Common Concerns
Every reason not to do this, and our honest answer.
We hear the same concerns in every sales conversation. Here they all are, with complete answers. If we've missed yours, ask us directly.
Last updated: April 2026
The obvious question first
Where's the catch? This sounds too good to be true.
There are two honest catches, and we think they're worth it, but they're real.
First: senders usually wait up to 7 days for a match. For low-volume SKUs this is unavoidable. For high-volume SKUs matches are instant, but not every category is high-volume. Some consumers pick conventional return over Forwarding because they prefer the immediate drop-off. That's a feature of the system, not a bug: consumer choice is always preserved.
Second: Forwarding needs volume to work. Below 50 returns per month, the economics are real but the absolute savings are too small to justify the setup time. We've had this conversation with small retailers and told them to come back when they grow. Our incentives are aligned here: we don't want pilots that won't pay back.
If neither of those is a dealbreaker for your situation, the rest of the claims on this site are as substantive as they appear. Kuyichi's live data (43% adoption, 4.8/5 rating, 98% good condition) is real. The methodology has been independently validated. We've staked our company on it.
One more thing worth noting: the company was founded by one of the underlying paper's co-authors, not by people who heard about peer-to-peer returns somewhere and tried to build a product around the idea. The research came first. The company came second. That's the most honest 'where's the catch' answer we have: the claims come from research we published before the product existed, not from product marketing we wrote after.
Quality & product condition
We can't physically inspect items before they reach the next buyer. How do we know what they're getting?
98% of items arrive in good condition (positive or neutral buyer rating): our live client data from 2025. The complaints we receive are about packaging, not product condition. The system is designed to make careful Forwarding the path of least resistance: the sender declares the item is like new, submits photos before receiving a label, and only receives their refund after the buyer confirms good condition. Someone who has a financial stake in a positive buyer rating behaves differently from someone dropping a return in a post box.
What if a consumer sends a used or damaged item?
Damaged items are excluded upfront: Forwarding is not offered if the return reason is 'damaged'. For the small share of items where condition is misrepresented: the buyer has the same right of return as any normal purchase and can return to the warehouse. The refund system means the sender bears the financial consequence of a poor rating. Repeat bad actors are filtered by our behavioural monitoring. In practice, this scenario is rare; the incentive structure works.
Consumers fold things carelessly or use the wrong packaging.
This is the real complaint, and it is a fair one. We address it through sender guidance in the return flow: instructions on folding, using the original packaging, and what 'like new' means in practice. It is an area we are actively improving. It does not affect the product itself, only presentation. For most categories, this is a minor issue that does not generate buyer complaints.
What about items that are slightly worn, 'tried on' but not actually like new?
The consumer self-declares condition. This is the same trust model as your current return process: consumers already self-report return reasons, and those are taken largely at face value. The difference is that in Forwarding, a buyer rating creates accountability after the fact. If a buyer receives an item that is not as described, they rate it accordingly and the seller's Forwarding access is affected. It is a better accountability mechanism than a warehouse checker who spends 10 seconds per item.
How do you handle repeat bad actors, consumers who systematically misrepresent condition?
We track sender behaviour across all Forwards they initiate. Senders with two or more negative buyer ratings in a 90-day window are automatically excluded from Forwarding for the next 6 months. They can still return to warehouse as normal, they just lose access to the discounted Forwarding option. We have seen fewer than a handful of cases across all live clients so far. In practice, the refund-on-rating mechanism is self-selecting: consumers with a history of careless handling either improve or stop using Forwarding because their refunds get delayed or reversed.
What if our category is higher-end? Won't buyers expect pristine condition?
Higher-end categories actually work better than average, for two reasons. First, buyers of premium items self-select toward the Forwarding option when they understand what they're getting: they're paying less for the item, so small presentation issues carry less weight. Second, senders of premium items have more financial incentive to present the item well because their refund is larger. That said, some categories genuinely don't fit: intimate apparel, swimwear, highly size-variant items, and anything where the return rate itself is above 60% are usually not good candidates. We tell you honestly if your category is a poor fit during the scoping call; we'd rather save both sides the time.
For a full technical explanation of every quality gate: Read the quality page →
Consumer experience
What if consumers don't want to Forward? Will they feel forced?
Forwarding is always opt-in. The consumer chooses between 'Forward to another customer' and 'Return to warehouse'; both options are shown clearly. No one is pushed toward Forwarding. Our live data shows 43% choose it voluntarily, which means 57% choose the conventional option. Both work exactly as expected.
What if the consumer holds the item and never ships it?
If the item is not shipped within 3 days of the label being issued, the system automatically redirects: conventional warehouse fulfillment is triggered for the buyer's order, and the consumer's return goes back to the standard warehouse process. No manual intervention is needed from your team. No buyer is left waiting indefinitely.
Our customers expect fast delivery. Does Forwarding slow things down for the buyer?
For the buyer, delivery is typically 1–3 days longer than warehouse fulfilment because the sender has up to 3 days to drop off the package. Buyers see the extended delivery window at checkout and consciously choose the Forward option anyway, typically because of the discount. Our data shows buyers who choose Forward have 4.8/5 satisfaction, so the speed trade-off is acceptable to them. If speed is critical for your category (premium or time-sensitive categories), you can configure Forwarding off for those SKUs entirely; the buyer never sees the option, and your normal fast-delivery pipeline runs unchanged.
What if a Forwarded buyer has a bad experience and blames our brand?
The buyer knows they bought a Forwarded item: it's disclosed clearly at checkout ("Sent directly from another customer"). In 0 recorded cases to date has a Forwarded buyer raised a complaint that mistook their experience for a standard warehouse purchase. The buyer rating system also gives them a direct outlet for dissatisfaction that doesn't route through your customer service. If they rate negatively, the refund to the sender is held, which signals to us and to you that something went wrong, and gives us the data to filter out that specific sender for future Forwards. Brand exposure is bounded because the buyer opted in with eyes open, and because the rating mechanism catches issues before they escalate to your support team.
Operations & IT
Our IT team is already stretched. How complex is the integration?
Most clients are live within a week. For supported platforms (Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud), the integration is a plugin installation and configuration, not a custom development project. If you use Returnless or Bleckmann, the integration is native. For custom stacks, our REST API is fully documented and we support integration actively. We have deliberately built to minimise IT burden because we know it is a blocker.
What happens to our ERP and OMS? Do we need to change our systems?
No. We send webhook notifications at each stage: listing created, match made, label issued, buyer rating, refund triggered. Your ERP or OMS receives these and can process them like any other event. For clients on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, we have a documented implementation approach using a non-inventory item and BC Dimension tag. We do not require changes to your core commerce systems.
What if the Forward doesn't work for a particular order: does it break our fulfilment?
No. If a match is not made within the matching period, or if the consumer doesn't ship in time, conventional warehouse fulfilment is triggered automatically. Forwarding is always additive: it sits on top of your existing fulfilment flow and only activates when all conditions are met. Your warehouse remains the fallback for everything.
We use a return portal (Returnless, Narvar, etc.). Does this conflict?
No; it integrates. We have a native integration with Returnless. For other return portals, Forwarding appears as an option inside the portal's existing consumer flow. We do not replace your return portal; we add a Forward option to it.
What does ongoing maintenance look like on our side?
Very little. Once live, Forwarding runs automatically. There is no manual matching, no manual label issuance, no manual refund processing. Your team sees the results in your dashboard and receives the webhook events in your systems. Changes to your product catalogue, pricing, or SKUs sync via the API. We handle everything in between.
We're mid-transformation already. We can't add another initiative right now.
Forwarding is explicitly designed to not be a transformation initiative. It's an additive layer: your existing return portal, carriers, ERP, and customer service pipelines all continue to operate. Integration is 1–5 days for supported platforms (plugin install + configuration). There's no new tool for your customer service team to learn; they see the same return records in your existing systems, just with additional metadata. If you genuinely don't have IT bandwidth right now, tell us; we can pilot with a reduced scope (one SKU category, one market) that needs minimal setup. Or we can schedule the conversation for a quarter when capacity opens up. We're not trying to add to your transformation backlog.
What about SAP, Exact, or other ERPs that aren't Microsoft Dynamics 365?
We integrate with any ERP or OMS that can consume webhooks, which is effectively all modern systems. We have documented implementations for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (with the TRIMIT Fashion extension). For SAP, Exact, Oracle, or others, we work with your IT team to map the webhook events to your existing data model. The integration pattern is the same; the mapping is client-specific. Typically 2–5 days of work for a senior ERP developer.
We ship across multiple EU countries. Does Forwarding work across borders?
Yes, and arguably better than for single-market retailers. The matching algorithm preferentially routes Forwards within the destination country: an item returned in Germany is matched to a German buyer when possible, saving cross-border shipping and duty costs. Multi-language consumer interface (EN, NL, DE) is included by default. Additional languages can be added. If you ship to markets we don't yet operate carriers in, we can either scope that carrier integration or exclude those markets from Forwarding while your warehouse continues to serve them normally.
Legal & liability
Who is liable if a consumer receives a poor-quality item?
Your standard consumer protection obligations apply, as they do for any purchase on your webshop. The buyer purchased from you; you remain the seller of record. If the buyer is unhappy, they have the same right of return as any normal purchase. The financial consequence of a quality failure falls on the sender (their refund is withheld or reversed if the rating is poor), not on you. Your liability exposure is not materially different from a conventional return that gets re-listed.
Is this GDPR compliant? Consumer addresses are being shared.
Addresses are never shared between consumers. The sender never sees the buyer's address and the buyer never sees the sender's address. Shipping labels are generated by It Goes Forward and passed directly to the carrier. We are GDPR Article 28 compliant data processors. A Data Processing Agreement (verwerkersovereenkomst) is available for all clients.
Our legal team wants to see a Data Processing Agreement.
We have one. A GDPR Article 28 compliant DPA is available before contract signature. It covers sub-processors, breach notification, data retention, deletion, and audit rights. Contact us and we will send it within 24 hours of request.
Who owns the customer data during a Forward?
The retailer (you) is the data controller throughout the Forward lifecycle. It Goes Forward processes data on your behalf as a GDPR Article 28 data processor, under the DPA signed before contract. No data is transferred to IGF ownership, no data is used for purposes beyond operating Forwarding for your webshop, and all data can be exported or deleted on contract termination within 30 days. Sub-processor data handling (GCP, Mollie, Postmark) is bound by the same terms.
What about our brand IP on the Forwarded items: packaging, labels, returns slips?
The item is returned in its original packaging (yours) and ships to the next buyer in that same packaging. The shipping label is a standard carrier label generated against your carrier contract; it carries your return address format and the carrier's information. The sender does not receive any IGF branding. The buyer does not see any IGF branding. Your brand IP on the packaging and return materials is preserved because we don't touch the physical item; we only route it.
Does the consumer's right of return still apply to a Forwarded item?
Yes, fully. A buyer who receives a Forwarded item has the same right of return as any normal purchase: they can return it to the warehouse or, if condition still qualifies, Forward it again. Your standard return policy is completely preserved.
What about consumer protection law: are we selling a 'second-hand' item without disclosing it?
Buyers are explicitly informed they are purchasing a returned item, similar to 'open box' or 'consumer return' categories common in e-commerce. The opt-in nature of the buyer purchase, combined with the explicit disclosure and the right of return, is legally equivalent to any clearly disclosed non-new product sale. This is the same legal basis used by Vinted, Back Market, and retailers' own pre-loved sections.
Commercial & pricing
We only pay when a Forward is sold, but what is the monthly fee for?
The monthly fee covers access to the platform, the matching algorithm, the return portal integration, consumer notifications, CO₂ reporting, and ongoing support. The per-Forward fee is the performance component: you only pay it when Forwarding actually saves you money.
Recovery depends on volume and the platform fee tier. For a typical mid-sized retailer, the monthly platform fee is usually covered within the first 20 to 30 Forwards of the month. At higher volume, recovery is proportionally faster. After recovery, every Forward is net benefit.
What if adoption is low and we Forward very few items?
Low adoption costs you very little: you pay per Forward, so low volume means low fees. But low adoption is worth investigating: our live data shows 43% adoption at Kuyichi. If your rate is significantly lower, it usually points to how the option is presented in the return flow rather than fundamental consumer reluctance. We work with clients to improve adoption as part of onboarding.
Is this financially worth it for small volumes?
Forwarding saves €5 to €12 per return avoided to the warehouse. Our fee is €1.50–€4.50 per Forward. The net saving per unit is always larger than the fee per unit, so every Forward is net positive. Note: Forwarding requires a minimum of roughly 50 returns per month to generate enough volume for meaningful results. Below this threshold, we recommend waiting until volume grows rather than starting a pilot.
What is the contract term? Are we locked in?
We offer monthly contracts. We do not believe in locking clients into long terms before they have seen the results. A 90-day pilot is the most common starting point: it is enough to see real adoption data and a real financial impact. See what a pilot looks like → /pilot. After that, continuing is an easy decision or an easy exit.
What if we already work with a returns management provider?
We are not a returns management provider; we are a Forwarding layer that sits on top of your existing return infrastructure. We integrate with return portals (Returnless, Bleckmann) rather than replacing them. There is almost never a conflict: we coexist with every return management provider we've encountered. The only exception is if your provider explicitly contracts exclusivity on return flow routing, which is rare. Tell us who you work with and we'll confirm compatibility in under a day.
See how Forwarding compares to return portals and other approaches → /compare
Your concern isn't listed here?
Send it to us. If it's a concern others are likely to have, we'll add the answer here within two business days. If it's specific to your situation, we'll answer directly.
We update this page regularly as new concerns come up in sales conversations. Last updated: April 2026. If you're reading an older version, the concerns that mattered still matter.