Only after I actually started selling apparel on Amazon US did I truly understand what returns meant in this category. Size discrepancies, returns after trying on clothes, seasonal changes—these are all perfectly normal in the US market.

The problem was that once the goods were returned, sellers based in China had virtually no access to the actual items. The returns were just a series of cold, impersonal statuses in the system. "Available/Unavailable," "Stuck in Warehouse," "Disposal Suggestion"—I understood each line, but I had absolutely no confidence.

Was all the returned goods beyond repair? Would continuing to invest only lead to further losses?

During that period, I mostly avoided dealing with the return reports, discarding what I could to at least prevent further financial losses. It wasn't until the returned inventory piled up that I realized this approach was just postponing the problem.

What truly made me change my mindset was that persistent sense of powerlessness. I knew many clothes had only been tried on, but because there was no suitable way to handle them, I could only treat them all as "problem inventory." I started consciously researching: How are clothing returns typically handled in the US? Is there a place that can help sellers re-evaluate returned goods?

It was during this process that I learned U-Speed has dedicated warehouses in the US for handling returns. What made me stop and take a closer look wasn't the complex procedures, but a very specific point: for clothing returns, they offer basic services like simple cleaning, lint removal, odor removal, and ironing. Frankly, these don't sound sophisticated, but they're precisely the step clothing sellers need most—many clothes aren't unsellable, they just "don't look new."

For our first collaboration, I didn't push all returns onto them; I only selected a batch of orders with relatively positive feedback from the backend system to test the waters. Throughout the entire process, I remained in China, making decisions based on quality inspection reports, photo feedback, and processing suggestions, rather than blindly investing resources. This was crucial for me because the returns weren't simply categorized as "discard or keep," but broken down into several understandable and selectable outcomes.

After the clothes were processed, the results were much better than I had anticipated. The wrinkles were smoothed out, the odor was mostly eliminated, and the lint was removed. Visually, it was ready to return to the sales chain. Coupled with the subsequent return logistics, the overall rhythm was very clear, and the quality inspection efficiency and turnover speed were within a controllable range. This made me realize for the first time that returns don't necessarily get out of control; they just hadn't been properly managed before.

Of course, I'm also well aware that handling returns has costs, and not every garment is worth continuing to invest in. But compared to simply discarding them as before, the current approach significantly improves the utilization rate of returned goods, gets inventory moving again, and reduces financial pressure. Overall, this is a cost I'm willing to bear, and the return is quantifiable.

Later, I gradually incorporated more returns into this process. U-Speed has return warehouses in New Jersey (Eastern United States) and Los Angeles (Western United States). The equipment and operational teams in these warehouses are relatively mature, maintaining a relatively stable processing pace even during peak return periods. For sellers like me based in China, this clear process and timely feedback in handling returns greatly alleviates uncertainty.

Now, when I look at the return reports, my first reaction is no longer anxiety, but rather assessment: Is there any room for maneuver with this batch of goods? Is it worth handling? How far can it go? Returns haven't disappeared, but at least they're no longer a completely uncontrollable black box. For me, U-Speed's US return warehouse didn't help me eliminate returns, but rather gave me the ability to finally handle this and keep the business moving forward.