PayPal Return Shipping on Us is being scrapped as of the 27th of November. This means that consumers will no longer be able to return purchases paid via PayPal at no cost unless the retailer picks up the tab. If you’ve not previously signed up for the service it’s already unavailable.
Currently, for eligible PayPal purchases you’d like to return, PayPal’s Return Shipping on Us service can provide free shipping labels or refunds for the cost of sending items back to the seller.
Originally introduced in 2016, PayPal Return Shipping on Us was extended to the end of 2016 before becoming a permanent PayPal feature. Under the scheme you could get up to 4 claims of £15 refunded to cover shipping costs if you aren’t entirely satisfied with your purchase. This was outside of the normal PayPal Protection that covered you for damaged or faulty items – the beauty of the programme was that it covered no fault returns – effectively PayPal offered a four times a year try before you buy service for consumers.
It was an attractive scheme for merchants who could advertise “Pay with PayPal to qualify for free returns” and was a mechanism for PayPal to drive merchants and consumers to offer and pay via PayPal. Even better for many was that the service didn’t just cover domestic returns – if you were selling to an overseas customer there were dozens of countries who’s residents could access the programme.
You still can use Return Shipping on Us until the 27th of November if you are a current PayPal personal account holder who has already activated the service. The deadline for submitting a claim is 11:59 pm local time on the 26th of November 2022.
