Amazon will now charge for some UPS returns

Sarah Gambles
Updated ·2 min read
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An Amazon company logo is seen on the facade of a company’s building in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany, on March 18, 2022. Amazon will now charge customers with a fee for some UPS returns.
An Amazon company logo is seen on the facade of a company’s building in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany, on March 18, 2022. Amazon will now charge customers with a fee for some UPS returns. | Michael Sohn, Associated Press

Amazon announced it will start charging some customers for return items they take to UPS stores.

Before now, the returns were free, but Amazon is taking new steps to reduce the number of items customers return because “handling returns has become an expensive problem for the company,” CNN reported.

How much will Amazon charge for UPS returns?

Moving forward, Amazon will charge a $1 fee for items returned “to a UPS store when there is a Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh grocery store or Kohl’s closer to their delivery address,” per CNN.

According to The Information, which first reported the Amazon news, “Returns have been an expensive headache for e-commerce companies after they skyrocketed during pandemic lockdown and have remained stubbornly high.”

Can Amazon customers still get free returns at Kohl’s, Whole Foods?

Before now, Amazon did charge customers for UPS to pick up returns from their house, but customers can still go to Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh grocery store or Kohl’s, which Amazon has a partnership with, to return items for free, per Business Insider.

“We always offer a free option for customers to return their item,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly told Insider by email. “If a customer would prefer to return their item at a UPS Store when there is a free option closer to their delivery address, a very small amount of customers may incur a $1 fee.”

How much revenue does UPS earn from Amazon deliveries?

Amazon has built up its own delivery business and appears to be staving off relying on UPS. Supply Chain Dive reported UPS saw 13.3% of its revenue come from Amazon in 2020, compared to 2022, when it earned only 11.3% of its revenue from Amazon.