Return Rate & Net Units
Return rate and net units from units sold and returned, with refunds, write-off on unsellable returns, handling cost, net margin and the break-even return rate.
Unit and order return rates, net units, gross and net revenue, the write-off and handling cost of returns, net margin and margin lost, and the return rate at which margin reaches zero.
Example: 80 of 1 000 units returned (8 %) at 40 with 22 cost, 60 % resellable and 5 handling each: refunds 3 200, write-off 704, net margin 15 456 instead of 18 000 — 14 % lost; break-even at 56.6 %.
Returns cost more
than the refund.
The rates, what a return really costs, and the return rate at which the margin is gone.
The rates
Unit return rate = units returned ÷ units sold; net units = sold − returned; the order rate divides orders with a return by orders placed, and a higher order rate than unit rate points at single-item returns (size, fit) rather than bad batches.
The cost
Each return costs the refund (all or the share you set), the write-off on units that cannot be resold as new (1 − resellable share × unit cost) and the handling you enter per return — return shipping, inspection, restocking. Net margin = revenue kept − cost of the units kept − write-off − handling, compared with the margin before returns.
Break-even
With unit margin m = price − cost and a loss per return L = refund − resellable cost recovered + handling, margin reaches zero at a return rate of m ÷ L; above that, every sale loses money on average. All prices and costs are yours — nothing typical is assumed. Nothing leaves the browser; the same four anonymous usage counts as the rest of the site apply.
SOURCES
- return rate = returned ÷ sold; net margin = revenue kept − cost of units kept − write-off (unsellable × cost) − handling; break-even r* = unit margin ÷ loss per return
Last reviewed 21 September 2026. How results are checked: How we verify.