Articles on: Refunds and exchanges

Auto-Release Shopify Exchange Items

Plans: Premium, Enterprise Platforms: Shopify


Overview


As many merchants use third-party fulfillment apps to fulfill exchange orders, they face fulfillment issues when a new exchange order is automatically created or fulfilled on Shopify, even when the item is yet to be returned. AfterShip Returns allows you to switch the status of an exchange order from Unfulfilled to On hold when the item is not returned and back to Unfulfilled once returned. It will help prevent accidental loss if you are using auto-fulfillment apps.


What you’ll learn


In this tutorial, we’ll discuss:



How to enable exchange order auto-release settings


  1. Go to ** Automation rules ** under Return policy in your AfterShip Returns admin.
  2. Find the Auto-release shopify exchange items and toggle on the feature to activate it.


The process ahead is divided into 2 steps:



Step 1: Hold the fulfillment of exchange orders


The first step involves using Shopify Flow to automatically turn new exchange orders from Unfulfilled to On hold.


  1. Click Shopify Flow
  2. If you have already installed the Shopify Flow app, you’ll be redirected to the Shopify Flow page
  3. If you have not installed the Shopify Flow app, you need to install it first from. Click Install



  1. Once installed, go to the Shopify Flow app and click Create workflow



  1. Click Select a trigger. Select Shopify under the Select trigger section on the side panel.
  • Search and select Order created.
  1. Click Then+ on the preview window and select Condition.
  2. On the side panel, click Add a variable **> **Order. **Search or select **Tags from the variables list.



  • Tags_item variable configuration section will display.
  • Set the criteria to Equals to.
  • Add **AfterShip Returns exchange order ** in the name field.



  1. Click Then+ on the preview window and select Action
  • Select Shopify under the Select trigger section on the side panel and click Hold fulfillment order
  • Select the reason in the configuration panel, and input notes (Optional)



  1. Click Turn on workflow


You have successfully created the workflow, and now it’s time to move on to the second step.


Step 2: Turn “On hold” back to “Unfulfilled”


  1. Enable Turn “On hold” back to “Unfulfilled”
  2. Select the trigger from the given options:


  • Approved
  • In transit
  • Delivered
  • Mark as received
  • Mark as resolved


Once triggered, the status will switch back to Unfulfilled.



For any further questions or help, please contact our chat support team or reach out to us at support+returns@aftership.com.

Updated on: 15/04/2025