Returns are part of selling online, and in some categories they are a large part. What separates a seller who loses money on returns from one who mostly breaks even is rarely the return rate itself. It is what happens in the first day after the parcel comes back.
A return left unopened in a corner is stock you cannot sell and evidence you can no longer use. Here is a process that keeps both.
Two kinds of parcels come back
- A customer return: the buyer received the product and sent it back.
- An RTO, return to origin: the parcel was never delivered and came back from the courier.
They often arrive together, but treat them separately. An RTO usually goes straight back into stock after a check. A customer return needs a closer look, because the product has been in someone's hands. Our guide to cutting RTO on COD orders covers the second kind.
1. Receive returns at a fixed time
Pick a time each day, separate from packing, for receiving returns. Doing it in the middle of packing is how returned items end up mixed with outgoing stock.
When you accept the parcel from the courier, check the outside: is it sealed, torn, much lighter than it should be? If something looks wrong, take a photo before you open it. Some marketplaces use a pickup or return code at handover; keep it with the parcel until you have checked it.
2. Open on camera
Record a short video as you open each customer return, with the label and the parcel's condition visible at the start. It takes seconds and is the best evidence you will have if the return is wrong.
3. Check against the order
Compare what is in the box with what you sent:
- Is it your product? The right SKU, size and colour?
- Is it complete? Tags, accessories, the box it came in?
- Is it in sellable condition, damaged, or used?
Sort each return into one of three piles: restock, repair or sell as seconds, and claim.
4. Record it the same day
Keep a simple returns log: date, order id, SKU, the reason the buyer gave, what you found, and which pile it went to. A spreadsheet is enough.
Over a few weeks this log shows patterns that are hard to see one return at a time:
- A SKU that comes back again and again for "size too small" needs a better size chart.
- "Not as described" points to a photo or a line in the description.
- Damage in transit points to packaging.
5. Restock quickly
Items in the restock pile go back on the shelf and back into your stock count the same day. Every day a sellable product sits in the returns corner is a day it could have been sold, and in a sale week that matters.
6. Claim what is not yours
If a return arrives with the wrong product, a damaged product that left you in good condition, or an empty box, raise it with the marketplace. Each marketplace has its own claim process and time limit, so check the current rules in your seller panel's help pages rather than relying on memory.
A strong claim has:
- The order id.
- The opening video or photos, showing the parcel and label.
- Photos of what arrived beside what you sent, if you have them.
- A short, factual description.
Raise it promptly. Claims filed late are much harder to win.
Making time for returns
A returns routine needs a fixed slot in the day, and the easiest place to find one is the outgoing routine. The Sellerio Seller Toolkit, a free Chrome extension for Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho, runs the daily order work for you: it accepts orders, crops and prints the labels with a pick list, and can start by itself at a daily time13.
Add to Chrome — freeAmazon, Flipkart & Meesho · Free for everyone · No API key or password
It runs in Chrome on a computer. On a phone, send yourself the link.
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