Who pays return shipping: stating it for Merchant Center

Say who pays return shipping for each kind of return, change of mind and faulty item, in one sentence each, on your returns page and in Merchant Center. Nobody enjoys a surprise at the post office counter, least of all a customer who already wants their money back. One honest line saves the argument.

Major4 min read

By Edvinas Ivanauskas How the guides are reviewed

Why this matters

Google's return policy setup page asks your website to state “the time frame within which you accept returns, the return method, return fees, and so on.” Return fees are named, not implied. Under “Omission of relevant information”, the Misrepresentation policy has a line for costs a shopper only meets later: “Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model and full expense that a customer will bear before and after purchase”. Return postage is an expense borne after purchase, and a policy that goes quiet on it is unclear at the exact point the customer cares about.

Merchant Center asks the same questions as settings. The return policy flow has a return method step and, for mail, a choice of how the shopper gets a label: “Download/print”, “In the box” or “Customer responsibility”. The restocking fee step offers “No cost”, “Fixed cost” or “Percentage of product price”. If you send return details in your product data with the returns [returns] attribute, the shipping fee comes with a type (deducted from the refund, or paid by the customer) and one line worth reading twice: “If not set, the default return shipping cost is 0.” Leave that fee blank and your product data says returns are free, whatever your page does.

A “free returns” badge is a claim like any other. If the banner says free and the policy charges £4.95 for change-of-mind returns, the site contradicts itself, and Google's setup page asks for return policies “consistent in Merchant Center and across your website”. Free for faulty items and paid for change of mind is a perfectly good policy. It just has to say both halves.

The free scan flags a returns policy that does not say who pays for return shipping, so the gap shows up before a customer finds it the expensive way. Every returns check is on the misrepresentation checker, and the rest of the policy is in how to write a clear returns policy.

Typical evidence

Somebody pays — name them

A return policy should state who pays return postage. StoreVerifier can surface public wording that omits that detail, but a merchant still needs to review the policy and its legal obligations.

Changed your mind

£Customer pays

“Return postage is at your expense for change-of-mind returns.”

Item arrived faulty

£We pay

“If the item is faulty, we email you a prepaid return label.”

IncompleteA policy that says nothing about postage leaves shoppers without a key answer. Add a clear sentence, then check the public page again.

The public signals this check looks for:

The policy explains the window and the steps, then says nothing about who pays to post the…
The policy explains the window and the steps, then says nothing about who pays to post the item back.
Only one case is covered…
Only one case is covered: free labels for faulty items are promised, and change-of-mind returns are never mentioned.
A “free returns” banner on product pages and a £4
A “free returns” banner on product pages and a £4.95 return charge in the policy.
A restocking fee that appears only in the terms and conditions or the returns confirmation…
A restocking fee that appears only in the terms and conditions or the returns confirmation email.
Return postage is “deducted from your refund”, with no amount given
Return postage is “deducted from your refund”, with no amount given.
Merchant Center shows free returns while the policy charges for them
Merchant Center shows free returns while the policy charges for them.

What it looks like once it is right

“Changed your mind? Return postage is yours to pay, with any carrier. Faulty or wrong item? Email us and we send a prepaid label, free. There is no restocking fee.” Merchant Center says the same: by mail, customer-responsibility labels, no restocking fee.

Common mistakes

Common mistake

The returns page walks through the 30-day window step by step and never mentions postage. A customer returning a £40 jacket learns at the counter that it costs £6.50 to send, and that the “free returns” banner meant faulty items only.

Fix checklist

Write one sentence on the returns page for change-of-mind returns and one for faulty or wrong items, each naming who pays the return postage.
If the shopper pays, say how: their own carrier, or your label with the cost taken from the refund, and give the amount in your currency.
If you provide a prepaid label, say how the shopper gets it: printed from an email, downloaded from your returns page, or already in the box.
Name any restocking fee on the returns page as a fixed amount or a percentage of the price, next to the postage line, not only in the terms.
Check every “free returns” badge, banner and product page line against the policy, and correct any that do not hold for every return.
In Merchant Center, set the return method, label option and restocking fee under Shipping and returns, Return policies, to match the page.
If you send the [returns] attribute in your product data, fill in the shipping fee and its fee type, because a blank fee counts as 0.

Put it on the label, not in the legals

The postage answer belongs on the returns page itself — one line, both scenarios.

Return label

Change of mindcustomer pays postage

Faultyprepaid label, on us

Questions merchants ask

Do I have to offer free returns to advertise on Google Shopping?

No. Google's pages ask you to state your return fees, not to waive them. Merchant Center's return policy settings let you choose customer responsibility for the label and a fixed or percentage restocking fee. What matters is that the returns page says what the shopper pays.

What happens if I leave the return shipping fee blank in my product data?

Google's page for the returns [returns] attribute says: “If not set, the default return shipping cost is 0.” A blank fee reads as a free return. If you charge for return postage, fill in the fee and say whether it is deducted from the refund or paid by the customer.

Can I deduct return shipping from the refund?

Yes, if you say so. Google's product data has a fee type for exactly that, next to customer responsibility. Put the amount and the method on the returns page so the shopper knows what their refund will be before they send anything.

Remediation

Risk signal

Return postage is where a fair policy turns into an angry email. Say who pays for each case, in money, and keep the “free returns” badges honest. It costs one sentence, and the free scan tells you if that sentence has gone missing.

PriorityAddress and document this finding as part of the store’s remediation work.

EvidenceRecord the current state before each change, apply the fix, then capture the corrected state so every change is evidenced.

Similar cases

Sources

Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.

That is one issue. The library documents 134.

The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.