Many cross-border sellers have experienced this: a batch of goods sells at a normal profit, but once returns occur, the value of the goods begins to shrink rapidly. Some returned goods can only be sold at a low price; some are left to pile up in warehouses for a long time; and some are even destroyed.

Especially in the US market, returns have become a frequent problem in cross-border e-commerce operations. For many sellers, the real difficulty is not the returns themselves, but why returned goods become increasingly worthless.

The scale of returns in the US e-commerce market is continuously expanding.

In recent years, the scale of e-commerce returns in the US has remained high. According to the "2025 Retail Returns Landscape Report" released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Happy Returns, the total value of returns in the US retail industry is expected to reach $849.9 billion in 2025, accounting for 15.8% of total retail sales; of which, the return rate through e-commerce channels is expected to reach 19.3%.

At the same time, US consumers have increasingly higher expectations for the return experience. The report shows that 82% of consumers consider "free returns" as an important factor in their purchasing decisions.

This means that returns have become an unavoidable part for cross-border sellers. Especially on platforms like TikTok Shop, Amazon, TEMU, and SHEIN, return rates for footwear, apparel, cosmetics, and home goods are inherently relatively high. And if returns aren't processed promptly, the value of the goods often drops rapidly.

Why do returned goods become increasingly worthless?

Many sellers initially think that returning goods is simply a matter of reselling them. However, the core reason why returned goods depreciate so easily is the excessively long processing time. For example, returned packages may remain unopened for extended periods; inventory information may not be updated in a timely manner; product packaging may be damaged; footwear and apparel may have wrinkles, lint, or odors; and products may not be relisted promptly.

Especially in the cross-border e-commerce industry, product turnover is already very rapid. A best-selling item on TikTok Shop may only last a few weeks; apparel is even affected by seasonal changes. If returned goods accumulate for a long time, it's easy to miss the optimal sales period.

At the same time, international returns are inherently costly to bring back to the home country. For many low- to mid-priced items, sellers are often unwilling to bear the high reverse logistics costs. The result is that goods that still have resale value are ultimately only sold at low prices or even scrapped.

In reality, many returned goods are not truly damaged. Especially footwear and apparel, many only have minor issues: deformed packaging; wrinkles after trying on; a small amount of dust or lint; slightly detached tags. If timely quality inspection, cleaning, and repackaging are carried out, many goods still have resale value.

The problem is that many ordinary overseas warehouses only handle receiving returns and lack the ability to refurbish and reprocess them. Truly mature US return warehouses not only help sellers receive returns, but more importantly, help goods quickly re-enter the sales chain.

U-Speed US Return Warehouses Help Sellers Reduce the Depreciation of Returned Goods

To address the return processing needs of cross-border sellers, U-Speed currently has two major return warehouses in the US: one in the East Coast (New Jersey) and the other in the West Coast (Los Angeles). The East Coast return warehouse covers a total area of 7,250 square meters and has a daily processing capacity of over 20,000 items; the Los Angeles West Coast return warehouse also covers 7,250 square meters and has a daily processing capacity of over 10,000 items. Both warehouses are equipped with forklifts, light and heavy-duty shelving, fire monitoring, 24-hour security, and CCTV systems to meet the return processing needs of various types of goods.

In the return processing, U-Speed supports a photo inspection service, uploading three photos of each returned item to help sellers quickly check the product's condition. For resaleable items, repackaging services are also available to help products meet platform listing requirements again.

Furthermore, for footwear and apparel sellers, U-Speed offers customized services such as lint removal, simple cleaning, ironing, and odor removal to help sellers further improve the utilization rate of returned goods.

In terms of delivery time, U-Speed's US return logistics takes 3-5 days, and return inspection takes 2 days, helping sellers process returned goods faster and reduce inventory backlog and depreciation.

Meanwhile, U-Speed employs a collaborative model of "Chinese management team + local Chinese operations team in the US," and is equipped with a professional customer service team, making its communication efficiency and problem response more in line with the actual operational needs of cross-border sellers.

Furthermore, U-Speed can combine warehousing and dropshipping services to form a complete US local logistics loop, helping sellers reduce the management pressure of dealing with multiple suppliers.

Return processing efficiency is impacting cross-border sellers' profits.

In the past, many sellers focused more on increasing sales volume. But now, more and more cross-border sellers are realizing that the efficiency of returning goods processing is also a real factor affecting profits. A mature and efficient US return warehouse can not only help sellers reduce inventory backlog but also increase the resale rate of returned goods and slow down the rate of depreciation.