Writing a returns policy for an Egyptian store — and what it costs you

Most small stores in Egypt write their returns policy last, in one line, on the day they launch: "Exchange within 14 days, no refunds." Then the first difficult case arrives and the policy turns out to answer none of the questions that actually came up.

A returns policy is an operational document. It decides how much a bad order costs you and how long an argument lasts.

Start from the law, then be more generous

Egyptian consumer protection law gives a buyer the right to return a product within 14 days of receiving it, provided it is in its original condition, and the seller returns the value or replaces it. You do not get to write that away, and a policy that contradicts it is unenforceable anyway.

Where you have room is everything the law leaves open: who pays return shipping, whether opened packaging is still "original condition", how exchanges differ from refunds, and which categories are excluded. Those are your decisions, and they are what your policy should actually spend its words on.

Nothing here is legal advice — if your category has specific rules, such as food, cosmetics or anything with a shelf life, check them before you publish.

What a return really costs on a cash-on-delivery order

Run the numbers once and the policy writes itself:

• Shipping out. Paid whether or not the order survives.
• Shipping back. A returned parcel is a second shipment, priced like a first one.
• The collection fee, if the money was collected and then has to go back.
• Time. Inspection, restocking, and the message thread that goes with it.
• The product's second life. It comes back two weeks later, possibly out of season, sometimes unsellable.

That is why a 2% return rate and a 15% return rate are two different businesses at the same revenue.

The clauses worth writing

1. The window, and when it starts. Fourteen days from receipt, not from ordering — the difference is the shipping time, and a customer in Aswan notices.
2. Condition. Say what you mean: tags attached, original packaging, unused. Vague words are what arguments are made of.
3. Who pays the return shipping. Yours if the product was wrong, faulty or damaged. Theirs if they changed their mind. Write both cases down; the second one is why the policy exists.
4. Exchange vs refund. If you prefer exchanges, say so and make them easier — a same-day exchange is cheaper for you than a refund and better for the customer than an argument.
5. Exclusions. Underwear, cosmetics, personalised items, anything perishable. Keep the list short and the reason obvious.
6. How long a refund takes, and by what route. Cash on delivery means a transfer or a wallet payment back to them, which is slower than a card reversal — say the number of days rather than "as soon as possible".

Reduce the returns before you refine the policy

The best returns policy is the one that gets used least. Most returns in this market come from the same three places:

• Photos that flatter. The product that arrived is not the product in the picture.
• Sizes as words. "Medium" is not information. Publish the measurements in centimetres.
• No confirmation before shipping. One message before dispatch catches the wrong address, the changed mind and the duplicate order, all of which would otherwise come back as a return.

Make the request a form, not an argument

If the only way to ask for a return is a DM at 11pm, every return starts as a negotiation and your policy is decoration.

On Hekana a customer can open a return request from the order itself — including a guest who checked out without an account, using the order number — and it arrives as a request with a reason attached, not a conversation. Each order can have one open request at a time, so a double-tap does not create two. Every request is reviewed by you before anything moves; nothing is refunded automatically. Refunds can be partial, so you can return part of an order's value and keep the rest accounted for.

In short

Write the 14 days in, be clearer than the law on everything it leaves open, and be specific about who pays return shipping — that is the clause every dispute turns on. Then spend the rest of your effort on photos, measurements and one confirmation message, because a return you prevented costs nothing to process.

Related: shipping for online stores in Egypt and cash on delivery without eating your margin.