Ecommerce
A return costs reverse shipping, restocking and lost value on items that come back unsellable at full price.
Orders and the return rate
Orders placed in the period.
In your local currency.
Share of orders returned.
Cost per return
Cost to ship each return back.
Inspection and put-away cost per return.
What comes back damaged
Share of returns that arrive unsellable.
Percent of AOV recovered when reselling a good return.
Cost of goods lost when an item is damaged.
Total Return Loss
3,700.00
Refunds + reverse shipping + restocking + damage − resale recovery.
Formula verified 13 September 2026
Loss per Order
3.70
Total return loss spread across all orders.
Recovered Value
2,800.00
Value recovered by reselling good returns.
Margin Impact
7.40%
Return loss as a percent of gross revenue.
Returns
100
Number of returned orders.
Estimate only — platform fees and costs vary; verify current rates. Read the full disclaimer ↓
Every component of return loss for your inputs, built up from refunded revenue and reverse-logistics cost, then offset by resale recovery to reach the net total. Costs add to the loss; recovery is subtracted. These are estimates — real recovery and damage vary item by item.
| Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Refunded revenue | 100 returns × 50 AOV | 5,000 |
| Reverse shipping | 100 × 8 | 800 |
| Restocking | 100 × 3 | 300 |
| Damage write-off | 20 damaged × 20 cost | 400 |
| Less: resale recovery | 80 good × 50 × 70% | −2,800 |
| Total return loss | Refunds + costs − recovery | 3,700 |
Estimates only — not financial, tax, or professional advice.
100% private — every number you enter is calculated in your browser and never sent to our servers.
What it calculates: Total Return Loss, Loss per Order, Recovered Value, Margin Impact.
Updated 5 June 2026 · Transparent assumptions
The full cost of a return is the reverse postage, the labour to receive and inspect it, the value lost on units that cannot be resold at full price, and the contribution on a sale that did not stick.
Businesses that budget only for the refund underestimate the total by a wide margin. On a low-margin item the handling alone can exceed the profit the sale would have made, which makes a high-return line loss-making at any volume.
Some proportion of returns arrives in a condition that cannot go back on the shelf at full price. The recovery rate is what you get for those — an open-box discount, a liquidation price, or nothing.
These two inputs are where the cost concentrates. A 20% damaged share with 40% recovery is a much worse business than a 5% share with 80% recovery, even at an identical return rate.
If returns are predictable — and in apparel they are — the cost is not an exception, it is a cost of goods. Pricing as though every order sticks guarantees the margin is wrong on every single unit.
Working the loss per order out of this calculator and adding it to unit cost gives a price that survives the real return rate. It is also what makes free returns affordable rather than a slow bleed.
The cheapest return is the one that never happens. Detailed size guides with real measurements, fit feedback from previous buyers, photography that shows scale and true colour, and a description that does not flatter all reduce the rate at source.
Beyond that, some returns are worth not receiving at all. For low-value items the reverse shipping and handling can exceed the recoverable value, and refunding without requiring the return is simply cheaper.
Figures on this page are checked against primary, authoritative sources. Links open in a new tab.
Business disclaimer
Results are estimates for planning and analysis based on the figures you enter. They are not accounting, tax, or financial advice — verify with your own records and a qualified professional before making decisions.
How we calculate · Found an error? email us
Published 13 September 2026