Why does return shipping cost more than the item?
International online marketplace sellers often place the financial burden of returns onto the buyer, leaving customers trapped when courier fees dwarf the cost of the product. Because return shipping can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, buyers are forced to either absorb the loss of a defective item or abandon the return process entirely.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Accepting a partial refund from the sellerDid this help you?
- 2Attempting to resell the item independently on secondary marketplacesDid this help you?
- 3Failing to return the item and absorbing the financial lossDid this help you?
- 4Writing an honest review with a photo of the received item and escalating a case to Etsy for a refundDid this help you?
- 5Open a case with EtsyDid this help you?
- 6Opening a case with the marketplace customer supportDid this help you?
- 7Filing a credit card chargebackDid this help you?
- 8Accepting the loss without returning the itemDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Bought a $350 rug that arrived stained and looks significantly thinner/cheaper than the listing.”source ↗
“Seller (in India) says I must pay the return shipping, which is fine. FedEx quoted me $1,300 to return it”source ↗
“The color is very different from what I expected. Maybe I was being naive with unrealistic expectations but please be the judge of that. But what are my chances at receiving any kind of refund?”source ↗
“The seller’s refund policy is that I need to pay for shipping. But shipping this giant of an irregular shaped package back to India seems like it would cost the entire $1k.”source ↗
“Hi, I did read the FAQs but didn’t see this specific scenario mentioned. In short, I bought some opal slices but what I received was completely different from the listing.”source ↗
“But he did ask me to cover the cost to ship the correct item, $5. Is that right/allowed?”source ↗
“I will have to pay shipping ($37) if I want to return it.”source ↗
“But the return costs $1300 😨 so I'm worried Etsy will reply and say that I need to pay that to return the rug.”source ↗
“The thing is on the post, it says the buyer is responsible for the return shipping. Which was FINE until I learned it's $1300! I just find this so unfair and unclear.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 8How to get a refund when an online seller won't ship or reply
- 11How to handle crazy high shipping costs for small business
- 3Why am I getting refund requests for orders from years ago?
- 16Why hasn't my online order shipped yet?
- 2Etsy refunded the buyer but the package arrived
- 2Why are some small orders bypassing shipping charges?