The EU withdrawal right

Every online sale to a consumer in the EU comes with a right to change their mind, set by the Consumer Rights Directive, Directive 2011/83/EU, and applied in the same terms in every member state. A brand can offer more than the legal minimum but not less, so a returns policy starts from it.

Fourteen days from delivery

A consumer can withdraw from a distance purchase within 14 days, without giving a reason. For goods, the period starts on the day the consumer, or someone they name other than the carrier, receives the goods; for an order delivered in several parts, from the last one. If the seller did not tell the consumer about the right, the period extends by up to twelve months. A policy of 30 days goes beyond the legal minimum.

The refund

Once the consumer says they are withdrawing, the seller has 14 days to refund everything paid, including the standard delivery charge. The seller may hold the refund until it has the goods back, or until the consumer shows proof of having sent them, whichever comes first. The refund goes back by the same means of payment unless the consumer agrees otherwise.

The 14 days are the floor. Everything a brand adds on top is a choice it can price.

Return costs

The consumer pays the direct cost of sending the goods back, if the seller said so before the purchase. If the seller did not say so, or offered free returns, the seller pays. That sentence at checkout or on the returns page decides who carries the cost of every return. The consumer is liable for any loss of value caused by handling the goods more than is needed to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning.

Exceptions

Goods made to the consumer's specification or clearly personalised, goods that perish quickly, and sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed are among the exceptions. A brand selling those products says so at checkout.

The withdrawal function

Since 19 June 2026, as reported, an online store has to offer a clearly labelled withdrawal function: two steps, reachable without logging in, under Directive (EU) 2023/2673. It belongs on your store, and Green claims, the guarantee notice and the cancel button covers it with the other rules the store has to meet.

Returns in your account

A return label comes from the same order as the outbound one, counts against the same plan allowance, and can be dropped at the carriers' pickup points and lockers. The return reads against the identity the outbound label created, so the warehouse knows which item is coming back before the box is opened and the stock figure follows the check. Refunding on the carrier's first scan or on receipt at the warehouse is a policy you set in your store; the law lets you wait for the goods, and the return's tracking shows you when it was sent.