Parcel Panel Returns &Exchange

This app has the potential to be excellent, if only it was able to provide a returns service with courier integration in the UK.

Having installed the app and received support in doing so, we thought we had at last found a returns app that would do what it claimed i.e provide an easy and seamless returns process. Unfortunately it is totally geared to a US market and has little to no courier integrations for UK merchants. The only one offered was SendCloud, an app requiring a monthly subscription fee with varying levels (the cheapest being £23 per month for the minimum subscription), plus charges per label. Integration with UK couriers would prevent the need for unnecessary app charges (crucial for small businesses). Integration with Royal Mail or Evri, the two biggest mail providers in the UK would not be an unreasonable ask for UK merchants when you are offering the app to them. Even integration with Shopify's own courier service would be great.

On messaging Parcel Send they stated you could request alternative courier integrations and provided a link to do so. Unfortunately the link takes you on a circular journey to set up a google gmail account in order to request alternatives and if you don’t have one you are not able to. We, like the vast majority of other professional businesses, don't use google gmail and have no intention of doing so. We then had a message conversation with customer support and three times over two conversations requested alternative couriers for the UK. They did state they would pass this on to their development team so we wait with bated breath to see.

A few days after installing the app a customer return request was received, which is when we discovered the above (no couriers for customers to return parcels in the UK). So our customer was stuck in the app with nowhere to go! We could not approve the return request to provide a returns label to the customer as it required a courier to be chosen and, as we have said many times above, Parcel Send do not offer this for UK merchants.

We again contacted customer support about the customer stuck in the app that could not be approved and after a lengthy conversation and being told to set up a subscription charge with cloudsend, it was clear that the advisor did not know what to do either. We explained we had already mentioned the issue about no couriers a few days ago and was informed a response had been sent to us (we have checked junk and all emails, nothing received). Our only solution is to manually do the return, but this means having to uncheck the box to provide a returns label to the customer and now ask them to sort out the label and return themselves (not exactly what we, or our customers, would expect from a professional online returns portal).

So, the bottom line is... the app is great if you’re not in the UK. If you are, look for another app as you will be bitterly disappointed and frustrated that your seamless and easy returns process turns out to be anything but! If Parcel Send get their act together on UK courier integrations, I would definitely recommend them and be happy to use them again. I feel they have left me with no option but to find an alternative app that can actually deliver what it is set up for within the UK.

WOuld love this app to have the ability to charge return fees for ALL exchange reasons, but it only allows you to choose one, which doesn't make sense if you need to charge postage for any exchanges. YOu also can't charge return fees for Refunds as well as Exchanges - only one or the other. The interface is user friendly and aesthetically pleasing and price point is good but without these features, I can't use the app.