Yanet Returns & Exchanges
A genuinely free, good-looking returns portal with fast setup chat — but 75% of its reviews are written within a month of install, and the merchants who stayed five months report that the return-instruction emails don't reliably go out.
Should you install it?
This is a free self-serve returns and exchanges portal for Shopify: the customer files a request with a reason and a photo, you approve it in the admin, and the app emails them. It suits small and new stores that handle return shipping manually and don't mind asking support to unlock features; it does not suit anyone on a 3PL, anyone needing a label generated in-app, or anyone who needs a specific carrier — no carrier is named as supported in 272 reviews. The thing to weigh against the rating: the app's headline automation is the approval email, and the two merchants who used it longest and wrote about it both report that return instructions don't reach customers after approval, with support insisting it works ([5942], [4120]). That is a failure you only find out about from customer complaints, and it was last reported in July 2026. No reviewer reports billing surprises, data loss or lock-in, which is a real point in its favour — but nobody is paying, so billing is untested.
Thin evidence. 75% of reviewers had the app under a month and many wrote within an hour of install, often right after a support agent unlocked a feature for them — so the review base measures onboarding chat, not months of live returns. Only around 34 text reviews come from stores past three months, and it is inside that small group that the serious bugs appear. The volume of 5-star reviews cannot answer whether this holds up in production, and the sample of merchants who could answer it is too thin to be sure either way.
Right for
- Small and new stores that want a branded self-serve return/exchange request form without paying for one — India and the US dominate the review base
- Merchants who handle return shipping manually (customer posts it back, or the merchant creates the label separately in Shopify admin)
- Stores that want photo-proof uploads on return requests for damaged/warranty claims ([4575], [7049])
- Owners who are comfortable asking support to switch features on for them, and who value live chat during setup ([4999], [0650])
Wrong for
- Mid-size operations running a 3PL or external warehouse alongside Shopify — one reviewer got deep into setup before hitting this wall ([0040])
- Stores that need return labels generated inside the app, or a specific carrier: no carrier is named as supported anywhere in 272 reviews ([4578], [7437])
- Merchants who need customers to pay for return shipping or have it deducted from the refund by default ([1924])
- Anyone building a headless or mobile app front end — no API is offered ([3894])
- Merchants who want to restyle the portal themselves without CSS or code edits ([9158], [0312])
- German-language stores wanting a fully translated customer-facing flow ([6851], last raised Nov 2024)
What will annoy you
No return label generated inside the app and almost no carrier coverage; merchants create the label separately in Shopify or wait on promised courier integrations that don't arrive: 4 reviews, steady, last seen 2026-01.
How the developer behaves when it breaks
Public replies are effectively nonexistent: one reply in 272 reviews, to [5618], apologising for photos not saving to the form and stating it was fixed — and that claim is corroborated later by [4575] praising the photo upload. Everything else happens in live chat, where response is genuinely fast and agents will configure settings, unlock features and strip branding for you ([4999], [0650], [0123]). The split is sharp: configuration requests get solved in minutes; defects needing engineering do not. [5942] contacted them several times over five months with no fix, [4120] was repeatedly told everything works when customers weren't receiving emails, [2199] got no email contact at all across a two-month integration wait, and [1822] reported 'Still no communication on the issues'.
What goes wrong 9 recurring themes
- Return instructions are not emailed to the customer after the merchant approves the return; merchant has to manually resend. Two unrelated stores, both five months in, and support did not fix it. One also reports the customer's own address populating the return address field and customers unable to start a return at all. 3 reviews steady, last seen 2026-07
“Doesn't send return instructions once you approve the return. You have to go back and "resend" approval email. Ive contacted them several times and have not fixed the issue.” review 5942
- No return label generated inside the app and almost no carrier coverage; merchants create the label separately in Shopify or wait on promised courier integrations that don't arrive 4 reviews steady, last seen 2026-01
“I wish there was a way to get a return label configured into the app. I have to create a separate return in Shopify to generate the label.” review 4578
- Key features are locked until you message support, and real customisation needs CSS or hand-edited code rather than settings in the UI 2 reviews steady, last seen 2025-10
“Even basic customizations often require knowledge of CSS or manual code adjustments.” review 9158
- Not workable for a store running a 3PL or external warehouse alongside Shopify — only discovered after setup was underway 1 review steady, last seen 2025-10
“the solution is not suitable for mid-size companies that use a 3PL logistics or warehousing provider as well as Shopify” review 0040
Also 0040 - Return shipping cost can't be charged to the customer or netted off the refund by default — though a 'Return Fee' was switched on for another merchant on request three months later, so this looks gated rather than absent 1 review fading, last seen 2025-05
“the app doesn't make customers pay for shipping labels or deduct them from the refund amount” review 1924
Also 1924 - No API offered for merchants building their own mobile app or front end 1 review fading, last seen 2025-02
“we just req for the API for our mobile app which we are building through shopify only but they are not ready to give it..” review 3894
Also 3894 - Customer-facing German translation incomplete; merchant had to translate parts manually with support's help 1 review fading, last seen 2024-11
“Das einzige was noch fehlt ist eine komplette Übersetzung für Kunden aus Deutschland” review 6851
Also 6851 - Multi-line-item orders had to be returned one line at a time, creating a separate return per item. No later review confirms this was fixed — it is old, not demonstrably resolved. 1 review fading, last seen 2023-10
“the app doesn't allow multiple items to be 'Returned'” review 4130
Also 4130 - Customer-uploaded condition photos not saved into the request form — the one bug the developer publicly replied to and claimed fixed; a later reviewer praises the photo upload feature 1 review resolved, last seen 2025-01
“the customer submits a picture a proof that the product is in same condition but it just won't show in the form! its been days and no one fixes it!” review 5618
Also 5618
What it does well 4 themes
- Live chat answers within minutes during setup, and agents (Alex, Tracy, Alice, Anita) configure things for you 185 reviews
“The customer service (Alex) responded very quickly, I’ve never experienced this before with Shopify apps.” review 0262
- A free plan that covers what other returns apps charge for, including removing the app's branding badge 26 reviews
“The app is great too, a lot of functionality for being free.” review 3887
- Quick install and a clean customer-facing return portal that matches the store 58 reviews
“The feature set is robust, the setup is straightforward, and it significantly improves the customer experience while keeping the back office organized.” review 8171
- Merchants past three months who say it still saves them time on returns/exchanges 34 reviews
“Have been using Yanet Returns for about 4 months now and it makes our life so much easier to track returns/exchanges.” review 0384
Red flags
- Features are deliberately locked behind a support conversation. Merchants repeatedly describe support 'unlocking' free features, branding removal or a return fee on request — a 3-star reviewer names this as a design choice that also explains why the reviews are about support rather than the product. 9158 0650 4999 0123 0312
- Chat is fast, but bugs needing engineering go unanswered or unfixed for months. One merchant waited two months on a courier integration with no email contact at all; another reports several contacts over five months with no fix. 5942 2199 1822 4120
- Support told a merchant the system was working correctly while their customers were not receiving return instructions; another reviewer accuses an agent of misrepresentation. 4120 1924
- Silent breakage risk on the customer side: the failures reported are ones the merchant cannot see from the admin — missing emails, wrong return address, a portal customers can't use — and only surface as customer complaints. 4120 5942
Trend
Review flow has roughly halved: 81 in the last 12 months against 175 the year before, about 6.8/month. Negative share is flat (2.5% last 12m vs 2.6% overall), but that stability is not evidence of production stability, because the 2026 reviews still skew heavily to onboarding-moment praise from stores days or hours old. The substantive change is in the negatives: the 2023–early-2025 complaints were feature gaps (multi-item returns [4130], photo upload [5618], German translation [6851]) while the 2026 ones are delivery failures at stores five months in ([5942] July 2026, [4120] edited February 2026, [2199] edited January 2026). The newest review is 24 July 2026 — nothing in the roughly seven weeks since.
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