Free returns log

About this document

A returns log records each return you processed — what came back, why, and what you did about it. It's the seller's own memory, independent of any marketplace dashboard, and where patterns like one batch drawing three damage claims become visible.

When to use it

• A return arrives and the outcome is decided.
• Selling across channels, where no single dashboard sees everything.
• Month's end, when returns should be explained rather than just counted.

Getting it right

• Record the outcome you actually gave — refunded, replaced, declined. The log records decisions; it doesn't make them.
• Reference order numbers, not customer names — cases stay identifiable without collecting personal details.
• Scan the month for repeats; the log's real product is the pattern, not the rows.

It is not a return policy — it sets no conditions or deadlines, and records what happened after your policy, whatever it says, was applied.

Part of Run an online shop — the whole situation, connected.

Common questions

Marketplace returns too, or only direct ones?

Both — the dashboard shows the platform's side. Your log shows what you actually did, including cases that started in DMs.

What reason wording works best?

Short and consistent: arrived damaged, wrong item, changed mind. Consistency is what makes the monthly scan useful.

A return came back unsellable — where does that go?

Log the return here, then send it on to the waste log — rows carry over, and you delete the ones going back on the shelf.