Who pays for shipping and returns in an online shop?
Shipping and return costs are half a legal question, half a calculation. The legal side is clear; economically the return rate decides whether free returns are viable.
Short answer
- On withdrawal you refund the purchase price plus the cost of the cheapest standard delivery offered.
- An express delivery chosen by the customer only has to be refunded up to the standard shipping cost.
- The customer only bears return costs if you said so in the withdrawal policy.
- Shipping costs must be quantified before the order is placed — a link to a shipping page alone is not enough.
- Budget a return rate per product range; fashion is far higher than hard goods.
Who bears which cost
Cost allocation on delivery and withdrawal
| Case | Outbound | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal, no defect | Merchant refunds the standard rate | Customer, if informed in advance |
| Goods are defective | Merchant | Merchant |
| Wrong item delivered | Merchant | Merchant |
| Voluntary goodwill return | As per your own terms | As per your own terms |
A practical example
Example: a customer orders for €80 and picks express shipping at €12 although standard costs €4.90. They withdraw entirely. You refund €80 plus €4.90 — the €7.10 difference stays with the customer. They pay the return themselves if your withdrawal policy says so explicitly.
Common mistakes
- Refunding no outbound shipping at all although the withdrawal covers the whole order.
- Charging the customer for returns without the notice in the policy.
- Promising free returns without pricing the return rate into the margin.
- Showing shipping costs only in the last checkout step and causing abandonment.
How 4shopy helps
- Shipping methods and prices are configurable per country and weight and appear already in the cart.
- The standard rate is flagged as such so refunds are calculated correctly.
- Returns can be documented per order and the rate analysed per product.