Handling returns as a small webshop: from opening the package to making it resalable
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
A return primarily costs you time, and time is money. With a fixed process from opening the package to returning it to the shelf, you keep the costs per return low — including what packaging you need for it.
The box comes back with three layers of tape around it, the product is loose inside the filling, and the packing slip is missing. Now it's up to you to figure out if it's still sellable. With a few returns per week, this is mostly annoying. If it increases to dozens, it will genuinely cost money: shipping there, shipping back, your time, and a product you might have to sell at a discount. A fixed routine and the right packaging can reduce that difference more than you think.
What your customer is entitled to (and what not)
If you sell online to consumers in the Netherlands, a statutory cooling-off period applies. The general rule is fourteen days after receipt to revoke the order, followed by a period to return it. There are exceptions, including for custom-made products and for sealed items that cannot be returned for hygienic reasons if the seal is broken. The exact wording and the complete list of exceptions can be found at the Authority for Consumers and Markets on acm.nl. Use that text as a basis for your own return policy and update it periodically — this article is not legal advice.
A practical consequence for your packaging: if you sell something for which the seal matters, that seal must genuinely be present and visibly breakable. A sticker that can be removed without a trace will not help you if a dispute arises.
It starts with the outbound shipment
A package that can be opened neatly, comes back neatly. That saves you work later.
One seal, no tape wall. Anyone who has to pry open a box with a knife will sooner or later cut into your product. Close with one strip of packaging tape 48 mm wide (50 meters, €3.00) and keep the flaps intact.
Visibly seal where it counts.VOID security seals (60 pieces, €9.95) leave a trace as soon as they are pulled off. Useful for products where you need to be able to determine if they have been opened.
A fixed route from table to shelf
Returns go wrong when they pile up and are only checked days later. Establish one route and always follow it, even when busy:
Accept and record. Find the order number before opening. No packing slip in the box? Search by name or address on the return label.
Open with care. Cut along the tape seam, not across the box. A set of utility knives (8 pieces, €4.95) is cheap enough to place one at each workstation, so no one starts with scissors.
Assess in three bins. Unopened and complete, opened but intact, and damaged. You don't need more categories.
Process. Initiate refunds, update inventory, and immediately package the product as it should leave the door again — do not put it back loosely.
Set aside doubtful cases with a note explaining your doubts. This prevents you from evaluating the same product again next week.
What can you reuse?
Reusing packaging material directly saves money, but not everything is suitable for it.
Component
Reuse?
Why
Corrugated cardboard box
Yes, if the flaps are intact
If flaps are torn, the box will no longer close tightly
Bubble wrap
Yes
Only loses cushioning effect when bubbles are popped
Bubble envelope
Usually not
The adhesive strip is single-use; re-taping looks messy
Without figures, it remains a feeling. Therefore, write down once what is lost per return: the outbound shipping you don't get back, the return shipping if you pay for it, the new packaging material, and the minutes someone spends on it. Include those minutes at an hourly rate you consider realistic. Often, labor turns out to be the largest item, not the cardboard – and that changes what you focus on.
Small interventions with a big effect:
Size information before the button. Most clothing returns are due to unclear sizing, not poor products. Add dimensions in centimeters to the photos.
Photos of the actual product. Color difference is a classic return reason. Photograph in daylight and show one photo without a filter.
A tape dispenser (17 x 7 x 7.2 cm, €6.00) on the packing table. Sounds trivial, but those who have to pull and bite off tape package more carelessly – and sloppy packages are returned more often.
Standard text with the refund. One fixed, friendly email saves you a few minutes per return and more often results in a second order than a silent deposit.
Get started
Go through your return process once with a stopwatch and see where the minutes get stuck. Usually, it's searching: for the order number, for tape, for a box of the right size. You solve that with inventory on the packing table, not with a new system. Everything you need for that is at Packaging & Shipping, Letterbox Packaging, Tape, and Stickers & Tapes. If you're unsure which size fits your product, or want to know the cost per unit for larger quantities, email your question to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — please provide the dimensions and weight of your product, and we'll help calculate.
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