Keep Item

Someone wants to return a £6 phone case. Posting it back costs you £4, processing it costs staff time, and you’ll almost certainly bin it when it arrives.

It’s cheaper to tell them to keep it.

Keep Item does exactly that: the customer gets money back, usually minus a bit, and doesn’t post anything. You save the postage, the handling and the warehouse space.

When customers get offered it

For normal returns, all of these:

Keep Item is switched on in the policy
No workflow has restricted it
Their credit is under the cut-off you set — this is the main control
Your deduction isn’t bigger than their credit
They aren’t swapping for something

That cut-off is the setting that matters. It’s how you say “anything under £15 isn’t worth getting back”. Set it too high and you’re giving away things you could have resold.

For warranty claims it’s handled by the warranty policy’s shipping requirement instead — if the warranty says they can keep it, that wins.

What they see

It appears as a way of returning during review, with the amount they’ll get shown up front:

Return credit: £50 Keep Item deduction: £10 They receive: £40

The deduction is optional. Some people set it to nothing on very low-value items, on the basis that the goodwill is worth more than the few pounds.

What happens afterwards

Nothing gets posted back.
No label is created.
Postage, restocking and label deductions are all dropped for that item — they’d make no sense when nothing ships.
The request can be processed without any of the usual shipping steps.

If a workflow wants a human to look, or wants refunds approved by hand, that still applies.

Why it isn’t showing

It’s switched off
Their credit is above your cut-off
Your deduction is larger than their credit
They picked a swap instead — Keep Item and swaps are mutually exclusive
A workflow has restricted it

What catches people out

Deduction bigger than the credit. Set a £10 deduction and it silently vanishes on anything under £10 — which is exactly the returns you most wanted it for. Check your deduction against your cut-off.

It’s permanent. Once you’ve told someone to keep something, that’s that. Worth being careful with the cut-off on anything resellable.

Repeat use is a risk. Somebody who works out that returns under your cut-off are automatic keepers may start using it. If you see that, a workflow on their return count can restrict what they’re offered.

Questions people ask

What cut-off should I set?

Work out what a return really costs you — postage, handling, checking it, and how likely you are to sell it again. Anything below that number is cheaper to give away. For most shops that’s somewhere between £10 and £25.

Should I deduct anything?

On very small amounts, often not — the goodwill is worth more. On larger ones a deduction discourages people from using it too often and covers some of the loss. If you do deduct, keep it well below your cut-off or the option disappears.

Can they keep one thing and send back another?

Keep Item and swaps can’t be combined in the same request. Two separate requests will do it.

Could someone abuse this?

Yes, if they notice. Watch for customers with unusually high return counts and use a workflow to restrict their options.

Does the customer know it's meant to be cheap for me?

They just see that they don’t have to post anything, which reads as generous. It’s one of the few things in returns that’s better for both sides.