Indians are born scammers.... saying as an Indian myself
Hi everyone, really need some advice from fellow sellers who might have dealt with this nightmare.
A while ago, I started a business producing and selling 100% pure desi ghee. We process it straight from raw milk locally here in Haryana, pouring a lot of hard work into making sure the quality is absolute top-tier. After building up our inventory, I recently started listing our ghee on major online marketplaces to reach a wider audience.
At first, I was thrilled. We started getting bulk orders, and I thought the business was finally taking off.
Then the returns started hitting.
Currently, our return rate is sitting at a staggering 23%. But the real gut-punch isn't just the return shipping fees—it’s what is inside the returned packages.
These scammers are buying our ghee in bulk, completely emptying out our pure desi ghee, and refilling the containers with cheap, fake, highly adulterated ghee (probably dalda or refined oil mix). Then they seal it back up, claim the item was "defective" or "not as described," and initiate a return.
By the time the inventory gets back to us and we inspect it, the damage is done. The marketplaces immediately refund the buyers, and we are left holding cans of absolute garbage, losing both our premium product and the packaging/shipping costs.
Has anyone else selling food or FMCG products dealt with this level of return fraud?
How are you fighting these claims with marketplace seller support? (They currently seem to side with the buyer by default).
Are there specific tamper-evident seals or packaging tricks that actually work to win disputes?
Should I just pull my listings and focus entirely on my own website/direct sales, even if it means slower growth?
Any advice on how to stop the bleeding would be massively appreciated. This is completely destroying our margins and our morale.