Refund the shipping cost on a return in Shopify
When a return is your store's fault, or your policy says so, the outbound shipping comes back too. You refund it in the Refund shipping section when you process the return. This tutorial refunds a $45.00 hoodie and its $12.00 shipping.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Returned | Summit Hoodie, $45.00 |
| Outbound shipping paid | $12.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% | $4.50 |
| Return shipping | $8.95 |
| Refund | $43.55 |
Download the record: shipping-refund-record.csv (126 bytes).
A record of the shipping refund in this tutorial. It is a record, not an import file: refunds are issued in the admin, not by CSV.
1Process the return
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders, click the order, and in the Return in progress section click Process return. Select the hoodie and set Restock at for it.
2Open the Refund shipping section
To refund shipping, in the Refund shipping section, select Shipping.
3Enter the shipping amount
Enter the amount that you want to refund for shipping: $12.00, the shipping the customer paid on the order.
4Check the total
Read the refund figure before you click. The item plus the shipping, less the restocking fee and the return shipping fee, is $43.55.
5Issue the refund now
In the Issue refund section, select Now, and then click Process and refund.
The arithmetic
The refund is the item plus the outbound shipping, less the two fees.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Summit Hoodie | $45.00 |
| Outbound shipping | $12.00 |
| Subtotal | $57.00 |
| Restocking fee, 10% of $45.00 | $4.50 |
| Return shipping fee | $8.95 |
| Refund | $43.55 |
45.00 plus 12.00 is $57.00. Then 57.00 less 4.50 is $52.50, and 52.50 less 8.95 is $43.55.
Held at the counter
Refunding shipping is a choice, not automatic. If you skip the Refund shipping section, the shipping stays with the store. Open the section on every return where the policy says shipping comes back.
The refund amount follows the outstanding balance. If you owe money to your customer, a banner with the outstanding balance is displayed on your order, and the amount is automatically added to the Refund amount field. Reread it after you enter the shipping refund.
The restocking fee is calculated by the items you process. Processing only some items changes the fee. For a shipping refund on a full return, select all the return items in one processing step.
Sources
- Processing and managing returns — Shopify's help pages: the process-return steps, the restock choice, the refund-shipping section, the refund-method choices, and the cancel / remove / close rules.