How to Write a Returns and Exchanges Policy Customers Can Understand

The short answer: A good returns and exchanges policy is a short page that tells customers what can come back, how long they have, what condition it must be in, who pays for the return, how you will refund or exchange, and how to start. Write it in plain language, be fair about faults and wrong items, and avoid blanket lines like "no refund" that Nigerian consumer rules do not favour. This article is general guidance, not legal advice.

Last updated 28 October 2026.

Sellers often skip the returns page because it feels like admitting that something will go wrong. In practice a clear page does the opposite. It reassures nervous first-time buyers, gives your team one answer to give, and stops a small disagreement about a wrong size from becoming a public argument.

This guide gives you a fill-in outline, plain-language wording you can adapt, a table for deciding common situations, and a short summary of what Nigeria's consumer-protection authority says. If you are also working on your product pages, our product page checklist shows where to link the policy so customers see it before they buy.

What Nigerian consumer rules say, in general terms

Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 is enforced by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The Commission publishes a plain summary of consumer rights on its website. These are the points most relevant to a returns policy, as the Commission summarises them:

• Returning goods (section 122). Consumers have the right to return a product, except in limited circumstances, as long as the product is in good condition and the return is made within a reasonable time.
• Cancelling an advance booking or reservation (section 120). Consumers have a right to reasonably cancel advance bookings and reservations and are entitled to full refunds, subject to reasonable charges. Any limit on refunds linked to a price or promotion should be disclosed in writing.
• Accurate information (section 123). Businesses should give factually accurate information and not make misleading or deceptive representations about their products.
• Plain language (section 114). Information about products and services should be easy for consumers to understand.
• Terms that remove your responsibility (section 129). A notice or agreement that tries to limit, exclude or waive a business's liability, including for defective performance, fraud, negligence or misrepresentation, is described as prohibited, void and of no effect.

The FCCPC's own business guidance, published in 2021, says to make your return policy consumer friendly, to be willing to repair, replace or refund a bad product, to make terms clear and to tell consumers when you cannot deliver on a promise. In October 2025 the Commission also publicised an Enugu High Court decision that a transport operator's "no refund after payment" policy was illegal and void where the service was not provided. That case involved a service, not a retail sale of goods, so it does not tell you what a court would say about every online shop. It does show that blanket no-refund wording can be challenged.

What this means in practice:

1. Do not use "no refund, no return" as your whole policy. Faults, wrong items and goods that are not what you described need a remedy.
2. State your rules in writing, in plain words, and make sure what you wrote on the product page is true.
3. Treat pre-orders carefully. If customers pay before you have the goods, be clear about the date, what happens if you are late, and how they can cancel.
4. Keep the remedy proportionate. Repair, replace or refund are the three remedies the FCCPC names for bad products.

I could not verify from the official pages exactly which goods fall under the "limited circumstances" in the returns right, so do not assume that hygiene or perishable items are automatically excluded. If you want to exclude a category, say so clearly and explain why, and consider asking a Nigerian lawyer to check the wording. The FCCPC website is the place to check for updates.

The outline: what every policy should cover

Use these headings. A page of 300 to 500 words is plenty.

1. Summary line. One sentence with the main promise.
2. Time limit. How long after delivery customers can ask.
3. Condition. What state the item must be in.
4. Faulty, damaged or wrong items. Your remedy, at your cost.
5. Change of mind or wrong size. Whether you accept it and on what terms.
6. Exceptions. Any item you do not take back, and why.
7. Return delivery. Who pays and how items travel.
8. Refunds. How, how long, and to which account.
9. Exchanges. How they work if the replacement costs more or less.
10. How to start. The exact message or button, and the details to include.

Plain-language wording you can adapt

Pick the numbers that suit your business and your margins. The days below are placeholders, not rules.

Summary:

If something is wrong with your order, tell us within [7] days of delivery and we will fix it with a replacement, repair or refund.

Condition:

Items for exchange or return should be unused, in their original packaging, with the label attached.

Faulty, damaged or wrong item:

If your item arrives damaged, faulty or not what you ordered, send us a photo and your order number. We will replace it or refund you, and we will cover the delivery cost of the return.

Change of mind or wrong size:

If you simply change your mind, you can exchange for another size or item within [5] days of delivery. The customer pays return delivery. If the new item costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, we refund the difference.

Exceptions (only if genuinely needed):

For hygiene reasons we cannot take back opened [item type]. If an opened item is faulty, contact us and we will put it right.

Refunds:

Once we have checked the item, we will refund you to the account or card you paid from within [5 working days]. We will message you when it is sent. Your bank or payment provider may need extra time to show it.

How to start:

Message us on [WhatsApp number] with your order number, a photo of the item and a short description of the problem.

Notice what these lines avoid: legal jargon, "at our sole discretion", and any line that says you are never responsible. They also tell the customer what happens next, which is what people actually want to know.

A decision table for common situations

Decide your answers once, then reuse them.

The pattern: when the problem is yours, you pay and fix it. When it is the customer's change of mind, you can set reasonable terms, as long as you state them clearly beforehand.

Worked example: what a return really costs

Policies are easier to set when you know the numbers. Illustrative example (made-up figures): an ankara shirt sells for ₦12,500 and costs you ₦6,000 to make or buy. A customer returns it unused and you refund the ₦12,500.

• You may still have paid delivery both ways. Suppose outbound delivery cost ₦2,000 and the customer paid return delivery of ₦2,000.
• You keep the shirt, which you can resell at full price if it is undamaged.
• Your cost of the returned order is the ₦2,000 outbound delivery you absorbed, plus any packaging that cannot be reused, say ₦300. That is ₦2,300.

If instead the shirt arrived faulty and you pay both delivery legs, plus replace it:

• Outbound delivery ₦2,000 + return delivery ₦2,000 + replacement item cost ₦6,000 + replacement outbound delivery ₦2,000 = ₦12,000, before any resale value of the faulty piece.

Compare that ₦12,000 with the ₦6,500 gross profit on the original sale (₦12,500 minus ₦6,000). One faulty order wipes out the profit on nearly two good ones. That is why quality checks before packing matter more than a harsh policy ever will. For the full method, see how to calculate real profit per online order.

Handling returns in your records

Whatever tools you use, keep order status, payment status and stock separate in your head.

• Record the return with the order number, reason, date received and decision.
• Inspect before refunding and photograph the item.
• Refund through the same route the customer paid by where possible, and check with your payment provider how their own charges are handled on refunds, because I could not verify this for you.
• Update stock only when you have inspected the item and decided it is resalable. Faulty items should not go back into sellable stock.
• Tell the customer at each step. A refund that is quietly delayed creates more complaints than a refund that is slow but explained.

If you sell on Webift, you can mark an order as cancelled (before dispatch) or refunded (after delivery), so the history of the order is kept. Webift does not move the money for you; you refund the customer yourself. If you cancel an order before dispatch, the items return to inventory automatically. For a return after delivery, you decide when the item is resalable and update the stock figure yourself. On the Free plan, the per-order platform fee is reversed if the whole order is refunded; check your dashboard for how it applies to you.

Where to show your policy

• Put the full policy on its own page or in a pinned message, and link to it from your product descriptions.
• Add one line near the "buy" step, such as "Easy exchanges within 7 days. See our returns policy." A pinned message or a store banner both work.
• Paste a short version in your order confirmation message.
• Keep the same wording on WhatsApp and Instagram, so people do not hear three different rules.

Digital goods work differently because a file cannot be handed back. See selling digital products for refund basics there. For delay-related policies, see how to handle delivery. Having ready replies to common questions also saves time, which our customer-service reply templates cover.

A final check before you publish

• Could a first-time buyer understand it in one minute?
• Does it say what happens when you are at fault?
• Do the product descriptions match what you actually send?
• Are the time limits and costs written as numbers?
• Does it avoid blanket "no refund" wording?
• Have you tested the "how to start" step yourself?
• If you operate across states or abroad, have you checked whether other rules apply to you?

Frequently asked questions

Is "no refund after purchase" legal in Nigeria?

The FCCPC says consumers have a right to return goods in good condition within a reasonable time, and treats terms that remove a business's liability for faults as void. A blanket no-refund line is therefore risky. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so ask a Nigerian lawyer if you need certainty.

How many days should I allow for returns?

The pages I reviewed give no fixed number of days. They refer to a reasonable time. Choose a period that suits your product, state it clearly and apply it fairly.

Do I have to pay for return delivery?

If the problem is your mistake or a fault, it is fair for you to pay. For a change of mind, you can ask the customer to pay if you say so clearly before they buy.

Can I refuse returns on worn or used items?

You can set a reasonable condition, such as unused and with labels, and say so in plain words. Faulty items are different: if it was faulty when sold, wear is not the issue.

What about pre-orders?

Be clear about the expected date and what happens if you cannot deliver on time. The FCCPC summary says customers can reasonably cancel advance bookings and reservations and get a full refund, subject to reasonable charges that are disclosed in writing.

Next step

When your policy is ready, you can create a free store on Webift and use the announcement bar to point customers to your policy.