Using ShipStation for Returns only

[Sveb]

We have an established workflow for getting orders from a warehouse to the customer (WiX Shop and ShipBob).

A large part of our orders are rentals, i.e. they need to be returned to us for refurbishment before they can go back to the warehouse. This returns process is currently missing for us.

Can we use ShipStation to let customers return orders - which were not shipped out via ShipStation - to us?

i.e. Customer goes to our ShipStation returns portal, puts in an order number (note: this is from WiX shop and has not been used by ShipStation before) and can print a shipping label for return of the package to our refurbishment facility?

Can someone confirm if this is possible?

If yes, is this straight forward, or is the fact that the outward shipping is done in a separate external process a problem?

Thanks for your help!

Sven

[SuperMgr-Sarah]

Hi Sveb, 

Thanks for posting this on our community. It's an interesting question!

Yours is a bit of an unusual use case that ShipStation wasn't really designed for. I can tell you that the Branded Returns Portal cannot be used for this purpose. This is because the branded returns portal will only show orders that have been shipped through ShipStation (that is, a label was created in ShipStation and that order is in the Shipped status). 

The only way I can think of for creating a label in ShipStation so your customers can send something to you first is to use the Rate Calculator (you would use the create label option from the Calculator, but select the "Create a Return Label" option each time). But this method would require you to manually enter your customer's name and ship to address manually for every single order. And, this label would not be attached to any actual orders. I don't think that is the outcome you are looking for. 

This type of flow might be provided by other platforms (I'm not certain on this, but could be worth a look). If not, there is maybe another option that could work if you require your customers to purchase that initial first label to get their product to you. There is a single label purchase portal called ShipPenguin where you just enter the Ship From and Ship To address and set the package details. You then select from the available shipping options and enter payment details to purchase the label for that shipment (it gets emailed to the email address you enter). No need to create an account or anything. Wanted to make sure you knew about this option just in case it was helpful.