If you sell online to consumers, you get returns. That's not a problem in itself. It only becomes a problem when returns are left lying around: the customer waits for their refund, your stock no longer adds up and nobody knows what to do with damaged items.
What the law says
Consumers in the EU have a right of withdrawal of 14 days for online purchases: they can cancel the purchase without giving a reason. After notifying you, they have another 14 days to send the product back. You must refund within 14 days of the notification, but you may wait until you have the product back, or until the customer shows they've sent it. There are exceptions, for example for custom-made products or perishable goods.
The steps of good returns processing
- 1Registration: the customer registers the return, ideally via a form or returns portal, with a reason.
- 2Receipt: on arrival, the parcel is scanned and linked to the original order.
- 3Inspection: is the product complete, unused and undamaged? If there's damage, a photo is taken.
- 4Decision: back into stock, repack, set aside for an outlet, return to the supplier or write off.
- 5Report: you're told what came in and in what condition, so you can refund the customer.
Learn from your returns
Return reasons are worth their weight in gold. If many customers send back the same product with the reason "runs small" or "arrived damaged", you know what to change: the size chart, the product photos or the packaging. So track the reasons per product and review them every month.
Returns for technical products
With spare parts and appliances, returns are often defective parts coming back for warranty or repair. These often use an RMA number (Return Merchandise Authorization): a return number you assign in advance, so you know immediately what it's about on receipt. Also register the serial number, so you can back up warranty claims with your supplier. More on that in what is technical fulfilment?
At Sendwit, every return is checked, registered and reported to you within 3 working days. We forward warranty parts to your supplier or for repair. See our commitments.