USPS to launch two-year Parcel Return Services test

If you order merchandise on the Internet or by catalog, you probably know that returning items can be more difficult than getting them in the first place.

USPS is set to launch a two-year test of Parcel Return Services (PRS) that will make it easier for consumers to return items at very competitive prices for merchants. PRS will work like drop-shipping in reverse.

Qualifying merchants can choose to pick up return parcels at the Post Office or BMC serving the original customer. Companies will get a lower postage rate for saving USPS the time and trouble of sorting and transporting returns all the way back to their warehouses. That makes PRS a good deal for merchants and for USPS.

Companies will provide customers a special PRS mailing label with orders. If customers need to return items, merchants pay the postage. All customers have to do is stick the label on the package, give it to a letter carrier or drop it in a collection box (yes, that’s okay, because we know who the merchant is) or bring it to a Post Office. That makes PRS a good deal for customers, too.

This is a two-year experiment that will give USPS a chance to gauge the market demand for PRS. During the first year of testing, USPS will have a limit of 20 prequalified participants. That number could grow to 30 in the second year. Then USPS will evaluate PRS and see if we should offer it permanently.