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Preventing Out-of-Stock Exchanges

Overview

Out-of-stock items during the exchange process can delay fulfillment and create a poor customer experience. In the Admin Dashboard, you can reduce stockouts by combining two controls: minimum stock thresholds to block low-inventory variants, and out-of-stock exchange settings to decide whether you block or allow exchanges when inventory is unavailable.

Objectives

By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

  • Update the minimum stock threshold used for exchanges.

  • Update your out-of-stock exchange behavior per exchange resolution.

Prerequisites

  • You have access to the admin dashboard with permission to edit Settings (General, Return Policy/Policy Rules, and Resolutions).

  • You have at least one exchange resolution configured (required to apply exchange stock settings).

Updating the Minimum Stock Threshold for Exchanges

Use a minimum stock threshold to prevent customers from selecting exchange variants once inventory falls below your defined buffer.

To update the minimum stock threshold for exchanges

  1. Navigate to Settings > Resolutions.

  2. Click the exchange resolution you want to update.

    If you have multiple exchange resolutions, repeat these steps for each relevant one.

  3. Open the Stock section.

  4. Set the Minimum available stock threshold.

  5. Click the save icon located in the top right corner.

  6. Verify that no variants fall below your threshold.

    Important

    In the Return Portal, variants that fall below your threshold do not appear as available exchange options.

Enabling and Configuring Reserve Items

Reserving items temporarily removes exchange items from available inventory after the RMA is approved, helping prevent stockouts before the exchange draft order is released.

Note

Enabling and configuring reserve items is the store-wide default.

Note

Items are only reserved once the RMA is approved.

To enable and configure reserve items

  1. Navigate to Settings > General.

  2. Open the Exchanges section.

  3. In Reserve Items Settings, enable the feature.

  4. Update the following settings:

    • Approval Time (the typical time it takes you to approve an exchange request; this time is added to the reservation timeframe)

    • Restock Time (the time-of-day reserved items return to inventory if the exchange is not completed)

  5. Click the save icon in the top right corner.

  6. In the Return Portal, verify the following:

    • That an indicator appears on exchange policy rules with reserved items.

    • That the Fees section shows the number of days items are served with a 0$ value.

Overriding the Reserve Items Settings Per Policy Rule

Use per-rule settings when you want different reservation behavior for different exchange scenarios.

Note

Overriding the reserve items settings per policy rule is optional.

To override reserve items settings per policy rule

  1. Navigate to Settings > Return Policy.

  2. Click EXPAND ALL.

  3. Edit an existing policy rule (or create one, if needed).

  4. Open the RMA Handling Process section.

  5. Enable Reserve Items for Exchanges.

  6. Set the following

    • Item Reservation Timeframe

    • Restock Time

  7. Toggle Activate Policy Rule as needed.

  8. Click the save icon in the top right corner.

Verification

If a customer exchanges multiple items with different reservation timeframes, the longer timeframe applies because item reservation applies to the entire exchange draft order.

Updating Out-of-Stock Exchange Settings Per Exchange Resolution

Use the stock settings in each exchange resolution to decide whether you block or allow out-of-stock exchanges.

To update out-of-stock exchange settings per exchange resolution

  1. Navigate to Settings > Resolutions.

  2. Open the Exchange Resolutions section.

  3. Click the pencil icon for the exchange resolution you want to update (or click ADD RESOLUTION if you need a new one).

  4. Open the Stock section.

  5. Select the option that matches your policy:

    • Block all out-of-stock exchanges.

    • Allow all out-of-stock exchanges.

    • Only allow out-of-stock exchanges for items specified in your store.

  6. Click the save icon in the top right corner.

  7. Test an exchange in the Return Portal for a SKU that is out of stock (or below your minimum stock threshold) and confirm the portal behavior matches the option you selected.

Note

You can define what’s considered “out of stock” for exchange purposes by using the minimum stock threshold.

Monitoring the Reservation Status in the Admin Dashboard

Use visual indicators and filters to proactively manage RMAs with reserved inventory.

Viewing the Reservation Status in Manage Returns
To view the reservation status in Manage Returns

  1. Navigate to Manage Returns.

  2. Locate an RMA that includes an exchange with item reservation.

  3. Review the reservation icon and hover to view the tooltip details, including the expiration date and time.

    The following describes the icon colors in Manage Returns:

    • Greyed-out: The item will be reserved once the return request is approved.

    • Blue: The item is currently reserved.

    • Green: The reserved item in the draft order has been released.

    • Red: The reserved item in the draft order has been restocked.