Exchanges
Exchanges, Step by Step, With Your Rules
Exchanges keep the sale and make the shopper happy, if they are easy and fair. Mercayo gives shoppers a clear way to ask, and your team a clear path from request to replacement, with the rules you set.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
With exchanges switched on, a shopper can ask for one from their order page after delivery, within the days you allow (7 to start with), under Need a Different Size or a Replacement? with ASK FOR AN EXCHANGE:
- They pick which item of the order, and a reason from your list. Each reason is marked as the store's fault (wrong item, damaged, faulty) or not.
- By default an exchange is the same item again: a replacement for a wrong, damaged or faulty one.
- A different size or variant is offered only when both are true: the reason is one you marked Size change (such as "Wrong size or fit"), and the product is in a category you marked as a size category (rings, T-shirts, shoes…). The shopper then chooses the same item or another size, fit or length of the same product.
- With Unboxing video for claims on, a store's-fault reason needs an https link to an unboxing video (YouTube, Google Drive or similar), and shoppers are told about the rule before the parcel reaches them: at checkout, in the order emails, and on their order page while it is on its way.
One exchange per order, and never beside a return for a refund on the same order.
Who Sends the Item Back
| Reason | Who Sends It Back | What the Shopper Sees |
|---|---|---|
| The store's fault | You arrange the pickup | "The store will arrange a pickup." |
| Not the store's fault | The shopper, at their cost, to your return address | "You'll send the item back yourself", then your address once approved |
Your Team's Steps
Your team works through each request in Orders → Exchanges, with tabs Waiting, In Progress, Shipped, Done, and Declined or Cancelled. Each row shows the order, the item and its replacement, the reason, the price difference and how long it has waited.
- APPROVE or DECLINE (with a reason the shopper reads). Approving holds the replacement in stock, so it cannot be sold meanwhile.
- The item comes back: arrange the pickup, or wait for the shopper's parcel. MARK RETURN SHIPPED records the courier and tracking number if you have them; the shopper can add theirs from the order page.
- MARK RECEIVED once you have it and have checked it. The returned item is not added back to stock on its own: add it in the product if it can be sold again.
- SHIP REPLACEMENT takes the held item out of stock for good, then COMPLETE when the shopper has it.
CANCEL stops an exchange at any step and puts any held item back. Every step is recorded in the exchange's history and the order's, with who did it. The replacement goes out on the same order, not as a new order, so the GST invoice stays as it was.
When the Price Differs
When the chosen size costs more or less, the exchange shows the difference to you ("+₹200 (the shopper pays)" or "₹200 (you refund)") and to the shopper. Mercayo does not collect or pay out that difference itself today: your team settles it with the shopper, for example with a refund from the order.
For your store
Why It Matters
Size and fit problems are part of selling clothes, shoes, jewellery and accessories online, and a parcel that arrives damaged after a long journey is part of shipping across India. A clear exchange process turns a problem into a second good experience instead of a refund, a chargeback or a one-star review.
Exchange-first suits many Indian stores: it keeps the money in the business while still treating the shopper fairly. Returns for a refund stay a separate switch, for when you are ready.
The rules protect you as well. One exchange per order stops endless swaps; a time limit closes old orders; holding stock on approval means you never promise a replacement you cannot send; and, for damage claims, an unboxing video that shoppers know about before the parcel arrives makes claims honest without accusing anyone.
Because every request lives in one queue with tabs, a small team can see at a glance what needs a decision, what is on its way back, and what only needs the replacement sent, instead of tracking exchanges across WhatsApp chats and notebooks.
Step by step
How It Works
Switch Exchanges On and Set the Rules
In Settings → Returns and Exchanges, switch on Exchanges, set Days to ask (1 to 60 days after delivery), whether claims need an Unboxing video for claims, whether the Store pays to send the replacement, and your Return address, where shoppers send items back when the store was not at fault.
Edit Your Reasons
Under Exchange Reasons and Size Categories, the reasons shoppers choose from start as "Wrong item delivered", "Arrived damaged" and "Faulty or not working" (the store's fault) and "Wrong size or fit" (a size change). Add your own with ADD REASON, tick The store's fault or Size change, untick Offered to hide one for a while, and change their order.
Mark Your Size Categories
In the same place, Size Categories lists your categories: switch on the ones where a different size makes sense, such as rings or T-shirts. Everywhere else an exchange is the same item again. Changing this needs the right to edit products.
The Shopper Asks From Their Order
After delivery, ASK FOR AN EXCHANGE on their order page (from /track or their account) opens a short sheet: the item, the reason, the replacement size where allowed, the video link when required, and an optional note. The sheet says who sends the item back before they press SEND REQUEST.
Approve or Decline
New requests wait under Waiting in Orders → Exchanges, and appear in the bell and on your Home screen. Open one to see the item, the replacement, the reason, the video (Open the video), the shopper's note and the price difference, then APPROVE (which holds the replacement) or DECLINE with a reason.
Receive, Replace, Complete
Follow the item back (MARK RETURN SHIPPED when you know its courier), MARK RECEIVED when it arrives, then SHIP REPLACEMENT and COMPLETE. Each step asks you to confirm and explains what it does to stock. The shopper sees the same progress on their order page.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
After delivery, their order page asks "Need a Different Size or a Replacement?", with the last day they can ask ("You can ask until 24 Oct, once per order"). The sheet is short: which item, what is wrong, the replacement, and the video link only when the rule needs it, with plain help on how to share a video by link.
Then the same page shows Your Exchange with each step in words: "Request sent", "Approved: please send the item back" with your address, "On its way back", "Item received", "Replacement on its way", "Exchange complete", or the reason if it was declined. A shopper who sends the item back adds the courier and tracking number right there.
Settings
Settings You Control
Each one is in your admin. A new store starts with the value shown.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can fix or limit any exchange setting for a store (for example cap the days, or require the video for a store with many claims), with a reason your admin shows; every change is in Mercayo's audit log. Mercayo never decides an exchange for you: approving, declining and every step are your team's, and need the right to edit orders. The unboxing video link is only checked for its shape; Mercayo never downloads or keeps the shopper's video.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- One exchange per order, covering one item of the order, and not together with a return for a refund.
- The shopper is not sent a message at each step; they see the progress on their order page.
- A different size is offered only for a size-change reason in a size category; elsewhere an exchange is the same item.
- A price difference is shown but not charged or refunded by Mercayo; your team settles it.
- Pickups and the replacement's courier are arranged by your team; Mercayo does not book them through Shiprocket.
- The video is a link the shopper adds (YouTube, Google Drive and the like); Mercayo does not host videos for claims.
Questions
About Exchanges
Can I offer exchanges but not refunds?
Yes, and many stores start that way: exchanges and returns for a refund are separate switches in Settings → Returns and Exchanges, both off for a new store. Switch on only exchanges, and shoppers can ask for a replacement or another size but not their money back.
Who pays to send the item back?
For a store's-fault reason, you arrange and pay for the pickup; otherwise the shopper sends it to your return address at their cost. Sending the replacement is paid by the store once, unless you switch Store pays to send the replacement off.
What if the new size costs more?
The exchange shows the difference to your team and to the shopper, as plus or minus an amount. Mercayo does not collect or refund it on its own today, so agree it with the shopper: for a cheaper size you can refund the difference from the order with a custom amount.
Do I see the shopper's video?
Yes. The request shows Open the video, which opens the link the shopper gave. Mercayo checks that the link starts with https and looks complete, but never downloads or stores the video itself.
What happens to stock during an exchange?
Approving holds the replacement, so it cannot be sold to someone else meanwhile. Shipping the replacement takes it out of stock for good, and cancelling the exchange puts it back. The item that comes back is not restocked on its own, because only your team knows whether it can be sold again.
Can a shopper exchange after the window?
No. After the days you allow, the order page says the time to ask has passed. Your team can still help the shopper another way, such as a refund from the order.
If I switch exchanges off, what happens to open requests?
Shoppers can no longer ask for new ones, and the Exchanges screen says exchanges are off. Requests already made can still be finished there, step by step, so no shopper is left halfway.
Related
Related Features
- Returns and RefundsLet shoppers ask to return items for a refund; approve, receive and refund from one queue, with the GST credit note issued for you.
- Order TrackingShoppers follow their order on your store's own page: order steps, the courier's timeline, the AWB, documents, and messages from your team.
- After the OrderOne page per order with its status, items, money and GST documents, plus cancel, BUY AGAIN, reviews, returns and exchanges for the shopper.
- OrdersStatus tabs, saved views your team shares, search by number, phone or name, a money summary, bulk actions, and an order page with one clear next step.
- Collections and CategoriesHand-picked collections in the order you choose, a category tree you arrange by dragging, each with a picture and search words, and old links that keep working.
More in Shipping: Delivery Charges · Delivery Dates by PIN Code · Shipping Labels · Failed Deliveries · Order Tracking · Returns and Refunds · Packing Slips
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