chargebacks come from folks who know how to work the charge card system, meaning they understand how the chargeback process works and use it as a means of defrauding merchants. A common
way this is done is by simply saying I never got my stuff and these *%$! took my money!

A chargeback of this type costs you not only the lost cash and chargeback fees, but also the merchandise that never got there. Unfortunately, many merchants don't actually know how to defend themselves from a chargeback, and more importantly, how to fight one. We've learned a few things about chargebacks that'll help merchants who ship products - and we've learned them the hard way. To help other merchants not step on the same land mines we have, here are a few tips:

1. ALWAYS ship merchandise with a traceable carrier. Just because it saves a few bucks to drop delivery confirmations, tracking setups, etc... doesn't mean you should do it! Spend a few cents now, pass the cost through as handling, and be done with it.

2. Log your tracking numbers! FedEx Ground and UPS provide you with a manifest book. USPS gives you a Delivery Confirmation ticket. FedEx and Airborne provide you with a shipper copy on the airbill. Save these! The manifest books are usually carbons, if not, buy some carbon paper and eat up a bit of the shippers paper. File the airbills and USPS tickets the easy way - staple them to the back of a 5x8 index card, write the ship date on the front of the card, and chuck them into a shoebox. If you have a means of printing your manifests (as we do) then print them, 3-hole punch them, and pop them into a binder. Keep all of this stuff for a year.

3. If you get a chargeback notice, respond to it IMMEDIATELY! We have what we call the chargeback cocktail for ours - a printout of the order, a printout of the Quickbooks invoice, a photocopy of the tracking number (logsheet, ticket, airbill, etc...) and a copy of the chargeback notice. Fax it to them and then mail it as well - DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS! I always call to confirm they got it.

4. Use technology to print your tracking numbers in the Shipping line item charge description on your Quickbooks export or StoreFront invoice. It's a nice touch and makes you look super professional.

Don't get bent out of shape over chargebacks. In fact, Nova, our processor, has actually gone to bat for us against fraudulent chargebacks. They even fought an international claim for us because we were well documented. A good documentation trail goes a long way in defending against chargebacks. Someone is going to have to pay the bill for the merchandise, but it certainly shouldn't have to be you!

Happy selling!

--  Mike Silverman, www.HSGear.biz 

Editorial Note: If you are ever confronted with a chargeback, please contact your merchant account representative immediately. We can help you defend against chargebacks, fraudulent or otherwise. 

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