When processing a return through Shopify Collective, I see there’s an option for sellers to deduct shipping from the refund amount. However, the only available option appears to be deducting for a return shipping label.
Our situation is a bit different. We don’t require the customer to return the product, but we’d still like to deduct the original outbound shipping cost we paid from the amount collected through Shopify Collective.
Is there currently a way to do this? If not, is this something on the roadmap? Would love to hear if anyone else has found a workaround. We deducted the original shipping amount and now it shows a net payment of the shipping. Which is not true as we already paid USPS for the shipment.
Check your Shopify Collective return policy settings. Shopify has a specific returns policy section for Collective orders, and depending on your setup it can either have the supplier create the return label and trigger the customer refund, or it may be set to “Collective takes no action,” which leaves you handling it manually.
For the current order, I’d confirm whether your Collective return policy is set to automate supplier refunds. If not, you’ll likely need to coordinate with the supplier and then refund the customer from your own Shopify admin.
Currently, Shopify Collective’s automated system only allows deductions for a return shipping label. There is no built-in option to deduct the original outbound shipping cost, especially when the customer keeps the item. According to the Shopify Help Center, any return scenarios that fall outside their automated label/restocking system must be handled manually between the supplier and the retailer.
What you should do now is do not use the automated return shipping deduction tool, as it will just mess up your net payment data like you experienced. Instead, issue a partial refund for the product value only. Then, connect directly with your retailer to settle the USPS shipping cost difference manually or adjust it on your next payout invoice. It takes a little extra communication, but it keeps your books accurate!
Since Collective’s automated flow only handles the return-label deduction, the cleanest manual path is to skip the Collective return action entirely and issue a partial refund on the order for the item total minus your outbound shipping cost.
You lose the automated supplier sync that way, so leave a note in the order timeline explaining why the amount is short. It makes reconciliation with the supplier much less painful later.
One thing to watch: refunding through the order rather than the Collective flow means restocking and the supplier payout adjustment do not happen automatically, so you may need to settle that side separately depending on your agreement.
How are you squaring the supplier payout when the customer keeps the item, is that coming out of your margin or the supplier’s?
Hey @hannah_53 ,
At the momenent Shopify Collective doesn’t support deducting the original outbound shipping cost from refunds. The only built in option is deducting return shipping label costs.A common workaround is to handle outbound shipping cost separately outside of the refund flow e.g accounting adjustment or partial refunds logic but there’s no native feature for this yet.You may want to submit this as a feature request to Shopify as many merchants face similiar limitions
Thanks..
Hi @hannah_53 . I hope you are having a wonderful day!
The Shopify Collective only helps with return label deductions at this time. It does not include the cost of shipping something to a customer. This is something that a lot of people know about.
For now, you can try a thing. Firstly, when you give someone a refund, you have to subtract the cost of shipping from the refund amount. You should also add a note to the order so everything is clear.
Secondly, you should get in touch with Shopify Support about the problem with your payments. They can help make sure that USPS has the payment information.
Lastly, you can ask for this feature on the Shopify Ideas Board. If other people like your idea and vote for it, it might get added to the list of things Shopify will work on.
I really hope that Shopify Collective starts to include the cost of shipping. This is something that we merchants really need.
If this helps you, then please like it. Mark it as the solution.
Hello there @hannah_53
In Shopify Collective, the return flow is centered around deductions for return labels rather than credits for the original outbound shipping. A practical workaround is to submit the refund as just the item value then you can adjust for shipping cost via a manual adjustment, or through a reconciliation entry in your books of account so it doesn’t mess up payout reports. A handful of merchants also have a standardized refund rule internally they apply so shipping is never included in Collective refunds and tracked separate from the cost for accuracy.