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No More Risky Business: Assurz Offers Return Services
By Sally Curran
December 4, 2007

Years ago, when our forefathers were settling the prairies of our vast country, the Montgomery Ward catalog allowed those pioneers a way to purchase goods not readily available at the locale mercantile. With each purchase came a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee, which was especially important given that shoppers had no choice but to purchase these goods site unseen.

Later, many retailers moved away from Ward-like guarantees, all the more so because shoppers could evaluate products in the store before purchasing them. With the advent of online shopping, however, we've come full circle. Once again, shoppers are purchasing goods from merchants, site unseen, on the Internet. Enter Assurz, a third-party company that provides customers with a 100-percent guarantee on merchandise purchased online, or they get their money back. The same Montgomery Ward-logic applies: It's a new twist on an old concept.

Or, looking at it another way, in the same way that many small businesses farm out their payroll duties to another company rather than be saddled with the hassle, Assurz provides return and refund services so busy Web shop owners don't have to do the work themselves. And, having a third-party guarantee can help you stand out among your competitors, especially if you sell luxury items.

The Assurz Triumvirate
Steve Hoffman, the CEO of Assurz, explained that his company offers your customers three things. One, they get 90 days to evaluate the product, a period of time Hoffman said should be all the time necessary. Two, there's no hassle whatsoever in getting all of their money back, including costs for such hot-button items as gift wrapping, restocking fees and expedited shipping. (Also, if they purchase three items and need to return only one, Assurz can help.) If a customer's credit card statement lists a charge of $47.82, that's exactly what the refund will be. Three, Assurz takes care of the return shipping and will even provide the requisite packing materials.

Hoffman said that the goal of Assurz is to take the risk out of the buying process. If a consumer feels as though she has nothing to lose (ie, shipping charges or restock fees), she'll be more apt to make a purchase. Also, it covers circumstances in which the e-tailer did nothing wrong; say, for example, a man orders a new shirt online, and when it arrives, his wife is repulsed. There's nothing really wrong with the shirt: It's just that it doesn't suit the wife's taste.

He explained that he came up with the idea for Assurz after having helped develop online credit card payment systems, which are essentially a guarantee of payment. He said that he determined that if he could guarantee customer satisfaction in the same sort of way, sales would most certainly increase.

(Continue to Page 2 for Details on Pricing and Feedback from a Client)

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