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Creating returns and exchanges

You can create and manage returns directly from your Shopify admin. When you create a return, you can send your customer return shipping information, such as shipping instructions or return labels, and communicate the estimated refund. You can also add exchange items to a return, and provide customers a way to make a payment when a balance is due. Offering exchanges helps you retain revenue and potentially increase revenue through upsells.

After you receive and inspect the returned items, you can issue a refund, restock applicable items, and fulfill exchange items.

To create returns, you need to be the store owner or have the Orders permission. Learn more about Staff permissions.

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Considerations for creating returns and exchanging items

Before you create a return, review the following considerations:

  • You can create a return only for fulfilled items that haven't been refunded.
  • You can't add custom items as exchange items.
  • You can't add exchange items to orders with duties, but you can create a return for orders with duties.
  • Order level discounts can't be applied to exchange items, but you can add a product discount to exchange items.

Understanding return financials

When you create a return, the expected financial result is calculated for you. If you use return fees or add exchange items, then the value of these sales is automatically applied against the return items. Depending on the difference in value, you can issue a refund or collect payment from the customer. After creating a return, the order total is updated to reflect these changes and the order displays whether a refund is owed to the customer or a balance is owed to you. You control when refunds are issued and can wait until return items are received.

After you create a return with exchange items, your customer receives an email notification that indicates which items they're receiving as exchanges and which items they need to return. If your customer owes you money for the exchange items, then they can go to checkout and pay the remaining balance directly from the invoice email notification.

Review the following table to learn more about the flow of funds in returns and exchanges and what actions you need to take in specific situations:

Flow of funds in exchanges
SituationAction
You owe the customer money for a return or an exchange where the new items are less expensive than the returning items.You need to issue a refund to your customer.
The customer owes you money for a return or an exchange where new items and fees are more expensive than the returning items.You can collect the balance by sending a return notification with a link to make payment, sending an invoice, capturing payment, or marking your order as paid.
New items and returning items have the same value, and it's an even exchange.No action is required. The money paid for the returning items is applied to the new items.

Create a return

You can create a return from your Shopify admin. When you create a return, you can also add exchange items. After you create a return with exchange items, the exchange items are automatically put on hold.

When you create a return, the return shipping fee and restocking fee are displayed based on your return rules. You can also edit the return fees for a specific return. The restocking fee can be edited by return or by item, but the return shipping fee can be edited only by return.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to return.

  3. Click Return.

  4. In the Select return items section, enter the quantity of items that you want to return, and then select a return reason.

  5. Optional: To edit a restocking fee or a return shipping fee, complete the following steps:

    1. In the Summary section, click Restocking fee or Return shipping.
    2. Enter a new restocking fee or return shipping.
    3. Click Save.
    4. Optional: You can also edit the restocking fee on an individual return item by clicking on the fee below the item.

  6. Optional: To add exchange items to a return, complete the following steps:

    1. In the Exchange items section, click Add products.
    2. Select the exchange items, and then click Done.
    3. Optional: To apply a product discount to exchange items, complete the following steps:
      1. Click Apply discount next to the exchange item's price.
      2. Enter a discount type, discount value, and a reason for discount.
      3. Click Apply.

  7. In the Return shipping options section, select one of the following options:

    • Select Create a return label in Shopify to create a return shipping label for your customer. This option is available only if your primary location and customer shipping address are both in the United States.
    • Select Upload a return label to upload an existing return shipping label for your customer. You can upload a PDF or JPEG file for your return label or add a return label URL. You can also enter a Tracking number and Shipping carrier.
    • Select No shipping required to create a return without any return shipping information.

  8. Click Create return.

Restock return items

After you receive the return items, you can inspect and restock them. When restocking return items on mobile, you can only restock all items to a single location.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to restock return items for.

  3. In the Return in progress section, click Restock.

  4. Select the items to restock.

  5. In the Restock location section, select a location to restock your items to.

  6. Click Restock items.

Process and fulfill exchange items

After you inspect and restock your return items, you need to process and fulfill the exchange items. Exchange items are automatically put on hold awaiting the return delivery, but the fulfillment can be released at any time. After you fulfill the exchange items, your customer receives an email notification. They can also check their order summary and order status from their customer account.

The following steps can be taken in any order based on your business process.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to fulfill exchange items for.

  3. Optional: Restock your return items.

  4. Go to the On hold section, and then click Release fulfillment. Exchange items are also displayed in the Return in progress section for reference.

  5. In the Unfulfilled section, fulfill the exchange items the same way that you fulfill your regular orders.

  6. Depending on the adjustment to your order, issue a refund or collect payment:

    • If you owe money to your customer, then issue a refund.
    • If your customer owes you money, then click Collect payment, and then select how you want to collect your payment.

Issue a refund for return items

After you receive the return items, you can inspect them, and then issue a refund to your customer.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to issue a refund.

  3. In the Return in progress section, click Refund.

  4. Enter the quantity of the items that you want to refund.

  5. Optional: If you don't want to send an email to your customer when you issue the refund, then deselect Send a notification to the customer. This option is selected by default.

  6. Click Refund to refund the customer's order.

Remove return items from a return

If a customer doesn't send a return package or an item is missing in a returned package, then you can remove the item from a return. After you remove a return item, your order balance is adjusted accordingly.

You can't remove refunded or restocked items from a return.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to remove return items from.

  3. In the Return in progress section, click ….

  4. Click Remove return items.

  5. Select the items that you want to remove from a return.

  6. Click Remove item, and then click Remove item to confirm.

Cancel a return

If you create a return by mistake or your customer has changed their mind about requesting a return, then you can cancel the return. To cancel a return with exchange items, you need to cancel a return, and then edit the order to remove the unfulfilled exchange items.

You can cancel a return only in the following scenarios:

  • The return isn't refunded.
  • The return isn't restocked.
  • The return is open and not Marked as returned.
  • The return doesn't have a Shopify Shipping return label.
  • The fulfillment for the return isn't canceled.

After you cancel a return, you can't reopen it, but you can create a new return.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order for the return that you want to cancel.

  3. On the Return in progress card, click …, and then click Cancel return.

  4. Click Cancel return to confirm.

Open a return

If you have any outsanding tasks to complete for a return, then you can open a return.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order for the return that you want to open.

  3. On the Returned card, click …, and then click Open return.

Close a return

After you complete all outstanding tasks for the return, you can close the return. The return closes automatically when every item is refunded and restocked. When exchanging items, you don't need to refund every item unless you owe money to your customer. The return closes automatically after every item is restocked.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the order that you want to close a return for.

  3. On the Return in progress card, click …, and then click Close return.

Filter orders by return status

You can filter the orders on your Orders page by return status.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.

  2. Click the Open tab to display all open orders.

  3. Click Filters.

  4. Click Select filter, and then select Return status.

  5. Click Select value, and then select Return in progress or Returned to display the returned orders.

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