Advanced rules allow further customisation of the way returns are processed. They can often replace the traditional swap_noentry and other similar tags.
Actions and conditions define advanced rules. ‘Actions’ are exactly what you want the rule to do, such as making an order ineligible for return. ‘Conditions’ are the identifying factors of an order that will be used to assess whether the action should run. It can be seen as: If “condition” passes, then “action” is performed.
They can be mixed and matched, and you can select multiple conditions.
Setting Up Advanced Rules
To set up advanced rules, head to your Returns Dashboard. Under ‘Returns’, click ‘Advanced Rules’.
You can activate, deactivate, delete, edit, and create Advanced Rules on this page.
+ New Rule: Use this button to create a new rule.
Deactivate/activate: Use this button to deactivate or activate a rule. Deactivating a rule ensures it will no longer be applied but is still available to reactivate without setting up a new rule.
Head to the ‘Inactive’ tab first to activate a deactivated rule.
Delete: This button completely removes the rule. If you wish to use this rule again in the future, consider deactivating instead.
Edit: You can edit rules by clicking on the rule. This will take you to the set-up page, where you can change settings.
Conditions
Conditions specify when the rule applies. There are multiple conditions you can use:
Product name is | This condition allows you to specify returns for products with a particular name. |
Customer tagged with | This condition applies to returns from customers with a specific profile tag. |
Order made using one of the following discount codes | This condition applies to orders that were placed using specific discount codes. |
Return's total package weight is | This condition specifies returns based on the total weight of the package being returned. |
Return's number of items is | This condition applies to returns based on the number of items being returned. |
Order tagged with | This condition targets orders that have a specific tag associated with them. |
Customer email is not one of the attached emails | This condition applies to returns from customers whose email addresses are not in a specified list. |
Return's type is not one of the following | This condition applies to returns not of certain specified types, such as refunds or exchanges. |
Product not tagged with | This condition targets products that do not have a specific tag. |
Product tagged with | This condition targets products that have a specific tag. |
Order placed with discount code | This condition applies to orders that were placed using an unspecific discount code. |
Customer email is one of the attached emails | This condition applies to returns from customers whose email addresses are specified. |
Customer has returned more than X times in Y days | Triggers when a customer makes more than X returns within Y days. E.g. If the rule is “more than 1 return in 1 day”: 1st return, allowed. 2nd return, there is no more than 1 return, so it is allowed. 3rd return, the rule triggers, as there are 2 returns already. |
Orders originating from specific countries | This condition applies to orders that were shipped from specific countries. |
Orders within the date range | This condition targets orders that were placed within a specified date range. |
Return's type is one of the following | This condition applies to returns of certain specified types, such as refunds, store credits, or exchanges. |
Order created X days ago | This condition targets orders created a certain number of days ago. Specifying a range, such as “is greater than,” is also possible. |
Order number is one of the following | This condition applies to specific order numbers. |
Order number is not one of the following | This condition excludes specific order numbers. |
Order paid with gift card | This condition targets orders that were paid for using a gift card. |
Actions
Actions define the rule's outcome. There are multiple actions available:
This order can only be returned for the following types | This action lets you specify the return types for eligible orders. You can ensure that certain orders can only be returned for shop now or later credit or that some orders may only be exchanged. |
Return window does not affect this order | This action allows you to make an order exempt from the standard return window, meaning the order can be returned regardless of the typical return period. This can be useful for special promotions or VIP customers. |
Calculate the postage fee by multiplying | This action enables you to charge a higher-priced return postage rate by multiplying the current rate. This means that, instead of using the standard rate, you can apply a multiplier to increase the cost of return postage. |
Return postage is free for this order | This action allows you to make certain orders eligible for free return postage, providing customers with added convenience and potentially increasing their satisfaction with your service. |
Return option is not available for this order | This action prevents a return option from being available for the specified order. It is useful for final sale items or products that do not qualify for returns, but can still be exchanged for a different variant or store credit. |
Return will be automatically processed | This action allows you to automatically process returns for certain orders, streamlining the return process and ensuring customers receive their refunds or exchanges promptly. |
This order receives reduced return postage | This action enables you to designate specific orders as eligible for discounted postage rates, which can be set as a percentage of the original postage cost. |
After X days, return will be processed automatically | This action allows you to specify which returns you’d like to process automatically after a set amount of days. By doing so, you can streamline your return processing workflow. |
This product cannot be returned | This action allows you to block customers from returning specific products. Implementing this will give you greater control over your inventory and reduce the costs associated with processing returns. |
Multiple actions and conditions
It is possible to further customise the returns process by combining multiple actions and multiple conditions.
You can have AND and OR options for the conditions depending on your criteria and desired outcome. However, it’s worth noting that you cannot have a mix of AND and OR conditions in one rule.
Example Rules
Here are two example rules to show the possibilities of Advanced Rules.
VIP customer free returns
Any customer tagged as VIP within Shopify will receive free returns. They will not have to pay a return postage fee.
Non-refundable sale items
In this example, orders that have used specific discount codes can only be exchanged or receive store credit. It is also possible to apply this to any discount code using ‘Order is placed with discount code’. However, this is not always recommended, as customers with free shipping discount codes will also be unable to request refunds.
Christmas Sale
During the holiday season, a store offers a 10% discount. To help with sales, they also offer free return postage. To accommodate their customers and lower their workload after the season, they also offer a 30-day return window on these specific orders, where their normal return window is 14 days.
To do this, we need two rules.
First, we specify the orders by selecting the month of December and the use of the 10% discount code. Then, we use actions to remove the postage fee and return window.
Second, we specify the same dates and the same discount code and specify orders older than 30 days. We then add a “This product can not be returned” to ensure orders older than 30 days are not eligible for returns.
This way, we ensure only orders bought within the sale have a 30-day return window, and all other orders still have a 14-day return window.