Note: General information for shops in any country, current in October 2026, not legal advice. Each rule named here links to its official source. Consumer law differs by country and changes; check the rules where your buyers live.
TL;DR. Promise a dispatch time you can keep every week of the year, price delivery from the size of the box, and write the returns policy before the first order. In the EU and the UK, buyers can change their mind for 14 days after delivery. In Türkiye they can too, and since 1 January 2026 a return through the carrier you name costs them nothing. In the US there's no federal right to cancel an online order, so your posted policy is the promise.
Promise a dispatch time, not a delivery date
You control when a parcel leaves. You don't control the carrier. So the promise worth making is the one you own: "Orders placed before 2 pm ship the same day" or "Made to order, ships in 5 working days", followed by the carrier's usual time as a range.
The rules lean the same way. In the US, the FTC's mail order rule says you need "a reasonable basis" for any shipping time you state or imply. If you state none, you must be able to ship within 30 days, and if you'll miss your date, you have to tell the buyer and let them cancel for a prompt refund (FTC business guide). In the EU, unless you agreed another time, goods are due "not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract" (Directive 2011/83/EU, article 18). Türkiye also caps goods at 30 days, and if you find you can't deliver at all, you have three days to tell the buyer and 14 to refund them. Running out of stock doesn't count as "can't" (Mesafeli Sözleşmeler Yönetmeliği, article 16).
Pick the promise you can keep in your worst week, not your best. A shop that says three days and ships in two gets thanked. One that says one day and ships in three gets an email.
Price shipping from the box
Carriers don't only weigh a parcel. They measure it, turn the volume into a "dimensional weight" and bill whichever is higher. USPS, for example, rounds each side of a Priority Mail parcel up to the next whole inch, multiplies length × width × height, and for a parcel over one cubic foot divides by 139 and charges the greater of that and the real weight (USPS Domestic Mail Manual 123). Turkish carriers call the same idea desi and divide centimetres cubed by 3,000 at home; Sürat Kargo, for one, divides by 5,000 for parcels going abroad.
So a cushion in a big box can cost more to send than a cast-iron pan in a small one. Before you set any delivery price:
- Pack your five best sellers the way you really would, then measure and weigh each box.
- Get the billed weight from your carrier's own calculator, not from the product's weight.
- Keep two or three box sizes that fit most orders, so the price you charge matches the price you pay.
Three ways to charge for delivery
| Approach | Works when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| A flat rate per order | Most orders fit one or two box sizes | Heavy or bulky items that cost you more than the rate |
| Delivery included above a basket | Your margin covers postage at that basket size | Setting the line just above your average order |
| The carrier's rate at checkout | Parcels vary a lot in size and destination | A surprising price late in the checkout |
You can mix them: a flat rate at home, carrier rates abroad, and delivery included above a basket a little higher than your typical order, which gives people a small reason to add one more thing.
Write the returns policy before the first order
The rules differ more here than anywhere else.
In the EU, a buyer can withdraw for 14 days from the day they receive the goods, with no reason given. If you don't tell them about this right, the period runs 12 months longer. You refund everything they paid, standard delivery included, within 14 days of being told, though you may wait until the goods are back or they show they've sent them. They pay the direct cost of sending it back only if you told them so before the order; if you didn't, they don't pay it. They also answer for any loss in value from handling it more than they needed to see what it is and how it works. Personalised goods, goods that spoil quickly and sealed hygiene goods once opened are the usual exceptions (Directive 2011/83/EU, articles 6, 9, 10, 13, 14 and 16).
In the UK, the rules follow the same shape. If you don't collect the goods yourself, the refund is due within 14 days of getting them back or of proof they were sent, and you refund delivery up to the cheapest common option you offered (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 34).
In the US, the FTC's three-day cooling-off rule covers sales at home or at temporary venues, not sales "made entirely online, by mail, or telephone" (FTC). There's no federal right to change your mind on an online order, so the policy you post is what you've promised, and buyers will hold you to it.
In Türkiye, the buyer has 14 days from delivery, and the seller names a carrier for returns before the order. Since 1 January 2026, a return through that carrier costs the buyer nothing; if you name no carrier, you can't charge for the return at all, and if your carrier has no branch where the buyer lives, you collect it. You refund within 14 days of the parcel being handed to your return carrier, in one payment, to the card or method they paid with (Resmî Gazete, 24 May 2025; the regulation, articles 12, 13 and 15).
A policy that works in all four places fits on a card: how many days, what condition, who pays the label, how fast the refund goes, and the exceptions. Write it once, in plain words, then check it against each country you ship to.
What a return really costs you
A return costs more than its label. Add the postage you refund, the return label if you pay it, the time to check and repack the item, and the share of returns you can't sell again. Then spread it over every order.
Here's the arithmetic for a made-up case. A €40 item, €6 of postage each way, return labels on you, one order in ten sent back and every return resold: you lose €1.20 for every order you ship (a tenth of €12). If a quarter of the returns can't be resold, add another €1 per order. That's the number to cover in your prices, and the reason the "will it work for me?" part of a product page earns its keep. Our guide to product pages that answer the buyer's questions is about exactly that.
Say it where the buyer decides
Put a one-line delivery promise and a one-line returns summary next to the buy button, again at checkout, and again in the order confirmation. Keep the full policy one click away. If you sell through search, Google's merchant listing markup recommends shipping details and a return policy, and suggests stating the return and shipping policies once for the whole business (Google Search Central). FaStart's shipping page shows how rates, labels and returns work there, and where each part stands.
FAQ
Do I have to offer returns if I only sell in the US? No federal rule makes you, but what you post binds you, and card disputes and marketplaces have rules of their own. Pick a window you can honour and post it where buyers decide.
Can I charge a restocking fee in the EU? Not for a withdrawal within the 14 days. The directive says the buyer "shall only bear the direct cost of returning the goods", and only if you told them; beyond that they answer for loss in value from handling the item more than they needed to.
Who pays for a return in Türkiye? Since 1 January 2026, not the buyer, when they use the carrier you named for returns. If you named none, you can't ask them to pay for the return at all.
What should I promise when I ship abroad? A dispatch time you own and the carrier's range for each region, plus a plain note on who pays duties and taxes on arrival.
