Requires: X-Cart 5.6.0.17 or later. If your store is on X-Cart 5.6.0.16 or earlier, see Return reasons and Configuring return eligibility in the "Order Returns (X-Cart 5.6.0.16 and earlier)" collection instead.
Before customers can request returns on their own, there are a few things to set up: when a return can be requested, what reasons customers can pick from, which products can be returned at all, and which of your locations can receive them back. Most of this is configured in one place — Orders > Settings, Returns tab.
Customer return rules
The Customer Return Rules block controls when customers can request a return on their own. These rules are fixed at the time of purchase and apply only to future orders — changing them won’t affect orders placed earlier.
Allow self-served returns — the master switch. When on, eligible orders show a Return button in the customer’s account. When off, the returns functionality is hidden from the storefront entirely, and only you can create returns from the Admin area. Off by default.
Eligible shipment statuses — customers can only request a return once an item’s shipment has reached one of the selected statuses. Note that this is tied to the shipment status, not the overall order status. Delivered by default.
Return window — how many days after delivery a customer can request a return: 14, 30 (default), 60, 90 days, or Unlimited. The countdown starts separately for each shipment once it becomes eligible, and it’s locked in at that point — changing the setting later doesn’t affect shipments that are already open for returns. The window only limits customers; you can create a return from the Admin area at any time, regardless of how much time has passed.
Require consent for non-returnable items — when on, customers must check “I acknowledge that some items in my cart are non-returnable” at checkout before placing an order that contains non-returnable items. Off by default.
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If you also want to publish a page describing your store’s return policy in plain language for customers, that’s a general content page, not a returns-specific setting — see Managing Content and Service Pages (X-Cart 5.5.x-5.6.x)
Return reasons
The Return Reasons block lets you manage the list of reasons customers choose from when requesting a return.
New stores come with five preset reasons:
Damaged / Defective,
Wrong item sent,
Did not fit,
No longer needed,
Website description was inaccurate.
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You can:
Drag and drop reasons to change the order they appear in on the storefront.
Toggle a reason on or off.
Edit the wording (reasons support multiple languages).
Remove a reason, or click New reason to add your own.
The Allow “Other” return reason toggle controls whether customers can also pick “Other” and describe their reason in a text field. Off by default. If you’d rather keep customers to the reasons you’ve listed, leave it off.
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Returnable and non-returnable products
Every product has a Returnable toggle in the Shipping section of its details page (Catalog > Products > select a product > Info tab).
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It’s on by default — turn it off for a specific product to prevent customers from returning it.
The toggle only matters for products that require shipping. Digital products and services are automatically treated as non-returnable, regardless of the toggle.
Non-returnable products are labeled Non-returnable item on the storefront —
on the product page:
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in the cart:
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and in order details:
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The Returnable (Yes/No) item state is captured at the moment an order is placed, so changing the toggle later doesn’t change return rights on existing orders.
To update returnability for many products at once:
Use CSV import/export — the Returnable column accepts Yes/No; leaving it blank keeps the current setting.
Or go to Catalog > Product List and use Bulk edit shipping info.
Locations that accept returns
Each stock location has its own Accepts returns setting (Store > Locations > select a location).
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When it’s on, that location can receive returned items, and it becomes available in the Return to selector when you approve or create a return. It’s on by default for your store’s default location, and off for any location you add afterward.
You need at least one location accepting returns for the add-on to work — if you try to turn this off on the last remaining one, X-Cart warns you that you won’t be able to process return requests until you re-enable it somewhere.