Restocking Cost
The labor and materials to make a returned item sellable again. Someone opens the package, inspects it, folds or repackages it, relabels it, and puts it back on the shelf. That time isn't free, and most merchants never account for it.
Example
Your warehouse person spends 15 minutes per return: open box, check for damage, iron the shirt, new poly bag, new tag, back on shelf. At $15/hr, that's $3.75 per return. 50 returns a week = $750/month in labor nobody tracks.
Why It Matters
Restocking labor is the stealthiest cost in ecommerce because it never shows up as a line item. If you process 100 returns a month at $4 each in labor, that's $400/month — $4,800 a year — that silently erodes your profit.
Pro Tip
Time yourself processing five returns, average it, and multiply by your monthly return volume. That number deserves its own line in your P&L.
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