Most retailers let customers return items for free. But some charge for returns by mail.
At most of the stores, the return fee is taken off their refund and customers can return items in-store for free.
Urban Outfitters, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, Levi’s, DSW, and Anthropologie charge for some mail returns.
TJ Maxx charges customers a $10.99 return shipping and handling fee.TJ Maxx store logo.
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Source: TJ Maxx
Abercrombie & Fitch charges customers $7 if they return items by mail, though it says exchanges are offered for free.An Abercrombie & Fitch store in 2008.
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Source: Abercrombie & Fitch
Urban Outfitters provides shoppers with prepaid labels to return items by mail, but adds a $5 restocking fee “for most mailed returns.”
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Source: Urban Outfitters
Customers at J. Crew pay a flat fee of $7.50 to return items by mail.
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Source: J. Crew
Levi’s charges customers a $7.50 “return processing fee” for mailed returns. If you sign up to Red Tab, its free member program, you don’t have to pay.
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Source: Levi’s
Kohl’s customers have to pay for return shopping costs themselves. For larger items originally delivered by freight, customers also have to pay a 15% restocking fee unless the items were damaged.
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Source: Kohl’s
When customers return JCPenney items by mail, they have to pay a flat $8 fee to UPS. “This has been significantly discounted and will cover your entire return from a single order,” the retailer says.
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Source: JCPenney
At Best Buy, customers returning items may have to pay a restocking fee depending on the item, but this applies to both mail and in-store returns.
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Source: Best Buy
Anthropologie charges a $5.95 fee “for most mailed returns.”
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Source: Anthropologie
Uniqlo charges a $7 shipping fee for returns.A pedestrian walks past the Japanese clothing brand store Uniqlo store in Hong Kong.
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Source: Uniqlo
At American Eagle, some orders qualify for free returns – but others don’t, and instead incur a $5 shipping charge.
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Source: American Eagle
Neiman Marcus charges customers a $9.95 return fee for clearance items, items returned more than 15 days after they were delivered, and items marked with “Return Fees Apply.”
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Source: Neiman Marcus
Coach Outlet says customers can either mail their own returns by paying a service like UPS, USPS, or FedEx, or they can use a pre-paid shipping label, which incurs a $7 charge.
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Source: Coach Outlet
Saks Fifth Avenue told Insider that customers can return items by mail within 30 days. If returned within 14 days of shipping they don’t have pay, but if it’s longer than that they’ll have to pay a $9.95 return charge.
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Source: Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Off 5th charges a $9.95 return postage fee.
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Source: Saks Off 5th
Shoe retailer DSW charges customers $8.50 to return items using its pre-paid return labels, though members of the company’s higher-tier VIP rewards programs, which require an annual spend of at least $200, get free returns.
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Source: DSW
Fabletics provides prepaid shipping labels for most US returns, but in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico this incurs a $9 fee.
Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for Fabletics
Source: Fabletics
Zara customers who return item via a third-party drop-off point have to pay $3.95.
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Source: Zara
Yandy charges customers $4.95 to return items if they use the FedEx return labels provided by the retailer. They also have to pay an extra $10 if they return shoes with a missing or damaged box.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
Source: J. Crew
Many other companies don’t charge fees for items returned by mail, but don’t offer free refunds, either. Instead, customers have to pay a shipper of their choice, like UPS, USPS, or FedEx, to return them. These companies include Hobby Lobby, Bloomingdales, Barnes and Noble, Wayfair, and Bath & Body Works.Hobby Lobby is facing a federal lawsuit after officials say a Kansas employee was wrongfully terminated.
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Sources: Hobby Lobby, Bloomingdales, Barnes and Noble