International returns seem way more painful than expected
Been looking deeper into how ecommerce brands handle international orders, and one thing that stood out more than I expected is returns.
On the surface, selling internationally sounds great new markets, more customers.
But a few sellers I spoke with mentioned that returns are where things get really messy: An order gets delivered internationally → customer wants to return → and suddenly it’s unclear what the best option even is.
Return shipping costs can be very high, sometimes more than the product itself.
In some cases, brands just refund without asking for the product back. Other times, handling reverse logistics across countries becomes a headache.
It feels like something that isn’t obvious at the beginning but becomes a real problem once volume increases.
It Feels like one of those things that looks manageable early on but gets complicated fast.