Amazon to start charging fees for returns made with UPS

Company says it’s an effort to reduce costs associated with returns

PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 08: PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 08: In this photo illustration the Amazon logo is displayed on the screen of a computer on January 08, 2019 in Paris, France. On Monday the US online trading giant Amazon became the most valuable public company in the world with a market capitalization of approximately 797 billion dollars (696 billion euros) which has surpassed Microsoft. (Photo Illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images) (Thierry Chesnot, 2019 Chesnot)

Amazon has started charging a fee for certain returns made at UPS stores this week, according to multiple reports.

First reported by The Information, customers who live near a free drop-off location and decide to return their package via UPS may pay an extra $1, an Amazon spokesperson told USA Today.

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The company said it’s an effort to reduce costs associated with returns.

Free return options are still offered at Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh grocery stores, and Kohls, CNN reported.

Recently, according to CNN citing a spokesperson, Amazon began flagging “frequently returned” products on its website, and adding a badge to those items with “significantly higher return rates.”

Amazon is not the only company charging extra for returns -- chains such as Zara, H&M, and Abercrombie and Fitch are charging up to $7 to return items online, CNN reported. Other retailers have tightened their return windows.


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A graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown, Ana moved to H-Town from sunny southern California in 2015. In 2020, she joined the KPRC 2 digital team as an intern. Ana is a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, a catmom of 3, and an aquarium enthusiast. In her spare time, she's an avid video gamer and loves to travel.