Returns
Returns processing and reverse logistics
A return is not simply a sale running backwards. It is a unit arriving with no paperwork, in unknown condition, that has to be judged before it can be sold again — and the judging is where the money is.
Returns arrive, are matched to the original order, inspected, and dispositioned against rules you set: back to sellable stock, held for review, or written off. The part that matters is the inspection standard, because a unit put back on the shelf that should not have been becomes someone else’s bad experience and a second return. We do not refurbish to a certified standard and we are not a repair depot.
What actually happens to a returned unit
- Received and matched. The unit is tied back to the original order where the paperwork allows it. Returns that arrive with nothing identifying them are the slow ones, which is why a returns portal that prints a reference pays for itself.
- Inspected against your standard. Sealed and unopened, opened but complete, missing parts, visibly damaged. The categories are yours to define and we would rather you defined them tightly than left it to judgment on the floor.
- Dispositioned. Back to sellable stock, quarantined for your review, held for a batch decision, or scrapped. Each route is a rule you write once rather than a decision made per unit.
- Reported. So the pattern is visible: which SKU, which reason, which channel.
For electronics there is a step in the middle: basic functional testing, so a unit that does not power on is not quietly restocked. That is evaluation and sorting rather than repair.
Your return rate is a category problem before it is an operations problem
Published 2026 benchmarks put beauty and personal care returns at 4% to 12%, apparel at 20% to 40%, and e-commerce overall near 20%. If you sell clothing, returns are not a rounding error on the invoice — they are a line that can rival pick and pack, and a strategy question rather than a warehouse one.
The arithmetic is in our worked cost example: at a 6% return rate the line is modest; at 25% it is roughly four times larger, before return postage and before anything you cannot resell.
What most brands under-budget is not the processing fee. It is the postage on the way back, the margin lost on units that cannot be resold, and the labor to repackage the ones that can.
What reduces returns, and what does not
Very little of this happens in a warehouse, which is worth saying plainly rather than selling you a service for it. Returns fall when sizing guidance is better, when photography matches the product, when the item arrives undamaged, and when the right thing was in the box in the first place — which is the one part we control, and why our order error rate matters here.
What does not reduce returns is a tighter returns window. It moves them, and it costs you the customer.
Where we are the wrong fit
- We are not a repair or refurbishment depot, and we do not refurbish to a certified standard.
- We do not replace batteries or perform warranty repair.
- We do not operate a customer-facing returns portal of our own; we work to the one you use.
- Storage is ambient only, so anything needing temperature control on the way back is not for this building.
If what you need is a graded refurbishment operation rather than inspect-and-sort, that is a different kind of vendor and we will say so rather than improvise.
How it is billed
Returns are billed as processing work, which is the honest way round: a sealed unit that goes straight back to the shelf is not the same job as one that has to be opened, assessed, repackaged and relabeled. Published market figures for per-return processing run roughly $1 to $7, and we will quote yours against your actual mix rather than an average. The rest of the structure is on the pricing page.
Common questions
Do you process returns?
Yes. Returns are received, matched to the original order where possible, inspected against your standard and dispositioned to your rules. Reporting shows which SKUs and which reasons are driving the rate.
Do you test returned electronics?
We do basic functional testing and returns evaluation, so a unit that does not work is not restocked. It is evaluation and sorting rather than repair: we do not refurbish to a certified standard and we do not replace batteries.
Who decides whether a returned item goes back on the shelf?
You do, in advance. You define the condition categories and what happens to each one, and we apply them. Leaving that to judgment on the warehouse floor is how unsellable stock ends up back in rotation.
How much do returns cost to process?
Published market figures run roughly $1 to $7 per return depending on how much handling is involved, and we quote against your actual mix. Budget the return postage and the margin on unsellable units separately, because those are usually larger than the processing fee.
Can you reduce my return rate?
Only the part we cause. Shipping the right item undamaged is ours, and our order error rate runs under 1%. The larger drivers are sizing guidance, photography and product expectation, which sit with you rather than with a warehouse.
Send us your return rate and your reasons
A month of returns data with the reason codes tells us more than a description does. We will tell you what it would cost to process and which part of it is actually fixable.