Create a manual return in Shopify
A manual return starts in your admin when a customer tells you they want to send something back. You pick the items, record the reason, and Shopify works out the estimated refund. This tutorial returns one Summit Hoodie, $45.00, from order #1042.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | #1042 |
| Order items | Hoodie $45.00, tee $28.00, total $73.00 |
| Returning | 1 Summit Hoodie, $45.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% | $4.50 |
| Return shipping | $8.95 |
| Estimated refund | $31.55 |
Download the record: manual-return-record.csv (134 bytes).
A record of the manual return in this tutorial. It is a record, not an import file: returns are created in the admin, not by CSV.
1Open the order
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders, then click the order you want to return.
2Click Return
If the order is fulfilled, click Return. If the order has unfulfilled items, click More actions, then Return.
3Enter the quantity to return
In the Select quantity to return section, enter 1 for the hoodie. Leave the tee at 0, because it is staying with the customer.
4Select a return reason
In the Return reason section, select a return reason. The reasons you can choose from vary based on the product category.
5Check and edit the fees
In the Summary section, click Restocking fee or Return shipping to change them, then click Done. The restocking fee can be edited by return or by item, but the return shipping fee can be edited only by return.
6Choose how the customer sends it back
In the Return shipping options section, pick one: create a return label in Shopify, upload a return label, or no shipping required. A label created in Shopify is only available if you have a location in the same country as the customer's shipping address, and that country is the United States or Canada.
7Click Create return
Click Create return. The customer gets a confirmation email with the return shipping information and the estimated refund. After you receive the items back, you process the return and issue the refund.
The arithmetic
The estimated refund is worked out when you create the return: the item price, less the restocking fee, less the return shipping fee.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Summit Hoodie | $45.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% of $45.00 | $4.50 |
| Return shipping fee | $8.95 |
| Estimated refund | $31.55 |
The tee is not part of this return, so its $28.00 stays on the order. The estimate is not the refund: the refund is issued when you process the return after the parcel arrives.
Held at the counter
Only fulfilled items that have not been refunded can be returned. You can create a return only for fulfilled items that have not been refunded. A refund without a return does not record a return reason, and you cannot create a return for items you have already refunded.
The estimate is not a promise to pay it today. The financial outcome is calculated when you create the return, but the refund is issued when you process it. If the parcel never arrives, the refund never happens.
Exchange items are not reserved yet. If you add exchange items to a return, their inventory is not reserved until you process the return. A popular size can sell out while the return is in transit.
Sources
- Creating returns and exchanges — Shopify's help pages: the create-return steps, the return shipping options, the fee-edit rules, the exchange-item rules, and the category-specific return reasons.