Catalogue photo versus the real item: keeping them in line

A customer spotted an "emerald green" scarf on your Instagram page and placed an order. Two days later the parcel arrived, and inside was a dark, almost black scarf. The customer sent it back and left a low rating. The product itself was fine; the photo was to blame. It had been taken from an old batch, while the shelf already held a new one. A gap between the picture and the real item is one of the most common reasons for returns in online selling. The good news is that a few simple habits can nearly remove it.

Why the photo and the item drift apart

Normally nobody sets out to mislead a customer. The gap appears by itself:

• in a new batch the supplier changes the shade, the thickness of the fabric or the packaging, while the photo stays the same;
• the photo comes from the supplier's catalogue, but what you are holding is slightly different;
• the picture was taken under artificial light or with a filter, and in daylight the colour looks different;
• one photo covers several variants (colour, size);
• a "three pieces in one box" set looks like a single item in the photo, so the customer expects one, or the other way round;
• the last piece was sold but the photo stayed in the catalogue.

Look at the list and you will see that most of it is a matter of order, not of photo quality. In a Telegram channel or an Uzum shop this shows even more: the customer cannot hold the item and trusts only the photo and the text.

A "passport" for every item

Create an item passport for each position in your catalogue. One row of a table is enough:

• a single code (for example SHR-014);
• the date of the shoot and the batch the photo was taken from;
• the colour named in words, with the difference from a nearby shade: "emerald, not turquoise";
• real dimensions: length, width, weight. Measure them yourself with a ruler and do not rely on the manufacturer's figures;
• what is in the box: a single piece, a set, instructions, gift packaging.

Write the code the same way in the photo caption, in the table and on the shelf label. When a customer sends a screenshot you find the item by its code in a second, and the packer takes exactly that product from the shelf.

Rules for your own photos

A supplier's photo will do for the first few days, then take your own. Three rules are enough:

1. shoot in daylight, by a window, with no filters;
2. use a white or grey background and put a ruler or a coin beside the item, so nobody has to guess the size;
3. show the front, the back and the label in separate frames.

For goods where colour matters, like a scarf, take at least two pictures: one in daylight and one close up, so the texture of the fabric is visible.

Checking a new batch on arrival

As soon as you open the box, before the goods go on the shelf:

1. take one piece of each item and compare it in daylight with the catalogue photo (open it on your phone);
2. check the colour, size, packaging and contents;
3. if the difference is small, add it to the description: "new batch, shade slightly darker";
4. if the difference is clear, update the photo and keep the old and new batches apart on the shelf;
5. write the batch date in the table.

Never mix old and new batches, or one order will end up with two different shades. Checking on the day the batch arrives is the cheapest option. Once an unhappy customer has sent a parcel back, it is easy to repeat the same mistake a third and a fourth time.

A complaints table

When a customer writes "not like the photo" and attaches a picture, do not lose it. Start a simple table: date, code, reason, whether the customer sent a photo, what you did. Look at it after a month: if complaints repeat for one code, the problem lies in the photo or description of that very item.

An example with made-up numbers: 40 scarves sold in a month and 6 returned as "colour is different" is 15 per cent. Each return means delivery both ways, repacking and lost time. If you update the photo and bring returns down to two or three, you will save real money and keep your customers' trust.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the old photo up "for now".
• One shared photo for every colour.
• Writing only "beautiful, high quality" in the description and no size.
• Putting a returned item back on the shelf unchecked: at the customer's it may have looked different or been damaged.

Conclusion

The catalogue photo is a promise to the customer, and the item on the shelf is that promise kept. When the two match, returns fall and customers come back. A single code, an item passport, a comparison of every new batch and a complaints table are enough for that. If your catalogue has grown to hundreds of items and you cannot check the real balances yourself, the Sanab team can count the goods and hand over a clear report by code.