Why Does My Return-Policy Schema Imply Free Returns When Customers Pay Return Shipping?

Identify who arranges and pays for the return

Google documents three supported returnFees values. FreeReturn indicates no charge to the consumer for the return. ReturnFeesCustomerResponsibility means the customer handles and pays for return shipping. ReturnShippingFees means the merchant charges the customer a shipping fee for returning the product.

Before selecting a value, read the approved policy rather than relying on a generic 'returns accepted' label. Ask whether the merchant supplies a prepaid label, charges a fixed fee, or expects the customer to purchase return postage independently.

Also distinguish the reason for return. Google supports separate customer-remorse and item-defect fee properties. A free defect return does not establish free remorse returns.

Do not infer the correct enumeration from whether a return label is available. The source of the label and responsibility for its cost are separate policy facts.

Apply the amount field only to the correct fee model

Google specifies that returnShippingFeesAmount accompanies ReturnShippingFees and describes a nonzero merchant-charged return-shipping amount. The property should not accompany FreeReturn or ReturnFeesCustomerResponsibility.

This matters because a customer who buys postage directly from a carrier may have a real cost without the merchant charging a fixed return-shipping fee. Inventing a monetary amount in the schema would misdescribe that arrangement.

When the merchant does charge a defined fee, verify the actual amount and currency from the approved policy. Do not fill the field with a typical shipping estimate or an unsupported maximum.

Keep restocking fees distinct. Google documents restockingFee separately; it is not another name for return postage. Similarly, a refund method and the return window do not determine whether shipping is free.

Hypothetical accessory return policies

Hypothetical illustration—not a real merchant-policy review: a fictional cable-accessory seller has an approved policy stating that customers returning an unwanted item arrange and pay for their own postage. Defective items qualify for merchant-funded return shipping.

The proposed default fee representation uses ReturnFeesCustomerResponsibility. The defect-specific fee representation uses FreeReturn. Neither branch includes a made-up merchant-charged shipping amount.

A separate hypothetical market charges a fixed EUR 4.50 for return shipping through the merchant. If that exact amount is verified, the relevant representation uses ReturnShippingFees with the appropriate MonetaryAmount.

A schema generator that emits FreeReturn for all three cases is inaccurate even if the return window and refund fields are otherwise correct.

Inspect the schema, visible policy and final result together

Review the actual published structured data, including any organization-level default and product-level override. A correct default may still be overridden by a conflicting Offer policy, so inspect the relevant product context.

Validate the markup using Google's documented structured-data workflow. Then compare the visible return-policy page, checkout information and structured representation for the same market and product.

Do not use the Rich Results Test as evidence that a customer can actually obtain a free return. It validates supported markup, not the merchant's operations or contractual obligations.

If the policy owner cannot confirm who pays, how fees are calculated or which return reasons qualify, hold the affected claim and schema mapping. Do not silently change the published policy to match a generator's default.

Close the issue only when each applicable return reason has a supported fee classification and any monetary amount is explicitly documented.

Record your own observations

The filled rows are illustrative examples. Use the blank row for your own files and observations.

Download the editable CSV worksheet

What the references establish

• Google Search Central — Merchant return policy structured data: Directly documents the three returnFees enumerations, returnShippingFeesAmount conditions, reason-specific return fees and separate restocking fees.