In short. In a withdrawal, the customer only pays return shipping if the shop clearly informed them before the purchase; if you did not, you pay. The original outbound delivery is always reimbursed by the shop, at least up to its cheapest standard delivery.
Knowing who pays return shipping is the question that generates the most arguments in customer support and, at the same time, one of the easiest to settle: the European Union answers it with a single condition — having informed the customer beforehand. And from 19 June 2026, with the withdrawal button of Directive (EU) 2023/2673, every request is recorded with a date and time, so improvising the answer case by case stops being viable. This guide explains what you may pass on to the customer, what you may not, how the rule is cited in each EU country, and how all of this is configured in Shopify.
Who pays return shipping in a withdrawal?
The consumer only bears the direct cost of returning the goods if the trader informed them of it before the purchase. Where there was no such prior information, or where the trader agreed to bear the cost, the trader pays. This is set by Article 14(1) of Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, and Article 6(6) completes the consequence: without that information, the consumer is not liable for those costs.
The information duty itself sits in Article 6(1)(i) of the same directive: the trader must state, where applicable, that the consumer will have to bear the cost of returning the goods.
Three clarifications that prevent most disputes:
- "Direct cost" means the return transport, nothing else. It does not cover your handling time, your inspection of the goods or any reconditioning.
- The information must be prior and clear. A notice buried in terms nobody reads, or shown only after payment, does not qualify.
- It is "only the direct cost", not "up to the direct cost". You cannot round it up or charge a return fee higher than the actual cost of the return transport.
What does the shop always pay? The outbound delivery
The original delivery is always reimbursed by the shop. On withdrawal you must return all payments received, including delivery costs, within a maximum of 14 calendar days from the day you are informed of the decision, and using the same means of payment the customer used, unless they expressly agree to another one and incur no fees as a result. This is Article 13(1) of Directive 2011/83/EU.
With two qualifications that do protect you:
- Express delivery chosen by the customer: if they expressly opted for a delivery type other than the cheapest standard delivery you offer, you are not required to reimburse the supplement. If your standard delivery costs €4.90 and the customer paid €12.90 for next-day delivery, you refund €4.90 of delivery (Article 13(2) of the directive).
- You may withhold the reimbursement: unless you have offered to collect the goods yourself, you may wait until you receive the goods back or until the customer provides evidence of having sent them, whichever is earliest (Article 13(3) of the directive). Withholding is not refusing, and it does not reset anything: the 14 days run from the moment you are informed of the withdrawal, not from the moment you get the goods back. As soon as one of the two conditions is met, you must reimburse without undue delay.
Watch the asymmetry, because it is the heart of the matter: the outbound leg is yours by law; the return leg may be the customer's if you informed them. When someone says "I don't refund shipping", they are almost always mixing the two.
The four cases where you pay the return leg
Even if you informed the customer properly, there are situations where the return cost lands back on your side of the counter:
- You did not inform, or informed badly. Without clear prior information the cost is yours. That is the direct consequence of Article 6(6) of the directive.
- You offered free returns. If your policy says "free returns", that is a binding commercial commitment and you cannot start charging case by case afterwards.
- The product is faulty or not in conformity. Withdrawal does not apply here: this is the legal guarantee (Directive (EU) 2019/771), repair or replacement must be free of charge for the consumer and transport is on you. Treating a faulty product as an ordinary return is one of the most expensive mistakes there is.
- Bulky goods sold off-premises. Where the contract was concluded off-premises and the goods were delivered to the consumer's home at that moment, if by their nature they cannot normally be returned by post, the trader collects them at their own expense (Article 14(1) of the directive).
A nuance often confused with point 4: in distance selling (your online shop), a sofa or a washing machine can be paid for by the customer, but only if you informed them of the amount of that return. Annex I to Directive 2011/83/EU, which contains the model instructions, provides for giving an estimated figure where the cost cannot reasonably be calculated in advance. "Return costs are at your expense", with no number, is not enough for goods that cannot be returned by post.
What you may deduct from the refund and what you may not
In a withdrawal, the list of amounts you may subtract from the money you return is closed. Anything not on it is not charged:
| Item | Can you deduct it? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Direct cost of the return shipment | ✅ Yes | Only if you informed the customer before the purchase |
| Supplement of an express outbound delivery | ✅ Yes | You refund the equivalent of your cheapest standard delivery |
| Diminished value of the goods | ✅ Yes | Only if handled beyond what was necessary, and if you informed |
| Proportionate amount of a service already supplied | ✅ Yes | Only if they expressly asked to start within the period and you informed them beforehand of the right and of that cost |
| Flat restocking fee | ❌ No | Not among the deductions the directive allows |
| Administrative or handling charges | ❌ No | The "direct cost" is the transport, not your work |
| Repackaging or reconditioning charges | ❌ No | Channelled, if at all, through justified diminished value |
| Payment gateway fees | ❌ No | The refund is full and at no cost to the consumer |
Diminished value deserves a warning: it is not a wildcard. It must be justified product by product (a garment worn outdoors, a device with the manufacturer's warranty already activated) and you may only apply it if you gave complete information about the right of withdrawal before the purchase. Turning it into a fixed percentage "for opening the box" is, in practice, a restocking fee under another name.
The rule, country by country
Although the basis is European, each Member State has it transposed into its own law. If you sell into several countries, this is the reference you will need when a customer — or a consumer authority — quotes their own statute at you:
| Country / framework | Duty to inform of the cost | Who pays the return | Refund of outbound delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Art. 6(1)(i) and 6(6) Dir. 2011/83/EU | Art. 14(1) Dir. 2011/83/EU | Art. 13 Dir. 2011/83/EU |
| Spain | Art. 97.1.k) and 97.6 TRLGDCU | Art. 108 TRLGDCU | Art. 107 TRLGDCU |
| France | Art. L221-5 Code de la consommation | Art. L221-23 Code de la consommation | Art. L221-24 Code conso. |
| Germany | Art. 246a § 1 (2) sent. 1 no. 2 EGBGB | § 357(5) BGB | § 357(2) and (4) BGB |
| Italy | Art. 49(1)(i) Codice del consumo | Art. 57 Codice del consumo | Art. 56 Codice del consumo |
| Portugal | Art. 4(1)(l) Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2014 | Art. 13(2) Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2014 | Art. 12 Decreto-Lei 24/2014 |
The underlying rule is identical across all six frameworks: inform beforehand and the customer pays; fail to inform and you pay. Article numbers and some wording change, the outcome does not.
What if the customer returns only part of the order?
Partial withdrawal is not an automatic right. The Commission Notice on Directive 2011/83/EU (OJ C 525, 29 December 2021), in section 5.5.1, states that the directive does not in itself grant a right to withdraw from individual items bought under a single contract, although trader and consumer may agree to it. So the first step is not calculating the refund: it is deciding whether you accept partial returns and saying so clearly.
If you do — and it pays off for almost every shop — the price of the returned items is refunded. The real question is the outbound delivery:
- If the items the customer keeps would have carried the same delivery charge, there is nothing to refund on that account.
- If the returned items pushed the delivery cost up (by weight, volume or rate band), refunding that difference is the reasonable call.
- If they return the whole order, the outbound delivery is refunded in full.
And in any case:
- Put your criterion in writing in the returns policy, before the purchase.
- Apply it consistently, not customer by customer.
- When in doubt, refund. A €4.90 delivery costs less than a consumer complaint.
How it is configured in Shopify (and what the setting does not cover)
Shopify lets you set the return cost in Settings → Policies → Return rules, with three options: free return shipping, a flat rate charged once per return, or having the customer buy their own return label. The fee is shown when you create the return.
| Shopify model | What it means | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Free return | You absorb the return transport | Fashion and high average order value, where friction costs more |
| Flat rate | You deduct a fixed amount from the refund | Homogeneous catalogue and predictable postage |
| Customer buys their label | The customer picks a carrier and pays | Low order values, thin margins or bulky goods |
Now the important warning: that configuration is commercial, not legal. Shopify applies the rule to the returns you process through its flow, but it does not check whether you informed the customer before the purchase, nor does it distinguish a withdrawal from an out-of-period change of mind, nor does it know whether the product arrived faulty. If you switch on "flat rate" without having declared it in your policy, you will be deducting an amount you legally cannot deduct.
Two practical consequences:
- If you use a flat rate, make sure the amount does not exceed the real cost of the return transport and that it appears in the returns policy before checkout.
- Keep the legal flow (withdrawal, with a full refund and, by default, to the original means of payment) separate from the commercial flow (your returns and exchanges policy). We develop this in withdrawal vs. return vs. exchange and in the complete guide to Shopify returns.
What each model costs you (hypothetical example)
We have no customer data to share, so this example is hypothetical and only serves to frame the decision. Assume an order of €60, a standard outbound delivery of €4.90 and a return label of €5.50:
| Scenario | You refund | Net cost to you | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free return | €64.90 | €10.40 | 4.90 outbound + 5.50 return |
| Customer pays the return (informed) | €64.90 | €4.90 | They arrange and pay their own shipment |
| €5.50 flat rate (informed) | €59.40 | €4.90 | You deduct the label you bought |
| Flat rate without having informed | €64.90 | €10.40 | The deduction is invalid: you absorb it |
The fourth row is the expensive one, and not because of the postage: because of the risk. An uninformed deduction is a potential complaint and, if systematic, a practice consumer authorities can pursue.
How to inform properly (and where)
For the return cost to sit with the customer, the information must be before the purchase and findable. The reasonable minimum:
- Returns policy, with an unambiguous sentence: "The direct cost of returning the goods is borne by the customer. Estimated cost: €X."
- Product page or checkout, at the point where the customer decides.
- Withdrawal instructions accompanying the pre-contractual information (the model in Annex I to the directive contains the exact sentence).
- Order confirmation email, as a reminder — useful, though it does not replace prior information.
- Goods that cannot be returned by post: state the amount or an estimate, not just that the customer pays.
And a hygiene rule: one single version of the sentence everywhere. If your policy says "free returns" and checkout deducts €5.50, the contradiction works against you.
Common mistakes
- Deducting the return leg without having informed before the purchase. Mistake number one, and it is not fixed by mentioning it when you approve the return.
- Not refunding the outbound delivery. It is always refunded, at least up to the cheapest standard option.
- Applying a restocking fee. It is not among the deductions the directive allows.
- Charging for the return of a faulty product. That is the legal guarantee: transport is on you.
- Turning diminished value into a fixed percentage. It must be justified case by case.
- Forcing the use of your label. You may offer it and deduct its cost if you informed; you may not make withdrawal conditional on it.
- Promising "free returns" in marketing and charging for them in the small print. Exactly the kind of contradiction unfair-practices rules target.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays return shipping in the EU? The customer, but only if the shop informed them of the cost before the purchase. If it did not inform them, or agreed to bear it, the shop pays. The original outbound delivery is always refunded by the shop.
Does the shop have to refund the delivery costs I paid when ordering? Yes, up to the amount of the cheapest standard delivery offered. If you chose a more expensive option, the difference is not refunded.
Can it charge me a return fee? Not in a withdrawal. Only the direct cost of the return (if you were informed), a justified diminished value and the proportionate amount of a service already supplied, only if you expressly requested it and the shop had informed you beforehand of the right of withdrawal and of that cost.
Who pays if the product arrived faulty? The shop. That is the legal guarantee for lack of conformity, not withdrawal: repair or replacement are free of charge, transport included.
What if I return only part of the order? Partial withdrawal is not automatic: the directive does not grant it by itself, although trader and consumer may agree to it. If the shop accepts it, the price of the returned items is refunded; of the outbound delivery, only the part those items added to the cost.
Conclusion
If you run a Shopify shop selling into the European Union, the practical takeaway is this: decide who pays the return, write it down before the purchase, and do not change it afterwards. Always refund the standard outbound delivery, forget about restocking fees, and take faulty products out of the equation — they go through the legal guarantee. The difference between a shop that handles this well and one that improvises is not the €5 of postage: it is having, on every request, the proof of what you disclosed and when.
💡 Ready to comply effortlessly? returnEasier installs the compliant withdrawal button on your Shopify shop and seals every request with a date and time, an auditable record and an acknowledgement of receipt, in the 7 languages it supports. Try it free — 3 trial returns, no card.
Official sources
- Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights (arts. 6, 13 and 14) — EUR-Lex
- Directive (EU) 2019/771 on the sale of goods — EUR-Lex
- Directive (EU) 2023/2673 — EUR-Lex
- Commission Notice — Guidance on Directive 2011/83/EU (OJ C 525, 29.12.2021) — EUR-Lex
- Shopify Help Center — Setting up return and cancellation rules
Informational content; not legal advice. For specific cases, consult a lawyer specialised in consumer law.