Set Up Shipping Charges, Exchange Fees, and Refund Deductions for Exchanges and Returns

This article explains the three fee options available for exchange requests and returns, how each one charges or deducts money, and how to avoid double-charging a customer. All three live together in one place.

Where these settings live

All three fee options are found under Settings > Exchange Requests > Exchange Options. Each is a toggle that reveals its related fields when enabled.

Set a default shipping charge

The Set a default shipping charge option adds a default shipping charge to exchanges when the exchange fulfillment is created on the original order. When enabled, the fee is added to the return as a shipping charge and can be adjusted per exchange.

This checkbox is disabled unless two conditions are both met: your store is on the Advanced plan and your Exchange Method is set to Original Order Exchanges. A warning banner explains that shipping charges are only available with Original Order Exchanges. By default this setting is off.

Add an exchange fee by default

The Add an exchange fee by default option adds a product line-item fee to exchange orders. When you enable it, a Select Product button appears so you can choose the Shopify product that represents the fee. The customer is charged that product's price once per exchange, regardless of how many items are in the exchange, and you can toggle the fee on or off per exchange.

This works with both Original Order and New Order exchanges. By default it is off.

A caution banner warns about double-charging if you also enable the refund fee below — see the warning at the end of this article.

Deduct a return fee from refunds

The Deduct a return fee from refunds option turns on a restocking/return fee that is subtracted from the customer's refund total when you process a return. For example, a $100 item with a 10% fee refunds $90. By default it is off.

When enabled, the following fields become active:

1. Fee type — choose whether the fee is a flat amount or a percentage. Selecting a flat amount shows a currency-prefixed amount field; selecting a percentage shows a percentage field. This defaults to flat and is disabled until the return fee is enabled.
2. Waive fee for Store Credit refunds — when enabled, the fee is not deducted from Store Credit (gift card) refunds, and is only applied to refunds back to the original payment method. This checkbox is disabled until the return fee itself is active.

The return fee works with both Original Order and New Order exchanges.

Avoid double-charging

If you enable both Add an exchange fee by default and Deduct a return fee from refunds, a caution banner appears because a customer could be charged both fees on the same request. Review whether you truly want both active, or use the per-exchange toggles to apply only one where appropriate.

Plan requirements

The default shipping charge requires the Advanced plan and the Original Order Exchanges method. The exchange fee and refund deduction options work with both exchange methods.