Selling into the US looks exciting on paper. Big market, big opportunity, big sales. But then reality kicks in. Returns. Duties. Paperwork. Customers who expect Amazon-level service every time. Suddenly the margin you thought you were making disappears faster than a DHL invoice.
The good news? It doesn’t have to be like that. With the right stack, you can stop duty leakage, cut returns costs, and actually make US expansion work for you. Let’s break down the ugly truths, the hidden costs, and the tools that save your bottom line.
Why Returns Hit Harder in the US
In the UK, a return rate of 10 percent feels bad. In the US, 20 to 30 percent is normal, especially in apparel and footwear. That’s not a typo. One in three orders might come back. Add the fact that Americans expect free, fast, and painless returns and you see the challenge.
Now throw tariffs into the mix. Every time goods enter the US you’re paying duties. If they come back and you don’t reclaim those duties, you’re paying twice. That’s before you count the cost of reverse shipping, stock write-downs, and the joy of explaining all of this to your finance team.
The Real Cost Breakdown
Here’s where the money goes:
- Duty leakage – Ship a £100 dress into the US at a £50 transfer value. Add ~16 percent duty. That’s £8 gone. If it comes back and you don’t file for drawback, that £8 stays gone. Multiply it by thousands of returns and you’re looking at six figures lost.
- Reverse logistics – Cross-border returns cost £20 to £30 each. If you’re doing 10,000 US orders a month at a 20 percent return rate, you’re eating £40,000 to £60,000 just on getting stock back.
- Stock depreciation – Returns don’t always come back shiny. Miss a season, damage the packaging, or get stuck in customs and you lose 10 to 30 percent of resale value.
- Customer churn – Mess up returns in the US and customers leave. Replace them and you’re spending five to seven times more than if you’d just kept them happy.
- Ops overhead – Without automation, finance and ops staff end up in customs paperwork hell. That’s 15 to 20 percent extra cost for no real benefit.
Get all this wrong and 5 to 10 percent of your US revenue evaporates.
Returns Platforms That Earn Their Keep
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Reveni – Instant refunds. Customers love it. Keeps them loyal.
- Swap – Automates returns with a customer-first feel.
- ZigZag Global – Smart routing. Knows where to send stock back to save money.
- ReturnGO – Self-service portals, sustainable options, and cost recovery built in.
- Global-e – Cross-border checkout and returns in one. Keeps the whole thing localised for US customers.
- Loop – Huge in the US. Pushes exchanges and credit to keep revenue on your books.
- ReBOUND – UK-based, global reach. Built for duty reclaim and cross-border automation.
- Narvar – Enterprise-level, heavy on compliance and paperwork automation.
Cutting Returns Before They Happen
One of the smartest plays isn’t just handling returns better, it’s stopping them in the first place. With Order Editing, customers fix their own mistakes before fulfilment. Simple changes reduce avoidable returns by up to 15 percent. That means fewer wasted shipments, fewer duty payments lost, and happier customers.
3PLs That Actually Help
The right 3PL can slash your returns bill. The wrong one will bleed you dry.
- SEKO Logistics – Fashion and lifestyle focus, compliance heavy.
- Bleckmann – Fashion and lifestyle specialist, EU and US
- GXO – Scale and tech focus, excellent for duty-compliant reverse logistics.
- Airbox – SME 3PL, full compliance.
- Radial – Enterprise 3PL, full compliance.
Choose well and you cut returns costs by 20 to 30 percent. That’s the difference between £25 per return and £15. Scale that up and you’re saving tens of thousands.
WMS That Keep Things Honest
WMS is where customs mistakes get made. If your system declares retail instead of transfer value, you’re overpaying duty and you won’t even notice.
- Peoplevox – Great for high-volume DTC. Patchworks-friendly.
- Mintsoft – OMS/WMS hybrid, mid-market Shopify fit.
- Veeqo – Amazon-backed, perfect for multi-channel sellers going into the US.
- Deposco – Cloud WMS, cross-border strong.
SaaS That Holds It All Together
Returns aren’t a one-tool problem. You need a connected stack. Patchworks iPaaS connects the whole lot.
The Cogent2 Difference
We’ve worked with Castore, Lounge, Mauvais and more. We know what happens when returns and tariffs get ignored. And we know how to fix it. That way you:
- Automate returns and reclaim duties.
- Keep customs values accurate.
- Cut costs by reducing wasted API calls.
- Build a scalable stack across Shopify, Mintsoft, ERP, WMS, and returns platforms.
Connection matters. When your systems and your team are connected, everything runs better. Cogent2’s job is making sure the detail is right, so your US growth doesn’t bleed margin in returns and tariffs.
Final Thoughts
Returns are inevitable. Duty leakage isn’t. If you ignore it, 5 to 10 percent of your US revenue can vanish. If you fix it, you can cut costs by 30 percent, reclaim duties, and keep customers happy. Add Order Editing and you can stop 15 percent of returns before they even happen. That’s the difference between expansion that drains cash and expansion that builds a business.
Ready to fix your US returns? Cogent2 goes deep into your Shopify, Mintsoft, ERP, and returns stack. We connect the dots, protect your margin, and give your customers the returns experience they expect. Because connection matters.
