Ecommerce Returns Processing 3PL for DTC Brands
An ecommerce returns processing 3PL should leave every returned unit in one of two places: back on sale, or set aside for your decision. At our Fort Worth, TX warehouse we receive each return, check its condition, restock what can be sold, and flag damaged or unsellable units for you to decide on.
- Recorded in
- ShipHero, against the return
- Volume
- Counted in orders, no ceiling
- Processed in
- Fort Worth, TX 76177
What returns processing decides
Every return comes down to one call per unit: back into stock, or set aside for you. Making that call accurately, and writing it down where you can see it, is the whole job.
Returns processing is the work a 3PL does after a customer sends an order back: receiving the package, checking what is inside, restocking the units that can be sold again, and setting aside the ones that cannot. For a DTC brand the stakes are inventory and cash. A sellable unit sitting unopened in a returns pile is stock you have already paid for that your store cannot sell.
At Marketplace Prep, returns run inside the same ShipHero account as your outbound orders. Our warehouse team works returns through our own returns scanner, which records condition, quantity received and restock against the ShipHero return, so the record and the shelf agree. It is the workflow already in use across the client accounts we fulfill for, not a separate desk bolted onto the side.
If you want the outbound side first, here is how DTC fulfillment works from receiving to carrier handoff.
How a return moves through our warehouse
Five steps, in the order a returned package actually moves through them.
01
Receive it and match it to the order
Each return is received at our warehouse and matched to the order it came from. Our returns scanner can find that order from the package’s tracking number, or we look it up by order number. A package that arrives with no return record on file is still received and logged to your account rather than left on a shelf unaccounted for.
02
Check the condition of each unit
We open the package and look at every unit. The judgment is physical: can this unit go back on sale as it is, or not. We record condition and the quantity that actually arrived. We do not guess at why the customer sent it back, because the person holding the box cannot know that.
03
Restock what can be sold
Sellable units go back into stock and are recorded as restocked against the ShipHero return. They rejoin the same inventory pool that feeds every connected channel listing, so a unit that came back from one order is available to the next one.
04
Flag damaged or unsellable units to you
Anything that cannot go back on sale is pulled aside instead of restocked, and flagged to you in your WhatsApp group. The decision on what happens to it is yours. We do not make that call for you.
05
Leave a record you can check
Condition, quantity received and restock are written against the return in ShipHero, the same system that holds your orders and inventory. When a customer asks about a refund, the answer to “did it come back, and in what shape” is already on the return.
What gets recorded, and who supplies it
A return record is only useful if each field comes from the party that actually knows it. That is why our team records condition, and the reason stays with you.
Original order
The order the return belongs to, matched by tracking number or order number.
Our returns scanner, from ShipHero
Quantity received
How many units were actually in the package, which is not always what the customer said they sent.
Our team, at receiving
Condition
Whether each unit can be sold again as it is, or is damaged or unsellable.
Our team, at receiving
Restocked
Which units went back into available inventory.
Our team, recorded in ShipHero
Return reason
Why the customer sent it back. If no reason is on file, it is recorded as not provided rather than guessed.
Your return record
Returns on orders Amazon fulfilled through FBA go back into Amazon’s network, not to our warehouse. Returns processing here covers the packages sent back to us.
Who this is built for
Returns processing here is part of DTC fulfillment. It fits brands whose orders already ship from our warehouse and whose returns come back to it.
A fit
- DTC brands selling through a Shopify store connected to ShipHero, where returns are a regular part of the business.
- Brands that want the final say on damaged units rather than a warehouse deciding for them.
- Brands listing the same product on more than one channel, who want a restocked unit available on all of them.
- Apparel and footwear brands whose returns need review, and who want to agree on the process and the rates up front.
Questions we get about returns
What happens to a return when it reaches your warehouse?
We receive the package and match it to its original order, by tracking number or by order number. We check the condition of each unit, restock what can be sold again, and set aside anything damaged or unsellable for you to decide on. Condition, quantity received and what was restocked are recorded against the return in ShipHero.
Who decides what to do with a damaged return?
You do. Damaged or unsellable units are never put back into available stock. We pull them aside, flag them to you in your WhatsApp group, and hold them until you tell us what you want done with them.
Do restocked returns go back on sale in my Shopify store?
Yes. A restocked unit goes back into the same ShipHero inventory your Shopify store draws from, so it is available to sell again through the integration. If the same product is listed under different SKUs on different channels, one master SKU can hold the stock for all of them, so a restocked unit counts everywhere that product is listed.
Do you handle returns for apparel?
Yes. Apparel and footwear returns often need more than a condition check before they can be resold, so we review that work with you before it starts. If your returns need extra handling, we’ll work with you to evaluate rates for it, and you see the quote before anything runs.
How are returns priced?
Standard returns follow the same structure as our pick and pack fee, which is published on our fulfillment pricing page. If returns become a significant part of your volume, or need testing, cleaning or repackaging before resale, we’ll work with you to evaluate rates. Nothing changes without a quote you have seen first.
Do you guarantee how fast returns get restocked?
No. We do not publish blanket turnaround guarantees. Service levels are scoped per engagement and written into your service agreement, based on your products and how many returns come back.
Will you record why the customer sent the item back?
The reason comes from your return record, not from our warehouse. If you created the return in ShipHero with a reason attached, that reason stays on it. If no reason is on file, we record it as not provided. Our team records what it can actually see: the condition of the unit and how many arrived.
Returns piling up? Let’s scope them.
Tell us your channels, your products, and roughly how many orders come back each month. We will walk through how your returns would run in our warehouse and what the record looks like on your side.
Related services
DTC Fulfillment
Pick, pack and ship for ecommerce orders on ShipHero, with the published pricing that returns follow.
Fulfillment for Small Ecommerce Brands
Order fulfillment on ShipHero for growing brands, measured in orders shipped, with no ceiling as you scale.
Apparel Fulfillment
Order fulfillment for clothing brands, including returns that need review before they go back on sale.
Multichannel Fulfillment
One inventory pool behind every channel listing, so stock, including restocked returns, counts everywhere at once.
What DTC Fulfillment Costs
How fulfillment pricing is built, line by line, before you request a quote.