FAQs

1. What countries do you ship to?

Too often, people take it for granted that websites and E-Commerce stores will ship to them. After all, if you can find it online, it would make sense that you should be able to buy it, right? Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If you’re only shipping domestic orders, or perhaps you only ship to certain countries, make sure that you spell that out for visitors ahead of time. The last thing you want is someone getting to the checkout before realizing they can’t get shipping to their country of residence.

Make sure that you’re clear about where you will and won’t ship so that there’s never any question. Even if people can’t order from you, they’ll appreciate that you were upfront and honest and remember you in the future in case things change.

2. What is your return/exchange policy?

Another pressing question that every retail brand is tired of answering: how do you handle returns and exchanges? In addition to having a dedicated section or page regarding the return and exchange process on your website (do you have one yet?), you should have a question and answer on your FAQ page that explains it to your shoppers.

Make sure that you’re clear about:

Which products can be returned
How long the return period lasts
What the process involves
How returns are issued
How returns are shipped back
The exchange process and when exchanges are an option

Another pro tip here: don’t make people pay for return shipping. They’re already taking the extra step of returning something. Provide a prepaid shipping label or allow them to drop it off at a shipper or the USPS location nearest them so that it’s as hassle-free as possible. In your FAQ section, tell them about this feature.

3. How long will it take to get my order?

Everyone’s in a hurry these days. Thanks to giants like Amazon offering next-day (and even same-day) shipping, no one wants to wait. If you charge for shipping, consider offering people a few different delivery options. Regardless, make sure that you use this question to provide people with the specific details of how long delivery takes based on the type of order, as well as whether there is any order processing time.

While people love free, quick shipping, they are willing to pay and wait, if the reasoning is solid. Once you explain that you’re doing your best to ship things quickly and efficiently, but without costing your business (and in turn, the customer) a small fortune, you’ll get a much better response, even if the answer is that they have to wait.