Returns are the part of ecommerce that nobody enjoys talking about. For merchants, a return is almost always a loss. For buyers, a complicated return process is a reason never to shop with you again.
Getting returns right means protecting your margin without making buyers feel like they are fighting a bureaucratic system to get their money back. It is a balance — and in Southeast Asia, where platform rules, local buyer expectations and rising costs all interact, it requires a deliberate approach rather than a default policy.
The psychology of a return is simple from the buyer's side: they want their money back. The financial reality from the seller's side is significantly more complicated.
When a high-quality or high-value item is returned, the merchant almost always takes a loss. If the item arrives damaged — worn, used, or in worse condition than when it was shipped — it cannot be sold as new. It needs to be discounted, which reduces margin on the resale. If it is broken or requires repair, that is an additional cost before it can be sold again.
On Shopee and Lazada, the merchant also covers the cost of return shipping in most cases. In Southeast Asia, domestic logistics costs are lower than in Europe or the US — but this does not eliminate the problem. The margin loss on the product itself is significant everywhere.
Consider a seller with a 30% gross product margin on a 1,000 THB item. On Shopee, platform fees of at least 15% — rising to 25% or more during promotional periods — already compress that margin significantly. A single return where the item comes back worn or damaged can turn that order into a net loss. The margin on the original sale is gone, the cost of return shipping is added, and the item cannot be resold at full price.
This is why returns policy is not an afterthought. It is a margin protection decision.
Before setting your own policy, understand what Shopee, Lazada and your local consumer protection laws require. Both Shopee and Lazada have buyer protection policies that define the conditions under which buyers can request a return. These are non-negotiable.
In Thailand, the Consumer Protection Act gives buyers specific rights regarding refunds and returns. Your policy cannot contradict these legal requirements regardless of what you publish on your store page.
What you can control is everything above the minimum requirement — the conditions you set for returns, the process buyers must follow, the timeframe, and the partial refund policy for damaged returns.
The single most effective safeguard against fraudulent or abusive returns is requiring photographic evidence before the item is shipped back.
When a buyer requests a return, your response should be: thank them for getting in touch, express that you want to resolve this quickly, and ask them to send clear photos of the item showing its current condition. Do this before approving the return.
This step does two things. It filters out buyers who are attempting to return a worn or used item by showing them the process involves documentation. And it gives you evidence of the item's condition at the time of the return request, which protects you if the item arrives in worse condition than the photos showed.
If the photos show the item is in perfect, unused condition, process the return promptly and professionally. If the photos show wear, use or damage that was not present when the item was shipped, you have grounds to apply a partial refund rather than a full one.
A practical approach: if an item is returned in damaged or visibly worn condition, reduce the refund by a percentage that reflects the reduction in resale value. For example, if a buyer paid 2,000 THB and returns the item showing signs of wear, the refund might be 1,400 THB rather than the full amount. This needs to be clearly stated in your returns policy before the buyer makes a purchase — not introduced as a surprise after the fact.
Free returns are one of the most damaging policies a merchant can offer, particularly on high-value or high-margin products.
When returns are free, the cost and friction of returning an item drops to zero for the buyer. This increases the rate of exploratory purchasing — buyers who order with the intention of trying something and returning it if it does not work — which is extremely costly for merchants who sell products with real production and logistics costs.
In Southeast Asia, where domestic return shipping is relatively inexpensive, free returns lower the barrier even further. Do not offer them. Make the return process clear, fair and fast — but not free.
On your Shopify store, state clearly that return shipping costs are the buyer's responsibility unless the item was faulty or incorrectly sent. On Shopee and Lazada, follow the platform's minimum requirements but do not exceed them voluntarily.
Your returns policy page needs to be clear, specific and easy to find. State the conditions for returns, the timeframe, the process for requesting a return, the evidence required, and your partial refund policy for damaged items.
A clear policy on the page reduces the number of buyers who contact support asking basic questions. It also protects you if a return dispute escalates to a platform mediation.
That said — when a buyer actually contacts you about a return, be human. Do not make them feel like they are navigating a legal document. Acknowledge their situation, thank them for reaching out, and move quickly. A buyer who has a smooth, respectful return experience — even if they do not get a full refund — is far more likely to purchase from you again than one who felt ignored or blocked.
Speed matters as much as outcome. Resolve returns fast. Do not let them sit in your inbox. A return resolved within 24 hours, even with a partial refund, feels more professional than a full refund that takes a week to process.
As platform fees on Shopee and Lazada continue to rise, more brands in Southeast Asia are building out their Shopify presence as an owned channel where they control the experience and keep more margin.
Returns on Shopify require a self-managed policy rather than a platform-enforced one. This gives you more flexibility — you can set the conditions, the timeframe, the partial refund rules — but it also puts the responsibility entirely on you to enforce them consistently.
The same principles apply: require evidence before approving a return, never offer free returns, apply partial refunds for damaged items, and resolve everything quickly. On Shopify you have the additional advantage of being able to clearly display your returns policy at multiple points in the buying journey — on the product page, in the cart, at checkout and in order confirmation emails.
For more on how to protect your margin across all costs on marketplace platforms, read our guide on Shopee and Lazada fees explained.
Sources: [1] Shopee Thailand Buyer Protection Policy — help.shopee.co.th [2] Thailand Consumer Protection Act — ocpb.go.th [3] Cube Asia — Shopee and Lazada seller operations Southeast Asia 2025 — cube.asia