How to start a trade-in program on Shopify

Short answer: A trade-in program lets customers send back or bring in things they own in exchange for store credit, which they spend on something new. To run one on Shopify, decide what you accept, how you grade condition, what each grade is worth, and who pays shipping. Then set up four steps: customers submit items with photos, you approve and send a label, you inspect what arrives, and you issue credit. What you take in can be resold as pre-owned.

Why stores run trade-ins

• Repeat sales. Store credit can only be spent with you, so every trade-in brings a customer back.
• A reason to buy now. "Trade in your old pair and get credit toward these" helps a shopper who is already deciding.
• Pre-owned stock. Good-condition items become inventory you can sell again, often at a healthy margin over the credit you paid.
• A real sustainability story. Keeping products in use is something you can point to, item by item.

Decide the rules first

1. What you accept. Only products you sold, or also other brands you'd happily resell. Starting with your own products is simpler, because you know the original price and can check the purchase.
2. Condition grades. Three or four grades in plain language, such as Like new, Good, Fair, with example photos of each. Add a few category questions: "Any stains on the sweatband?" for hats, "Resoled?" for boots.
3. What each grade is worth. A percentage of the price paid or the current price, with a cap and a floor. Many programs pay more in credit than they would in cash, which is part of the appeal.
4. Who pays shipping. Free to the customer, free above a set offer, or a prepaid label with a small flat fee taken off the credit. Drop-off in store should be free.
5. When credit is paid. After you inspect the item, not when you approve it, so you never pay for something that doesn't arrive or doesn't match.
6. Limits. A monthly limit per customer, an offer expiry (for example 21 days to ship), and whether credit expires.

Write the rules up as short trade-in terms the customer agrees to before submitting.

The four steps

1. Submit. The customer picks the item, answers the condition questions, sees an "up to" offer and adds photos: front, back, the size or brand tag, and any flaws.
2. Approve and send a label. You check the photos and either approve, adjust the offer, ask for better photos, or decline. On approval the customer gets a prepaid return label or drop-off instructions. Scan-based return labels are only charged when the customer actually ships.
3. Receive and inspect. When the box arrives, compare the item with the customer's photos and confirm the grade. If it's not as described, offer a new amount or send it back.
4. Issue credit. Add the credit to the customer's account and let them know it's ready to spend. See store credit on Shopify for the options.

Reselling what comes in

Photograph each accepted item, write an honest condition note, and list it as its own product with a quantity of 1 in a Pre-owned collection. Linking it from the new product's page ("Also available pre-owned") helps it sell. Items you can't resell can be donated or recycled; keep a record either way.

Running it by hand

A small program can start with a form on your site, a shipping account for labels, and credit added by hand in Shopify. It works for a handful of trade-ins a month. It gets hard when photos live in email, labels are bought one at a time, and nobody knows which boxes have arrived. A trade-in app keeps the submissions, labels, inspections, credit and relisting in one record. That's what Reissue is being built to do.