Articles on: Returns Management

How to Set Up Return Window

Plans: All plans Platforms: Shopify, Magento 1, Magento 2, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and more

Overview



Return window specifies the amount of time customers have to return a product. Now, when you want to start this window to make customers eligible to submit a return request, it's up to you. It may begin once the order is placed, shipped, or delivered. If your order fulfillment is slow, you might want to take the shipping or delivery date as your starting point to allow customers to check and decide if they want to keep or return the product.

AfterShip Returns allows you to configure general and holiday/product-specific return window for your customer from when it starts to when it ends. Follow the steps below to get started.

What you’ll learn



In this article, we will show you:

How to set up general return window
How to set up holiday/product specific return windows

General return window





Go to Returns Policy > Order lookup in the AfterShip Returns admin
From the three available options, select when you want the return window to start



Order date: The return window will begin when the order is placed by the customer
Fulfillment date (recommended): The return window will begin when the original order is marked as fulfilled in Shopify
Delivery date: The return window will begin when the original order is marked as delivered in AfterShip

To set return window based on delivery date, it is a must to first install and connect the AfterShip Tracking app and subscribe to a plan to receive shipment tracking updates based on which the return window rules will be applied.

Set the number of days when the return window will close. Leave it empty to set an unlimited returns window

Best practice: We recommend setting a return window of around 30-60 days from the date of fulfillment

Additional considerations



In the circumstances, when the tracking is invalid and the Delivery date cannot be fetched, the return window estimation will automatically fall back on the Fulfillment date. If our system cannot retrieve the Fulfillment date due to any reason, the return window will be calculated taking into account the Order date.

Holiday/Product-specific return windows



Longer return windows or shorter return windows on certain products types may not be profitable for your business. Therefore, you must determine the best return window for which product types.

You can set the return window based on specific product types or tags in AfterShip Returns admin.

Learn how to set up holiday/product-specific returns window with this step-by-step tutorial.

Supported platforms


Returns window by fulfillment date is supported for Shopify, Magento-1, Magento-2, WooCommerce, Bigcommerce, Wix, Walmart-us, Shopline, Shoplazza, ShipStation, SalesForce, NetSuite, Google-Shopping, Ecwid-v3, eBay, Amazon, Cdiscount, Shopware, Commerce API, CSV Import

Return window by order date is supported for Shopify, Magento-1, Magento-2, WooCommerce, Bigcommerce, Wix, Walmart-us, Squarespace, Spree, Shopline, Shoplazza, ShipStation, SalesForce, Prestashop, Decathlon - Prestashop, NetSuit, Jushuitan, Google-Shopping, Fluent-Commerce, Ecwid-v3, Ebay, Cscart, 3dCart, AmeriCommerce, Amazon, Cdiscount, Shopware, Commerce API, CSV Import, Klaviyo, Gorgias, and Zendesk

Return window by AfterShip delivery date is supported for Shopify, Magento-1, Magento-2, WooCommerce, Bigcommerce, Wix, Shopline, ShipStation, SalesForce, Ecwid-v3, Shopware, and CSV Import

For any further questions or help, please contact our chat support team

Updated on: 19/12/2023

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