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Gardners Returns & Cancellations

For UK customers

Gardners is currently available to UK customers. US customers use Ingram. Provider availability is based on your Emersoft Books account or store region, not an order's delivery address.

This page covers what happens after an order has been sent to Gardners and your customer changes their mind: cancelling before dispatch, parcels that cannot be delivered, and books returned after delivery.

For the full order lifecycle, see Gardners Setup & Fulfillment.

Cancelling an order

A cancellation is a request, not an immediate or guaranteed result. In-stock orders received by Gardners before 16:00 Monday–Friday can be dispatched the same working day, so request cancellations as early as possible.

You can request a cancellation from the Shopify order in either of these ways:

  • On the Gardners fulfillment, click Request cancellation.
  • Cancel the whole order in Shopify.

What happens next depends on whether Gardners has acknowledged the order:

  • Before Gardners acknowledges the order, Emersoft Books can normally accept the cancellation directly.
  • After acknowledgement, Emersoft Books sends the cancellation request to Gardners and checks for Gardners' response every hour. The result is added to the Shopify order notes.

Gardners may reject a cancellation when a book is:

  • Firm Sale — for example, a Special Order (SOS) title, which Gardners will still ship
  • Already dispatched
  • Not found or not matched to your Gardners account

Check the order note before confirming

Cancelling the order in Shopify does not stop Gardners from shipping a book it cannot cancel. Always check the final Shopify order note before confirming a cancellation or refund to your customer.

If you need a cancellation buffer

If customers often change their orders, keep Shopify's fulfillment setting on manual fulfillment so you can review orders before clicking Request fulfillment.

See the Gardners Terms and Conditions for Gardners' current cancellation terms. For books that Gardners cancels itself, see Gardners Backorders & Pre-orders.

Undeliverable parcels

If a parcel is refused or cannot be delivered and is returned to sender, it goes back to Gardners. Gardners then:

  1. Unpacks the parcel.
  2. Restocks the books if they are not damaged.
  3. Credits your Gardners account for the cost of the books. The CDF service fee and shipping cost are not credited.
  4. Includes the order in a report of returned orders, so you know which orders came back.

Gardners charges a fee for each parcel returned as undeliverable. See the current fees in the Gardners Home Delivery (CDF) overview (PDF).

Emersoft Books does not update the Shopify order when a parcel is returned to Gardners. Contact your customer and refund or reship the order in Shopify.

Customer returns

If your customer receives the book and then wants to return it, your own returns policy applies. Publish it on your website so customers know where and how to send books back.

You can receive returns in one of two ways.

Option 1 — Returns to your own address

Your customer sends the book to your shop or warehouse, and you check and restock it yourself.

This option suits stores with a physical shop or somewhere to receive parcels.

Option 2 — Gardners PO Box Returns Service

Gardners maintains a PO Box for booksellers without a physical shop or warehouse. Your customer sends the book to the PO Box, and Gardners checks and restocks it.

All shops use the same PO Box address:

Book Sales Returns
PO Box 162
Pevensey
East Sussex
BN24 9DS

Each parcel Gardners sends includes a dispatch ID, which lets Gardners match the returned parcel to your original order.

Gardners charges a fee per returned parcel plus a handling fee per item. See the current fees in the Gardners Home Delivery (CDF) overview (PDF). Ask Gardners to enable the PO Box Returns Service for your account before you publish this address to customers.

Which option should I choose?

If you… Typically the better fit
Operate a physical shop and already handle returns at the counter Returns to your own address
Want to inspect every returned book yourself Returns to your own address
Are online-only with no convenient place to receive returned books Gardners PO Box Returns Service
Want Gardners to check and restock returned books Gardners PO Box Returns Service

Add return instructions to the parcel

Gardners can include a branded delivery note in every parcel. Add your returns address and return instructions to it, so customers find them in the parcel as well as on your website.

Setting up the Gardners return address in Shopify

If you use the Gardners PO Box Returns Service, return labels you create in Shopify should send the book to the PO Box, not to your own address. Shopify takes the return label destination from a location, so add the PO Box as a dedicated location once and set it as the default for return labels.

Step 1 — Create a "Gardners Returns" location

  1. In Shopify Admin, go to Settings > Locations and click Add location.
  2. Name it Gardners Returns.
  3. Enter the address: Book Sales Returns, PO Box 162, Pevensey, East Sussex, BN24 9DS, United Kingdom.
  4. Turn off the Physical storefront toggle.
  5. Turn off the Fulfillment toggle ("Use inventory at this location to fulfill online orders").
  6. Save.

With both toggles off, the location is address-only. It won't appear on your storefront, hold inventory, or receive orders.

Step 2 — Set it as the default location for return labels

  1. Open an order in Shopify Admin > Orders and create a return, then create a return label.
  2. In the Return to section, open the location selector and choose Gardners Returns.
  3. Below the location list, click Update default location for return labels.

Every return label now defaults to the Gardners PO Box. You can still switch the location for an individual return.

These are the same steps used for Ingram. See the Ingram example with screenshots.

Refunding your customer

Credit from Gardners is a back-office process between you and Gardners. Refunding your customer happens in Shopify as normal. Issue the refund through the order in Shopify Admin > Orders on your own terms.

Emersoft Books does not receive return information from Gardners and does not refund returned books automatically.

If you prefer to refund only once the book has physically arrived, ask your Gardners account manager for the returns log. It lists the returned items and the credit you will receive.

Non-returnable titles

Some books cannot be returned for credit:

If you're unsure whether a specific title is returnable, ask Gardners or contact support.

Quick reference

Topic At a glance
Cancelling an order Request cancellation in Shopify; check the order note for Gardners' response
Undeliverable parcel Returned to Gardners, restocked if undamaged, book cost credited
Customer returns Your own address, or the Gardners PO Box Returns Service
Gardners returns address Book Sales Returns, PO Box 162, Pevensey, East Sussex, BN24 9DS
Shopify return labels Create a "Gardners Returns" location and set it as the default for return labels
Refund to customer Handled in Shopify on your own terms, independent of Gardners' credit
Returns fees See the Gardners Home Delivery (CDF) overview (PDF)