Dropship returns & RTO policy

Two different events get called "returns" in dropshipping, and they cost differently: RTO (the parcel was never accepted) and a customer return (delivered, then sent back).

RTO — refused at the door

The customer refused delivery; the parcel travels back to the supplier. The supplier's RTO fee is charged to the reseller — what you charge your own customer for a refusal is your call.

Customer returns — the return window

A delivered order can be marked returned (customer return / damaged / wrong item) inside the supplier's return window — 7 days by default, configurable anywhere from 0 to 365 and enforced server-side.

On a return, the collected COD unwinds back toward the reseller, and platform commission is netted out of the cycle — the money trail reverses cleanly.

This is exactly why payouts wait: a delivered parcel's earnings sit on hold for the supplier's payout-hold period, so a parcel can never have been paid out before its return window closes. See fees & payouts.

Your responsibilities as the reseller

You own the customer relationship:

1. Answer the customer and honour your own storefront return policy.
2. Work the supplier return inside Dropship orders — that's where the return is marked and tracked.
3. Customer-facing refunds and exchanges follow the normal returns flow — see process a return.

Partial returns and exchanges

Dropship items support both — with one constraint: an exchange must pick a replacement product from the same supplier. You can't swap a refused item for another supplier's product on the same parcel.