In addition to the ‘normal’ ways of getting products and services to customers, there are other methods of selling goods and services to your clients. The majority of these are used by businesses all over the world very successfully to boost profits in addition to having their shops, stores and warehouses.
What is it? I hear you ask. It is distance selling i.e selling goods by mail order, phone, fax or Internet or even through the television. They help supplement their revenue especially when it comes to selling online as the extra delivery charge can bump up the costs to the customer. However, there are also those companies that have made a success of selling products and services using solely distance methods - Dell and Amazon are prime examples of this.
Because they do not have shops to pay for (in terms of rent etc), then their products and services are some of the most competitively priced in their prospective markets. Due to some of the inherent dangers and issues with this type of selling, there are some rules and regulations that have to be followed and this article will deal with just some of them.
When shopping online (or using other distance selling methods), the customers must have clear information to help them to decide whether they would like to buy. The information must include price, how to pay, the business name and address, payments methods, delivery dates and costs etc. When a customer places an order, you must give them confirmation either by telephone, fax, email. I recommend anything that is written down because when a complaint comes in that the order is not correct, you have everything that you need to dispute (or in some cases, confirm) the claims. And anyway, confirmation of an order is a legal requirement. In addition to this, you must tell them how to cancel the order and any other sales/customer service details. So now you know…
Cooling Off Period
Customers are allowed (although there are some exceptions) a cooling off period of at least seven days during which they can cancel the order. However, they must let you know if they have by any means possible. If your company provides services, the cooling off period runs from when the contract is signed and/or when any information is received. If you provide goods, it runs from when they are received. If your business provides a service that is long-term, like a subscription, you must provide the customer information on how to cancel as well as the cooling off period.
So there you have it, live long and prosper entrepreneurs but remember the law may be an ass but it can always bite yours if you don’t play fair!
Take care and God bless readers…
