Restock, resell, repair or write off: how do you decide?

Decide per item, not with a blanket rule. Restock when the item can go back into primary stock as new. Resell when it cannot meet that standard but has a buyer. Repair when the fix costs less than the value it adds and the repaired item has somewhere to go. Write off only when no route recovers more than it costs, and check first that the write-off is lawful. Inspection is the input, because the same SKU can come back fit for any of these routes.

Start with the unit, not the returns policy

A policy defines standards. Inspection decides where each unit goes. Around 20% of clothing bought online in Europe is returned (EEA), and in Germany almost one in four online retail parcels comes back (University of Bamberg). Those figures tell you how much work arrives. They do not tell you where a given item should go.

The same SKU can come back clean, tagged and traceable, or with a broken hygiene seal, a missing barcode, deodorant marks or a damp parcel. Each needs a different route.

What should inspection capture?

The facts that change the route, and nothing else:

• Identity first. A missing or unreadable barcode stops a restock until you know what the item is.
• Sellable as new? It must meet your primary-stock standard, not just look mostly fine.
• Packaging separately from product. Footwear often comes back in a damaged box with the shoes fine. That blocks primary stock but not resale.
• Tags separately from hygiene. Detached tags and broken hygiene seals are different problems.
• Contamination by type. Makeup, deodorant, perfume and pet hair need different cleaning and lead to different outcomes.
• Defects by queue. A stuck zip, a popped seam and a missing button are all repairable, but not by the same person in the same time.
• Damp parcels, fast. Odour and mould spread to nearby stock.

Record these as a grade and a short defect code. See the condition grading checklist.

Restock first, but only if it is truly sellable as new

Restock is the cheapest route: the item goes back into primary stock with the least extra handling. If it meets your new-condition standard, is traceable and can be listed and shipped normally, restock it.

In a survey of German online retailers, 93.2% of returned articles were resold as new (University of Bamberg). Treat that as evidence that most returns can go back to stock when inspection is tight, not as a target for every brand or product type.

Resell and repair need a defined next channel

Resale and repair are separate decisions.

Resell when the item cannot be sold as new but has a buyer and a listing path: an outlet section, a second-hand marketplace, a partner. If there is no route to relabel, list, ship and settle the item, resale is not a plan.

Repair when the defect is fixable and the repaired item has a destination. Give each repair type its own queue, because the labour, skill and final check differ.

The economics decide both. Put a value on each route for each grade: the share of the price you expect to recover, the fees, and the cost of the work. Choose the route with the highest net value. See the per-item cost formula.

Write-off is the last route, and it may not be lawful

Write off what is left when identity cannot be recovered, hygiene risk blocks resale, damage is not worth repairing, or no channel exists after the work.

Two things to check first:

• The EU destruction ban. Since 19 July 2026, large companies may not destroy unsold clothing or footwear in the EU, and customer returns count as unsold. Destruction is allowed only in listed cases, and recycling can count as destruction. See the EU ban on destroying returned clothes.
• Which disposal figure you are looking at. The EEA estimates 22 to 43% of returned online clothing is destroyed somewhere in the chain. The Bamberg survey found only 1.3% was disposed of directly by retailers. Both can be right: much destruction happens downstream, after liquidation or export. Your write-off decision happens at your node; what your buyers do with the goods afterwards is a separate question you should still ask.

What to standardise

A routing matrix that combines grade, defect type and whether a channel exists. It should separate:

• identity failures (missing or unreadable barcode)
• packaging failures (damaged box, missing bag, relabelling needed)
• tag and hygiene failures
• contamination by type
• repairable defects, by queue
• non-repairable damage
• items that are physically fine but have no channel

Give exceptions their own queues so an identity problem does not hold up clean resale stock.

How WeaveCycle decides

WeaveCycle puts a value on every route your policy allows for each returned item, using its price, its grade and the economics you set per route, and recommends the highest. By default A goes to restock, B to resale and C to repair, until your own numbers say otherwise. Your team accepts the recommendation or picks another route, and overrides are logged. See how it works.

Related reading

• Reselling and repairing returned garments: the operator's guide
• Can you still destroy returned clothes in the EU? The 2026 ban explained