Paying for the return of an online purchase you don’t like? For some companies this is correct

2023-04-16 13:12:11

Ordering a pair of shoes two sizes larger to make sure you get what you want (you can make it anyway)? The mountain of returned products – 50,000 a day – made webshop Wehkamp decide to charge for the return of parcels, RTL says.

50 cents per returned item, this is the rule that the Wehkamp webshop has been applying since April 24th. The measure should help reduce the number of returns. “With the symbolic costs, Wehkamp wants to emphasize to its customers the social impact of the flow of goods,” a spokesman told RTL Nieuws.

“Most of the returns come from a fairly small group of customers who order a lot of items, but also return a lot,” the spokesperson says. The store expects these people to order fewer items as a result of the measure.

But Wehkamp isn’t the only one charging the cost of return shipping: previously, clothing stores H&M and Zara have already implemented the measure in the UK and Norway. Other Wehkamp competitors, including Bol.com and Coolblue, have yet to follow up on the practice.

“The vast majority are ‘as new’ and can be returned to our shop in no time,” a group spokesperson tells RTL. According to him, this applies to about 70% of returned items. The remaining 30 percent come sold at a discount, sent to a buyer or outlet, or returned to the supplier. “Part of it also goes to charities, such as Voorleesexpress and Food Bank”.