Apple cuts refund times for returns in half

5th Ave Apple Store

One of Tim Cook’s latest tricks meant to improve shopping experience and boost sales at Apple’s online store is decreased refund turnaround times for product returns, according to a Reuters report Monday. Previously, it took about ten working days to get a refund, according to estimates by retail-intelligence firm StellaService. These refund times have now been cut in half so customers can get a refund in a less than a week…

Faster refund turnaround times are the result of Apple using a new expedited shipping service called FedEx 2Day which lets folks ship returned items with prepaid labels to its warehouse in three days. Previously, Newgistics provided shipping services to Apple.

Reuters reports:

The move is a big upfront expense on Apple’s part, but could pay off in the long run if the company can lure online customers away from retailers such as Amazon.com Inc and Best Buy Inc, industry experts say.

Fortunately, the new service won’t incur additional cost for shoppers.

Have you ever asked Apple for a refund and what was your experience like? Was it all that you’ve come to expect from the company?