A restocking fee is money a seller keeps from a refund to cover the work of putting a returned item back into sellable stock. It is a separate charge from return postage, the two often appear on the same refund, and the retailers who use one publish the terms rather than improvising. Three published policies read on 2026-07-28 are below, along with what the postage side actually costs.
Buyers see a single smaller number. Sellers should be able to say which part was postage and which part was handling.
Restocking fees are far less universal than shopper folklore suggests. Of the retailers we read on 2026-07-28, only one published a restocking fee at all; the others published return shipping deductions, which is a different charge with a different justification.
| Retailer | Charge published | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Best Buy | $45 on activated devices; 15 percent of the item purchase price on certain electronics including drones and cameras; none if the product is unopened, and none for purchases in AL, CO, HI, IA, MS, OH, OK, SC and where prohibited by law | Restocking fee |
| Macy's | $9.99 plus tax deducted from a mail refund for shoppers who are not Star Rewards members | Return shipping |
| Temu | $7.99 plus tax deducted on the second and later returns from the same order | Return shipping |
| Apple | 14 days from receipt to return or exchange with a receipt; no restocking fee stated in the policy we read | No restocking fee published |
Two things stand out. Best Buy's exclusion list names eight states plus a catch-all for anywhere the fee is prohibited by law, which is a useful reminder that these charges are regulated differently across the country. And the fee only applies once a product has been opened or activated, which is the honest justification for it: an opened box is worth less than a sealed one.
No standard figure exists. Of the four policies in the table above, exactly one names a restocking charge: Best Buy's, at 15 percent of the item purchase price on certain electronics and a flat $45 on activated devices. Apple publishes none, and the Macy's and Temu deductions cover postage rather than restocking. Treat any percentage you hear quoted as one seller's chosen policy, not a market rate; the only number that binds a refund is the one written into the policy the order was placed under.
Those two published shapes also bracket the choice a seller faces. A percentage tracks the resale value an opened box loses, which is why it shows up on electronics, while a flat amount tracks the handling work, which barely changes with the price of the item. Match the shape to the loss you can actually point to, and the figure survives disputes far better.
Nothing here is legal advice. Restocking fees are regulated at state level, disclosure requirements differ, and Best Buy's own policy names eight states where it does not apply them. Have a qualified person check your wording before you publish it.
If you are going to publish a number, know the real one first. Two boxes on the same return lane, priced through the SMKlog calculator on 2026-07-28 at the full checkout amount.
| Parcel | Cheapest service | Price | Window returned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 x 8 x 5 in at 3 lb | USPS Ground Advantage | $8.48 | 5-6 business days |
| 12 x 12 x 12 in at 15 lb | USPS Ground Advantage | $17.01 | 5-6 business days |
A $9.99 deduction covers the small box and misses the large one by $7.02. Sellers with a wide range of box sizes usually end up either publishing two figures or quietly accepting that the big returns lose money. Both are defensible; pretending one number fits everything is not.
Best Buy publishes no restocking fee on unopened product, which is the same principle from the other direction: no fee where there is no loss. A return caused by a wrong item or a bad listing has no restocking justification behind it, and charging one anyway is how a refund turns into a chargeback.
A fee mentioned only in the checkout terms lands badly when it appears on a refund. Put it in the return policy itself, in the same block as the window and the postage clause. Our policy template leaves a bracket for exactly this.
Best Buy names AL, CO, HI, IA, MS, OH, OK and SC, and adds a general exclusion where the fee is prohibited by law. If a national retailer maintains that list, a small seller shipping nationwide should assume the question applies to them too and get advice.
An amount a seller keeps from a refund to cover inspecting, repackaging and reselling a returned item. It is separate from return postage, though both can be deducted from the same refund. Fewer retailers charge one than shoppers assume, and those that do publish the terms.
Read on 2026-07-28, Best Buy publishes $45 on activated devices and 15 percent of the item purchase price on certain electronics such as drones and cameras, with no fee if the product is unopened and none for purchases in AL, CO, HI, IA, MS, OH, OK, SC and where prohibited by law. Apple's policy, read the same day, states a 14-day return window and no restocking fee.
No. Macy's deducts $9.99 plus tax for return shipping from a non-member mail refund, and Temu deducts $7.99 plus tax on the second and later returns from an order. Both are postage charges, not restocking fees. A seller can charge one, the other, both, or neither, but should say which is which.
Check the marketplace's rules before you try. Under the eBay Money Back Guarantee, read 2026-07-28, the seller covers return shipping when an item does not match the listing, so applying a deduction to a return caused by your own listing error is asking for a case to go against you. This is not legal advice and state rules differ.