The best way to handle refunds and returns when dropshipping is to look to

see if it’s cheaper to let your customer keep the product and to just send a
new product. Otherwise, let your customer send it back to your supplier. You
only have to decide if you pay for the return costs or not.

- Recognize the products that might not require returns at all

o Some products can cost more with return shipping than
sending a replacement to your customer. Ex of $3 bracelet,
it would cost more to take care of the return process,
instead you could just send them a new bracelet, and this
would help also convert them into a repeat customer.

Common cause of refunds when dropshipping

- The product doesn’t match your store’s description
o Say that your store’s description states that the product is 5 cm by
5 cm, but the product is like ten times bigger. Or that you say that
the product color is coffee brown, but the real color is more black.
o You should double check the data your supplier supplied you with.
o Say you double check with your supplier about the color, then
customer gets different one, this is your supplier’s fault, contact
them directly by email or Aliexpress message asking about the
problem. Ask him to send your customer a replacement or give
you a refund.
- The product doesn’t fit right or they ordered the wrong size
o This could always happen when you have something like clothes or
jewelry in your dropshipping store.
o When this happens, your supplier likely won’t cover the return
costs. Unless, of course, they’re great. Knowing your supplier’s
policy about refunds and returns is going to make all the
difference. If you don’t know your supplier’s refund and return
policy then you should ask about it. In this situation, I recommend
you allow returns regardless of your supplier’s policy. Why? This
kind of customer service will give you lifetime customers. But first
check if the product is worth returning at all. Check if it might be
cheaper to send a new one to your customer and to let the
 customer keep the product they have now. Otherwise, I would just
ask that the customer pays for return shipping since the mistake
wasn’t on your end.
- The product is damaged or defective
o Although this won’t happen that much if you have a reliable
supplier, it could still happen sometimes.
o Ask your customer to send you pictures or a video of the damaged
product. Then send these to your supplier.
o If you have a good business relationship with your supplier, you
might not even need pictures or videos, but it’s a great way for
you to know if your customer is speaking the truth or not.
o Then most of the time you just have to send a message to your
supplier and ask them to send a replacement to your customer or
refund you the money.
o All you have to do now with your customer is to apologize and
convince them to wait for the replacement.
o “The above is true for most AliExpress suppliers, but most
dropshipping suppliers won’t cover return costs for defective
items because in their minds, they didn’t manufacture the
products, so they aren’t liable for defects. They simply view it as a
risk of selling products to a retail market.”
- The product did not arrive on time or it was lost in transit
o Your customer might think that their package is lost because it’s
been already one week, while the usual shipping time will be
between 2-3 weeks. Or you’re looking at the tracking information
of your customer’s order and you see that the last update was like
a month ago.
o The good thing now is that if you’re using AliExpress and you can’t
agree with your supplier that the package is lost, you can open a
dispute. Just look at the guarantee from your supplier. Most (if not
all) of the AliExpress sellers will have a 60-day or less delivery
guarantee.
How to handle refunds and returns in your dropshipping
store
- How do I respond to a refund request?
o The best tip I can give you for writing the first response is to not
mention a refund yet because this will mean that you lose all your
profits from that customer.
o This doesn’t mean you should never refund, but if they accept to
wait for a replacement, this would almost always be better for you
profit-wise.
o First, check if it’s cheaper for you to let your customer return the
product to your supplier or to let your customer keep the product
and just send a new one.
o If you’ve figured out that it’s cheaper for you to send a new
product to your customer then what I like to do is write something
like this to your customer:
 Hello “First name of the customer”,
I’m so sorry to hear that your bracelet was not the same as
it was described in our description.
What I can do for you is send you the correct bracelet, free
of charge. You won’t have to send back the bracelet you got
from us now!
Let me know if that would be alright for you.
Kind regards,
“Your information”
What if your customer still wants a refund?
o If your customer replies negatively to your email offering them a
replacement then in your second email offer them a refund.
o even though your customer raised a refund request, after
refunding them; you can still make that customer come back to
your dropshipping store again.
How? Extra things to do on top of the refund or replacement also:
 Exclusive Coupon Code: Give your customer a discount code
for their next purchase. This is a great way to get them to
come back.
  Store Credit: Give them store credit for the refund amount,
maybe even with something extra.
 Offer a Product Upgrade for Free: Just make sure you have
an upgrade available for that product.
 Free Product: If your customer accepts waiting for the
replacement, you could send them an extra product. This
could be low-cost for you, but could mean a lot for your
customer because they are getting something for free!
This is for one goal: To get them to purchase again!
- How do I deal with returns in my dropshipping store?