---
title: "Product Return Reasons: 978 Return Stories, Coded (2026)"
description: "We coded 978 first-hand return stories from 24 Reddit threads, read a top supplement's Amazon reviews and checked who pays return shipping on each platform."
canonical: https://tryadlicio.com/blog/product-return-reasons
---

# Product Return Reasons: 978 Return Stories, Coded (2026)

Published 2026-10-30. https://tryadlicio.com/blog/product-return-reasons

The most common reason for a product return depends on the store and product: damaged or spoiled goods lead Costco stories, weak performance leads makeup, and the code a shopper clicks often hides the cause. We sorted 978 first-hand Reddit return stories by reason, read a best-selling supplement's Amazon reviews, and checked five platforms' return-shipping rules and the reason lists Shopify and Amazon publish.

## What we found

- In the Costco threads, 132 of 393 stories are about goods that arrived damaged or spoiled.
- Size or fit, often listed first, comes up 15 times in 978 stories.
- Makeup goes back for not performing: 199 of 415 stories, against 75 for the wrong shade or look.
- Smell, taste or texture is the reason in 153 stories, yet Amazon's 60 default codes never mention them.
- In 347 reviews of a top supplement, a few buyers say Amazon would not take it back.
- The reason can decide who pays return shipping, and in 8 cases sellers asked buyers to change it.

## What 978 return stories say

People in 24 Reddit threads (2012 to 2026) answered prompts such as "What was the last thing you returned and why?" 978 first-hand stories give a reason. Each prompt shapes its answers, so these are counts, not market shares.

| Thread group | Threads | Stories | Top reasons (stories) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costco subreddits, 2020-2025 | 6 | 393 | arrived damaged, spoiled or contaminated 132; smell, taste or texture 61; wore out 53 (48 from one used-sofa thread); broke in use 49; recall or broken seal 18; size or fit 10 |
| Beauty retail: r/MakeupAddiction, r/Sephora, r/Ulta, 2012-2026 | 7 | 517 | performed badly 220; smell, taste, texture or finish 90; wrong shade, color or look 73; skin or body reaction 42; changed mind, or a cheaper or owned alternative 23; not as described 20; did nothing 16 |
| r/SkincareAddiction, 2020-2026 | 4 | 25 | skin reaction 10; did nothing 5; arrived damaged 3 |
| General: r/AskReddit, r/NoStupidQuestions, 2019-2026 | 6 | 42 | used, then returned 11; not as described 7; bought several to keep one 6; size or fit 4 |
| r/Supplements, 2026 | 1 | 1 | did nothing 1 |

Damage beats size. In the Costco threads, 132 of 393 stories are about goods that arrived damaged, spoiled or contaminated. Across all 24 threads, size or fit comes up 15 times in 978; clothing gives only 30 stories. Unless you sell clothes, check how goods arrive before you fix the size chart.

### Food: spoiled first, then taste (215 stories)

Of 215 food stories, 127 are about food that arrived spoiled, damaged or expired, 53 about a disliked taste or texture, and 15 about recalls or broken seals. 153 come from one thread, "Cheapest thing you have ever returned at Costco?" ([r/Costco, 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/17duvin/)). Fix shipping and shelf life first.

> "A container of spring mix that was already rotting when I purchased" ([comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/17duvin/_/k5z32gx/))

### Makeup: "didn't perform" beats "didn't like it" (415 stories)

In 199 of 415 makeup stories, the product performed badly; 75 name the wrong shade, color or look, 57 smell, texture or finish, and 22 a skin reaction. What "performed badly" meant in the 220 beauty-thread stories with that reason (a story can name several):

- no pigment, no coverage or too sheer: 43
- patchy, cakey or clung to dry patches: 25
- did not last, faded or disappeared: 17
- "not worth the price": 15
- oily or greasy on skin: 14
- oxidized: 8
- creased or settled into lines: 8
- too pigmented: 6

Loop Returns gives cosmetics and personal care "45% Style / Preference" as the top reason ([Loop, February 2026](https://www.loopreturns.com/blog/items-returned-most-often-ecommerce/)), with no sample size or method. A portal counts the option clicked; a story gives the cause, such as "patchy", so the two do not compare.

If you sell makeup, [pull a product's Sephora reviews and sort the texture and finish complaints into angles](https://tryadlicio.com/scrapers/sephora-review-scraper).

### Skin care: reactions and "did nothing" (60 stories)

Skin care gives 60 stories: skin reaction 24, smell or texture 12, did nothing 11, arrived damaged 4. A 2020 PSA on refunds for "products that don't work" ([thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/isj4lg/)) invited those answers: 14 of its 17 stories are a reaction or no effect. Elsewhere, 21 of 43 are, and 11 are smell or texture.

### Smell, taste and texture (153 stories)

153 stories give smell, taste, texture or finish as the reason: 61 in the Costco threads (mostly food), 90 in the beauty threads (fragrance, lip products, sunscreen, hair care) and 2 in r/SkincareAddiction. In the newest beauty thread, on the 2026 Ulta sale ([thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ulta/comments/1s5mx3q/)), they lead with 34 of 103 stories.

> "The Flowerbomb Nectar, reviews are so good and it smells like bug spray on me!!" ([comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ulta/comments/1s5mx3q/_/ocvr0bg/))

## When a supplement can't go back

We read 347 reviews of the #2 product in Amazon's Vitamins & Dietary Supplements best sellers, an unflavored creatine powder. Too few mention a return to count, so we show quotes, not numbers.

A few reviewers say Amazon would not take the product back. That fits Amazon's return policy: it lists "Products that may pose potential health and safety risks if returned" as non-returnable and says to "contact Customer Service" if such an item "arrives damaged, defective, or materially different from what was ordered" ([Amazon return policy](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GKM69DUUYKQWKWX7)). Complaints are about arrival and safety more than taste: a rancid or ammonia-like smell, mold, a broken or open inner seal, a jammed or cracked lid, plastic in the first scoop, powder that would not dissolve. They end up in reviews or customer-service refunds (one for a broken seal and mold: [review](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R39ER2JEEIHQ2L)), not in return codes.

> "I am trying to return it, but it says this item is not eligible for return. I should not be stuck paying for a product that is clearly defective or potentially spoiled." (1 star, [review](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R21ZH7F60WSVIA))

A 3-star reviewer kept a powder that was "supposed to be flavorless" rather than deal with return shipping ([review](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3QF3R798H0UHN)). A return can also sit behind a good rating: a 4-star reviewer who "was not able to try it out" called it "more of an Amazon issue" and was "Returning for now" ([review](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2VKABWIHE71DF)). A 2024 paper by Amazon researchers ([Cheng, Krikon and Murdock, CHIIR '24](https://doi.org/10.1145/3627508.3638326)) saw this at scale: "many customers write positive reviews for products that they return (20,221 of the returns, which constitutes 22% of the data)". Ours is one example, not a check of that 22%.

To read your own listing, [run its Amazon reviews through a review analyzer](https://tryadlicio.com/tools/amazon-review-analyzer) and read the complaints next to your return codes.

## Return reason lists compared: Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Etsy

Shopify's changelog of January 16, 2026 says: "When processing returns, you'll now see suggested return reasons that are specific to the product being returned" ([Shopify changelog](https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/enhanced-return-reasons)). They come from its Standard Product Taxonomy, whose August 2026 release holds 470 return-reason definitions ([v2026-08 release](https://github.com/Shopify/product-taxonomy/releases/tag/v2026-08)). Each category adds reasons to six base ones (Unknown, Changed my mind, Item not as described, Received the wrong item, Other, Damaged or defective). Examples:

- Protein Supplements: Dietary requirements, Doesn't dissolve well, Taste
- Skin Care: Consistency, Not suitable for skin type, Scent
- Makeup: Coverage, Finish, Not suitable for skin type, Shade, Wear
- Food Items: Dietary requirements, Taste, Texture
- Clothing: Too small, Too big, Style, Color

Shopify defines "Not suitable for skin type" as "either irritating or ineffective for the user's skin", covering both a reaction and "did nothing". 189 of the 470 defined reasons, Side effects and Caused allergic reaction among them, sit on no category menu. The pre-2026 default list had 10 values ([Shopify dev docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/enums/ReturnReason)); a store's menu can differ.

Amazon lists 60 default return reason codes in its Buy with Prime API docs ([docs](https://documents.buywithprime.amazon.com/bwp-api/docs/process-returns)); signed-in shoppers see a subset. They include "Performance or quality not adequate" and "Different from website description", but none mentions taste, flavor, smell, scent, texture, a side effect, a reaction, an allergy or a pet.

| Platform | Who pays return shipping, in the platform's words |
|---|---|
| Shopify | Not tied to the reason. The store picks "Offer free return shipping", "Add a flat rate return shipping fee that's charged one time per return" or "Have your customers buy their own return shipping label" ([help center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/managing-orders/returns/return-rules)). |
| Amazon | Seller-fulfilled orders: "Customers pay when they change their mind, like accidental orders, with fees deducted from their refund. For issues like defective items or shipping errors, sellers cover the costs." ([seller blog](https://sell.amazon.com/blog/manage-customer-returns)) Buyer policy: "Most items include at least one free return shipping option", with charges for a paid drop-off option, heavy or bulky items, or "an unusually high return rate" ([return policy](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GKM69DUUYKQWKWX7)). |
| eBay | "The seller pays for return shipping if they offer a free returns policy or if the item was damaged, faulty, or doesn't match the listing description." The buyer pays for a change of mind when the seller's policy says buyers pay ([eBay help](https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-refunds/returning-item/return-shipping?id=4066)). |
| Walmart | Returns page titled "Free Returns" ([returns](https://www.walmart.com/cp/returns/1231920)). Marketplace sellers: "You may not apply return shipping charges to customers" ([seller policy](https://marketplacelearn.walmart.com/guides/Order%20management/Returns%20&%20refunds/returns-policy)). WFS: Walmart pays return processing for "Walmart fault" reasons such as damage in transit; sellers pay for "seller fault" and "customer fault" reasons ([WFS guide](https://marketplacelearn.walmart.com/guides/Walmart%20Fulfillment%20Services%20%28WFS%29/Troubleshooting/wfs-customer-returns-reimbursement-and-dispute-processes)). |
| Etsy | Standard shop policy: "Buyers are responsible for any return shipping costs" ([shop policies](https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/7869401615255-How-do-I-Set-Return-Policies-on-My-Listings)). Purchase Protection: "a full refund if your order never arrives, arrives after the estimated delivery window, arrives damaged, or isn't as described" ([buyer help](https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015440807-How-to-Return-or-Exchange-an-Item-on-Etsy)). |

On eBay and Amazon seller-fulfilled orders, the buyer's reason can move return shipping onto the seller. Walmart advertises free returns without tying them to the reason.

## Why the reason code is not always the reason

Fixing the top reason code only works if the code is true. The fee rules above push shoppers toward some codes, and Amazon's damage fee of "Up to 50% of the item price" applies only "for reasons not due to an Amazon.com or seller error" ([Amazon return policy](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GKM69DUUYKQWKWX7)). In a 2022 Pitney Bowes poll of 2,094 US consumers, 44% said the average consumer would be okay with picking the reason "that will ensure free shipping during an RMA process" ([Pitney Bowes](https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/blog/returns-fraud.html)), an attitude, not observed behavior.

Some reasons never reach a code. Of 1,066 first-hand Reddit stories, 44 are returns the person wanted but did not make (39 give a reason). Beauty-thread blockers include no returns where the shopper lives ([2015 thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/3ks2hs/)), a recycled box and fear of an account flag for too many returns ([2025 thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sephora/comments/1k2c6kl/)).

### Sellers and buyers (unverified)

In 36 threads (2016 to 2026), sellers described 62 returns with a stated reason, 49 on eBay and 13 on Amazon. Most come from threads asking for the oddest return reasons or complaining about false ones, so they are examples, not a rate. The seller says the item worked or matched the listing, or the buyer admitted a change of mind, but the code said "defective" or "not as described".

> "customers are always ordering the wrong format camcorder to play back their old tapes and then opening a return for 'doesn't work or defective', which negatively impacts our seller metrics." (seller, 2021, [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonSeller/comments/meepzr/))

It runs both ways. In 8 cases in 6 eBay threads, a seller asked a buyer to switch a defect, damage or not-as-described return to a buyer-fault reason, to protect seller metrics.

> "I'm needing to return an item that's defective and the seller is telling me to put the reason as 'don't like it', 'changed mind', 'ordered by mistake', or 'found better price'." (buyer, 2025, [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ebay/comments/1pdjvnb/))

Six buyers in 5 threads described how they picked a reason. Two found no option that fit: a chair that did not suit the buyer's husband ([post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonSeller/comments/czl5b8/)) and coffee pods that tasted bad ([post](https://www.reddit.com/r/amazonprime/comments/1mgt22u/)). One chose an honest buyer-fault reason and faced $70 in return shipping on a $200 order ([thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ebay/comments/18y0na2/)). Two, in one thread, say they picked a late-delivery reason because it carried no return fee ([thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/amazonprime/comments/188zcpp/)). One picked a wrong option by accident.

### How to check a return code

Photograph the item and its label before shipping and on return, grade its condition before you refund, and read the customer's comment and any review next to the code. On Amazon, read the FBA Customer Returns report one return at a time ([seller advice](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonSeller/comments/1witomp/_/pae5p2q/)), grouped by child ASIN and order month. Report a wrong-reason return through the platform.

## Turn return reasons into page and ad copy

A return reason is an objection nobody answered before the order. Answer it on the page and in the ad, in the buyer's words: "patchy", "oxidized", "smells like bug spray", "not eligible for return". Our guide to [turning customer objections into ad messaging](https://tryadlicio.com/blog/extracting-customer-objections-for-ecom-ad-messaging) covers the method.

Show swatches, say whether an "unflavored" powder has a taste, and say what you do about a broken seal before it becomes a 1-star review.

Adlicio is one way to collect these words at scale. It pulls verbatim customer comments and reviews from public sources (Reddit, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Trustpilot, G2, the App Store and more) and groups them into pains, objections, desired outcomes and phrases for ad angles.

To start, [find the doubts and regrets buyers repeat about your category on Reddit](https://tryadlicio.com/tools/objection-finder).

## The usual list of return reasons, briefly

The top-ranking guides ([Omnia Retail](https://www.omniaretail.com/pricing-hub/return-reasons), [Chargeback Gurus](https://www.chargebackgurus.com/blog/return-reasons), [Claimlane](https://www.claimlane.com/resources/blog/why-customers-return-products), [Narvar](https://corp.narvar.com/blog/common-reasons-for-retail-returns)) list size or fit, damaged or defective, not as described, wrong item, late delivery and change of mind, and several add better price, bracketing (buying several to keep one), wardrobing and fraud. The Amazon paper cited above found 70.2% of 90,962 returns from 2019-2020 had product-related codes, which agrees with our Costco threads.

## How we got this data

### Reddit stories

We searched Reddit post titles (a public archive and Reddit's search) for threads asking what people returned and why, and read all 3,101 comments in the 24 we kept (2012-08-12 to 2026-07-04) on 2026-09-23 and 2026-09-24. One coder coded each story against a written code book: primary reason (the first given), category, first-hand or not, status and policy. Of 1,118 stories, 1,066 are first-hand; 978 state a reason (732 returned, 34 exchanged, 173 planned, 39 wanted but never made). The 7 beauty threads were added on 2026-09-24 because Costco threads were 393 of the first 461 stories. Quotes come only from comments also seen live on Reddit. The threads:

- Costco: r/Costco [2020](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/jb9cp1/), [2020](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/jt0tzy/), [2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/115l9zu/), [2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/17duvin/); r/CostcoCanada [2025](https://www.reddit.com/r/CostcoCanada/comments/1n9nqnv/); r/CostcoWholesale [2025](https://www.reddit.com/r/CostcoWholesale/comments/1p2m7e2/).
- Beauty: r/MakeupAddiction [2012](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/y2k0g/), [2015](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/3ks2hs/), [2016](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/4zecve/), [2017](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/5nl2yy/); r/Sephora [2021](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sephora/comments/ms2t41/), [2025](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sephora/comments/1k2c6kl/); r/Ulta [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ulta/comments/1s5mx3q/).
- Skin care: r/SkincareAddiction [2020](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/isj4lg/), [2022](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/v1u9z0/), [2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/11gu0g0/), [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/1su35tb/).
- General: r/AskReddit [2019](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/dvsdr6/), [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tk3dba/), [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tqfrin/), [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1uc5v8d/); r/NoStupidQuestions [2024](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/1cj6otl/), [2025](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/1mlf4rq/).
- Supplements: r/Supplements [2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/1unh23g/).

### Amazon reviews

Nutricost Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder, 500 g, unflavored ([amazon.com/dp/B00GL2HMES](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GL2HMES)), listed #2 on 2026-09-23; we have no tie to the brand. On 2026-09-24 it showed 60,527 ratings, and we collected 347 verified-purchase reviews with Adlicio: 196 five-star, 45 four-star, 22 three-star, 24 two-star, 60 one-star. The sample leans to complaints and has no dates. We read every review matching return, refund, exchange or "sent it back". Our rule, set before reading: under 15 return mentions means quotes only. The product page showed no return policy.

### Seller and buyer threads

36 threads (2016-10-27 to 2026-09-17, 1,054 comments) from the same archive, coded into 144 rows. Twenty of the 22 threads holding the 62 seller cases were about disputed or false reasons (28 cases); two asked for the oddest reasons (34 cases). All of it is unverified; quoted posts come from the archive copy.

### Platform lists

Help pages, seller guides, developer docs and changelogs, read on 2026-09-23 and 2026-09-24, plus Shopify's v2026-08 taxonomy file. Amazon's and eBay's full shopper pick-lists need a signed-in account; Walmart does not publish its shopper menu.

### Limits

The stories are self-selected, in English and shaped by each prompt: "cheapest thing" pulls in cheap food, sale threads pull in planned returns, and one thread gives 212 stories. Beauty leans to makeup (415 stories against 60 for skin care). Supplements (8) and pet products (7) are too few to report. One coder, no second check, but every coded row links to its comment. See also our guide to [finding customer pain points on Reddit](https://tryadlicio.com/scrapers/guides/find-customer-pain-points-on-reddit).

## FAQ

### What are the most common reasons for product returns?

It depends on the store and product. Damaged or spoiled goods lead our Costco threads (132 of 393 stories), weak performance leads beauty (220 of 517), and size leads most clothing lists.

### What is a good reason to return an item?

The true one. If the product is fine and you don't like it, pick "Changed my mind" or "No longer needed"; on eBay or Amazon seller-fulfilled orders, you may then pay return shipping.

### What is a good reason for a refund?

One the platform's guarantee covers. eBay says buyers "can get their money back if an item didn't arrive, is faulty or damaged, or doesn't match the listing" ([eBay Money Back Guarantee](https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210)). A change of mind depends on the store's policy.

### What is a return reason code?

The option a shopper picks when starting a return, such as "Damaged or defective". Stores use it to decide who pays return shipping and what to fix, but one click can hide the cause.

Start with your own returns: pull the last 50 to 100, put the customer's comment and any review next to each code, and rewrite each reason in the customer's words. That list is the first draft of your [voice of customer research](https://tryadlicio.com/voice-of-customer).