Where online returns really end up

CHARLOTTE — From the factory to the warehouse and to your front door, it’s a common scene thanks to online shopping, but there’s always a risk.

“Customers don’t get to feel and touch the product they’re getting,” Moutaz Khouja, a professor of supply chain and operations management at UNC Charlotte, said. “That means there is a chance that the product will not match their needs, and they will return it.”

Khouja says many customers don’t realize that returned items sometimes get sent on to someone else as “new.”

“They can handle it as a new product, put it back on the web and sell it,” he said.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, online purchases get returned eight times as often as in-store buys, but what actually happens to them?

In February, Channel 9’s Erika Jackson investigate the hidden costs behind low-priced clothing and purchased cheap items from fast fashion retailers, including Shein, H&M and Zara.

Some were returned, each with a GPS tracker in the pocket. For weeks, Channel 9 watched as those returned items traveled the country with stops at warehouses and shipping facilities. At one point, an item ended up at a recycling plant.

Eventually, all three trackers ended up at houses or apartments. Two of the tags have since been deactivated.

Khouja suspects they may have gone to new, unsuspecting customers.

“If the products you returned are in good shape, quite good shape, and they could be sold on a secondary channel or sold to some other off-price retailer for good money,” he said.

He said most retailers will do a visual inspection of returned items. If it shows signs of wear or damage, he says it can be sold at a discount or to an off-price retailer. Unused products are usually repackaged and resold.

“They do a good job inspecting the products because that reflects their image, ultimately,” he added.

In some cases, Khouja says retailers will let you keep an unwanted item to save the company on shipping costs. It that doesn’t happen, he says you can do your part by being an honest customer.

Channel 9 reached out to Shein, Zara and H&M with questions about their quality control process.

A spokesperson for Zara said:

“We follow an established review and verification protocol for all returned items. As part of the detailed quality control process, our internal teams inspect all returned products onsite from our logistic centers. These inspections include a visual and manual review of each garment, as well as washing, steaming and/or repairs when necessary. In this case, after the item was returned it was delivered by USPS to our logistics and processing center in Miami where it went through inspection.

For background, once a product is thoroughly vetted through our quality control process, it may be made available for sale again on zara.com. Online orders are prepared, closed, and sealed in our facilities before being collected by a courier carrier for delivery to a customer’s desired shipping address.

For any damaged or irreparable items that do not meet our quality standards, they are handled through our clothing collection program which we partner with The Salvation Army for here in the U.S."

And an H&M spokesperson responded, saying:

“Online returns are sent to an H&M distribution facility, where items are reviewed in line with our quality and hygiene requirements. Items that meet these standards are resold, supporting our goal of extending the life of our products.

When shipped, returns may transit through standard carrier networks and hubs as part of the normal shipping process. We’re not able to comment on individual shipments or third‑party tracking data."

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