Returns. What gives?

Hi All,

I’m an R/A seller still in my first year, doing mostly FBA.(Started last August). I’ve recently stepped things up after taking 3 weeks off in the end of December thru the first week of January. However, I’ve noticed a large uptick in customer returns since the end of Q4. I have been selling more clothing and household items recently but, I’ve definitely seen an uptick in returns basically across the board. I’m wondering if it is the time of year, the higher volume, or the new categories I’m selling in?

Also for the first time, I was contacted directly by a buyer about a product I sold being defective. It was an FBA item but, I still refunded them. Possibly naively? I’m not sure if I should have referred them directly to Amazon? Like I said, I’m still somewhat new to this.

If anyone has a strategy for dealing with FBA returns, that would be helpful. I’ve only had a couple up till recently! TIA!