The cost and effect of a 'keep-everything' returns policy.
Castlery faced a challenge—let customers keep unwanted items, or pay up to $300 per return. Their solution turned returns from a cost center into a net positive.
$300
Per Unit Savings
10%
Net Recovery
99%
Fewer Complaints
Furniture retailer Castlery was facing a common e-commerce dilemma: what to do with customer returns? Before implementing Sharetown's reverse logistics solution, their options were limited and costly—let customers keep unwanted items, or pay carriers up to $300 per pickup. Today, they've not only streamlined operations but turned a cost center into a recovery opportunity.
Carlos Harper, Senior Operations Manager for Castlery's US and Canada markets, brings a decade of furniture industry experience to his role overseeing operations "I handle everything from the moment the product gets on the container, until it reaches customers' homes"—including the complicated world of reverse logistics.
Before Sharetown, Castlery's returns process was fragmented and expensive.
Prior to having Sharetown or any type of reverse logistics solution, honestly we would just let the customer keep it. We didn't have any type of returns process in place. We would pay our carrier just to go and pick it up... which made it much more expensive, costing between $125 to $150 for the pickup and sometimes as high as $250 to $300 in the past.
With Sharetown, Castlery transformed their returns process with two key improvements:
Perhaps most importantly, Sharetown dramatically reduced customer complaints:
"We probably went from me hearing... five to 10 times a week, something that's been delayed and a customer complaining or escalating internally to now, I hardly hear about it at all on the reverse logistics side."
This improvement addresses what Harper identifies as a critical business need: "The goal for us is to always to create a better customer experience, and the part that a lot of people get wrong is that post-sale support, especially when it comes to returns."
The partnership also allowed Castlery to reallocate resources.
"We went from a four person team to now we've probably cut that down to about two and a half individuals doing the return logistics," Harper shares. "A big part of that was not having to manage that inventory after it left our possession."
The simplified reconciliation process has been another big win: "Our finance team is very strict about how we reconcile these payments. The current nature of our contract has saved a lot of time and headaches for me."
Harper has become such a believer in the solution that he's recommended it to industry colleagues:
"When I first started and discovered you guys myself, I actually sent out a few emails to others in the industry like, 'Hey man, I didn't know this existed.'"
His advice to others? "Do not settle for the 'keep everything and get a full refund' policy... there are better solutions out there now."
Castlery's experience demonstrates how the right reverse logistics partner can transform returns from a costly operational headache into a streamlined process that enhances customer satisfaction, recovers value, and frees up internal resources for more strategic initiatives.