Returns Management
Returns graded, photographed and put back to work
Every return is inspected, graded across three tiers and photographed, then restocked, disposed of or sent back to you — your call, with the evidence in the portal.
Sound familiar?
The problems this solves
The returns mountain nobody opens
Returns pile up in a corner because processing them is miserable, low-priority work. Meanwhile sellable stock sits written off in a bin bag. We process them as they arrive, at £1.20 a unit.
Grading decisions made blind
You cannot judge 'like new' from a courier scan. Three-tier grading with photographs means you decide restock-or-dispose from your desk, looking at the actual unit.
The wrong item in the returns bag
Buyers return the older model, the empty box, or a brick. Inspection against the original order catches substitutions and short returns, photographed, before a refund quietly absorbs the loss.
How Oakmont handles it
What actually happens
- 1
Receive and match
Returns are checked in and matched to the original order or reference, so every unit is accounted for from the moment it lands.
- 2
Inspect and grade
Three tiers: a visual check, a component check with photographs, and for electricals a powered test at an additional £0.75 per unit.
- 3
Photograph and log
Condition photos and the grade go into the portal against the return. Anything unexpected — wrong item, missing parts — raises a discrepancy alert.
- 4
Disposition on your instruction
Sellable units go back into live inventory; write-offs are disposed of at £0.25 per unit; anything else is returned to sender. Standing rules or item-by-item — up to you.
What it costs
Straight from the published rate card
These aren't 'from' teasers — they're the rates on our pricing page.
- Returns processing & 3-tier grading £1.20 per unit
- Electrical function test +£0.75 per unit
- Disposal £0.25 per unit — only ever on your instruction
- Poly bag for resale £0.20 per unit
- Shelf-bin storage £0.90 per week while stock awaits a decision
Questions
Asked before, answered here
What are the three grading tiers?
Tier one is a visual inspection — packaging, seals, obvious damage. Tier two opens the unit and checks components against what should be present, with photographs. Tier three, for electrical items, adds a powered function test at £0.75 per unit on top of the £1.20 processing rate. You choose the depth per SKU, since a £6 phone case does not need what a £90 blender does.
How do I decide what happens to each return?
Either set standing rules — for example, grade-A units restock automatically, grade-C units are disposed of — or review items one by one in the portal with the photos in front of you. Every disposition is logged, so your returns write-off figure at year end is a report, not an estimate.
Can returned stock go back on sale?
Yes. Units graded sellable go straight back into live inventory for DTC orders, or can be re-prepped for FBA at the standard per-unit prep rates. If a unit needs a fresh poly bag before resale, that is £0.20 — all from the published rate card.
What does it cost to dispose of unsellable returns?
£0.25 per unit, and it only happens on your instruction — nothing is binned by default. Some sellers instead route lower-grade units to eBay or clearance channels from the same stock pool, which the portal makes straightforward since graded stock is visible by condition.
Do you handle Amazon customer returns as well as website returns?
Yes. Returns from your own channels come straight in, and FBA stock comes back to us via removal orders, which have their own £0.35 per unit check-in before the same grading process. Either way the unit ends up graded, photographed and back under your control.
Related
Sellers also look at
Turn the returns pile into a report
£1.20 a unit to know exactly what came back, what condition it is in, and what it is worth. Point your returns address at us and find out.