Exchanges using draft orders

How ReturnZap facilitates exchanges

Once a customer initiates an exchange through the ReturnZap portal, ReturnZap can facilitate the exchange in one of two ways:

By creating draft orders for items being sent in exchange
By adding exchange items to the original order using native Shopify exchange functionality. (See more here).

Each method comes with pros and cons, which we outline here.

The portal exchange experience remains the same whether you use draft orders or original order exchanges

Draft order approach to exchanges

The option to facilitate exchanges using draft orders can be enabled in ReturnZap Settings > Policy > Exchanges

If the setting for draft order exchanges is enabled, ReturnZap will follow these steps:

A customer will create a return for exchange using the ReturnZap customer returns portal
When an exchange is submitted, ReturnZap will create a Shopify draft order containing the items that have been selected in exchange
ReturnZap will optionally reserve inventory for the draft order for a period of time, which is configurable through ReturnZap settings
ReturnZap will add order tags to the draft order. One for ReturnZap Exchange Order to indicate that it is an order created to facilitate an exchange, and another indicating the original order, for example Original order: #1234
ReturnZap will add order tags to the original order. One for ReturnZap Exchange Pending and another indicating the draft order which was created in exchange, for example Exchange draft order #1234
ReturnZap will link the draft order to the exchange, so it can be completed directly within the application

Resolving a draft order exchange

When a return is received and a shop admin is ready to complete an exchange, they will follow these steps:

Navigate to the RMA from the ReturnZap returns page
Find the item(s) on the return to complete for exchange. These will display a "To be replaced with" section, which will take you to the pending draft order when clicked:

Mark the return as received, and then proceed by clicking the "Exchange" button
Review the pending exchange, select whether to restock the returned item, and click the "Exchange" button to confirm the exchange.

ReturnZap will complete the draft order, marking it ready for fulfillment. The RMA status will update to indicate that the exchange has been resolved and the item has been replaced.
ReturnZap will update order tags on the original order to ReturnZap Exchange Complete

Exchanges can also be completed automatically based on return tracking events or other events. Contact ReturnZap support to enable this on your account.

Pros and Cons of Different Exchange Methods

	Pros	Cons
Draft Order Exchanges	Allows for flexible period to reserve exchange inventory via ReturnZap settings Easier to differentiate between original orders and exchange orders when creating return policies	Shopify treats the original order as a return for refund, creating a perpetual "refund owed" balance which impacts sales reporting and requires manual reconcoliation Tax calculations are more difficult in the case of different price exchanges Only supports same price exchanges through ReturnZap
Original Order Exchanges	Eliminates the "refund owed" issue in Shopify Simplifies tax calculations in the case of different price exchanges Supports both same price and different price exchanges through ReturnZap	Inventory is reserved indefinitely for exchange items as part of the pending fulfillment More difficult to tell which are the original items on an order and which were added in exchange