Online store returns: how to set up a process that does not put customers off

Returns are part of running an online shop, like the coffee machine is part of an office. Nobody wants them, everybody has them, and they only get talked about when something breaks. A customer writes in three different channels, a parcel arrives without an order number and you spend an hour finding out whose it is.

The process can be set up once and then runs almost by itself. Returns are not the problem. Returns without rules are.

What the law requires

For distance purchases, EU consumers can withdraw from the contract within 14 days of receiving the goods and do not have to give a reason. A few points are worth knowing before you set anything up.

• You refund within 14 days of the withdrawal. That includes the standard delivery the customer paid at checkout (an extra for faster delivery does not have to be refunded).
• You may wait with the refund until the goods are back, or until the customer proves they were sent.
• The customer pays return shipping, but only if you told them so before the purchase. If your terms are silent, you pay.
• Exceptions exist: made-to-order goods, sealed hygiene products once opened, digital content once the download has started.

Check the details and exceptions for your product range in the law of your country or with a lawyer. This article is about operations, not legal interpretation.

Why the process matters more than you think

A return costs you twice. Once in shipping (the parcel back, often your postage), and once in labour: someone has to receive the goods, inspect them, restock them and send the money. If you run this from emails and memory, every return can cost ten extra minutes. At twenty returns a month you will cope. At two hundred you will not.

And there is the other side. A customer whose return is handled quickly and without argument often comes back. One who waits three weeks for a refund writes an angry review. That is reason enough to invest some time.

Four things that hold the process together

1. Clear terms on your website

One page that a customer can reach in two clicks from the footer and from the confirmation email. What can be returned, by when, in what condition, who pays return shipping and how the refund arrives. Write it for someone who is annoyed and in a hurry, so no paragraphs about liability for defects.

2. A form or portal instead of email

The most expensive return is the one that arrives as an email: “Hi, I want to return the shoes.” Which ones? From which order? Why? A form collects the order number, items, reason and bank details at once. Smaller shops manage with a simple form, larger ones use a returns portal that generates the label straight away. Multi-carrier tools such as Eurosender or Sendcloud often offer this.

3. One designated carrier and a ready label

If you let customers “just send it somehow”, you get three different carriers, unreadable addresses and the occasional cash on delivery parcel you never wanted. It is much cleaner to send them a label for a pickup point, with no hand-written addresses. The customer does not have to think, and you know what is coming and when. When choosing a carrier for returns, check that it handles return shipments and how they are priced. More on choosing in the guide to Sendcloud, Packlink and direct carrier contracts.

4. A fixed deadline for the refund

The law gives you 14 days, but nothing stops you being faster. A good rule: refund within three working days of delivery and inspection. Customers value this more than any discount, because their main fear with returns is that the money never arrives. Make it an internal standard and track it.

Who pays for return shipping

Shops basically choose between three options.

Option	Pros	Cons
Customer pays	Cheapest for you, normally allowed by law	Puts people off buying, especially fashion and pricier goods
You always pay	Least friction at checkout, a strong advertising claim	Returns grow because they cost nothing, and each one eats margin
Free above a basket value or for defects	A compromise that encourages larger baskets	More rules, more explaining on the website

There is no universal answer. For cheap goods with thin margins, return shipping often eats the entire profit on the order; in fashion, a free return is close to standard. Work out what share of your orders comes back and decide on that. As with the free shipping threshold, it pays to decide by numbers, not by feeling.

What to do with returned goods

Returned goods do not end at receiving. You need a simple routine, ideally with three states: new (back to stock), used or damaged (discount, outlet or write-off) and defective (claim with the supplier). Anything without this split piles up in a box by the door, and a month later nobody knows what is in it. Add the order number, a photo of the condition and a note of the outcome. You need nothing more.

Most common mistakes

• Returns without an order number. The parcel arrives and nobody knows whose it is. Fix: a label or form that requires the number.
• Terms only buried in the general T&Cs. Nobody reads them. Put a short version on its own page.
• Refund “once it arrives and someone looks at it”. It will arrive, sure, but the customer sees stalling. Set an internal deadline.
• No measurement. If you do not know what share of orders comes back and why, there is nothing to improve. A spreadsheet with the return reason is enough.
• Cash on delivery for returns. A returned cash on delivery parcel is expensive twice over. Offer prepayment or a label without it.

How to start

You do not need to build anything big. In order of how much work it saves: write one page with return terms, add a form with the order number, agree return labels with your carrier, set an internal refund deadline and review the return reasons after three months. If you also ship abroad, have a look at how returns work for the customer on the other side. It helps you understand what they expect from your process.

Quick facts

Online store returns: how to set up a process that does not put customers off

schedule Updated 01/10/2026

Summary

Under EU consumer law, shoppers have 14 days from receiving the goods to withdraw from an online purchase without giving a reason. The shop must refund the money, including standard delivery, within 14 days of the withdrawal, but may wait until the goods are back or the customer proves they were sent. The customer pays return shipping if they were told so before buying. A returns process that works rests on four things: clear terms on the website, a form or portal instead of email threads, one designated carrier with a prepared label, and a fixed refund deadline. Returns cannot be removed entirely, but they can become predictable operations with a known cost instead of constant firefighting.

Withdrawal period

14 days from receiving the goods, no reason required

Refund deadline

Within 14 days of the withdrawal, including standard delivery to the customer

Return shipping

Paid by the customer if told before purchase (otherwise by the shop)

Typical exceptions

Made-to-order goods, sealed hygiene products once opened, digital content once download starts

Process foundation

Terms page, form or portal, one carrier, a fixed refund deadline