Picture a customer requesting a return with three items: a t-shirt they want to swap for a different size, a pack of briefs they want refunded, and an engraved keepsake that isn’t returnable at all.
Under a one-rule-for-everything policy, the customer sees the wrong options and your team spends the afternoon in email back-and-forth. With per-item resolution, the return form shows them what’s allowed on each item: "Replacement (pick size)" on the t-shirt, "Refund only" on the briefs, the keepsake doesn’t appear on the form at all. They pick, submit, and your team inspects the return with the resolutions pre-set.
That’s per-item resolution: different products, different rules, handled in one request.
Three levels, most-specific wins
Store-wide default. In Settings, tick the resolutions you offer by default: Refund, Replacement, or both. Most shops enable both as the default and override from there.
Per-category override. On any WooCommerce product category’s edit screen, an "Allowed resolutions" dropdown lets you pick Inherit from global, Refund only, Replacement only, or Both-customer-picks. A separate "Resolution explanation" free-text field lets you write a short note ("exchanges not available for hygiene reasons") that appears in the customer-facing returns policy so the rule doesn’t feel arbitrary. Categories can also be disabled entirely; products in those categories don’t accept returns at all.
Per-product override. On any individual product’s edit screen, the same dropdown lets you override the category rule for that one product.
The customer sees the most-specific rule that applies to each line item.
What the customer sees at return time
When they lodge a return from My Account, each item shows its options according to its resolved policy:
- Items where both are allowed: radio buttons for Refund or Replacement.
- Items with only one option: locked label (with the explanation text if you set one); can’t be flipped.
- Items that aren’t returnable at all: don’t appear on the form.
- Replacement on a variable product: includes an inline variation picker, with out-of-stock variations disabled. If every variation is out of stock, the Replacement radio itself is disabled and the customer is guided to Refund.
Mixed returns in one request
A single return can mix resolutions. Refund a pack of briefs, replace a t-shirt in a different size, refund a third item, all in one RMA.
The staff inspection screen adapts. Instead of one Refund or Send Replacement button, two action groups appear side by side: Dispatch replacements (with variation picker, stock check, optional stock decrement) and Process refund (partial refund for just the refund-flagged items). The return closes only when every item is resolved.
Change resolution mid-flow
Customers change their minds. A replacement goes out of stock between submission and inspection. Staff can flip any unresolved item’s resolution with the Change Resolution action, add a short note explaining why, and the item moves to the other action group. With audit logging on, the change is recorded with who made it and when.
A note on consumer-law obligations
This feature publishes the resolutions you’ve configured for your products and categories, accurately and consistently. It doesn’t decide what the rules should be.
Consumer-protection law often has things to say about what you can and can’t refuse to refund or replace, and the rules vary by jurisdiction (Australian Consumer Law’s "major problem" framework, UK’s Consumer Rights Act, US state-level rules). The toolset here is robust: you can express most jurisdictions’ product-category rules through the per-category and per-product overrides. The decision about what those rules should be, given your products and where you trade, is a conversation for a lawyer who knows your jurisdiction. We’ve built the levers; pulling them correctly for your country is the part that needs someone qualified to advise on it.
If you’re weighing this up against Loop, Returnly, or AfterShip Returns Center
Loop, Returnly, and AfterShip Returns Center all offer sophisticated resolution flows as part of their dedicated returns platforms. Per-item resolution lives inside their platform with their own UI, customer-facing portal, and ruleset.
HQ’s per-item resolution lives on your WooCommerce product and category admin pages, next to the other product settings you already manage. The rule flows into your own customer-facing return form and into your own staff inspection screen. No second platform; no portal branding to configure.
If you’re already invested in a SaaS returns platform for other reasons, that’s where to configure per-item rules. If you want the rule attached to the product or category it governs and handled entirely inside WooCommerce, HQ is designed for that.
Why shops set it up
Every shop that runs returns long enough eventually hits the moment where a customer picks "replacement" on something that can’t be replaced. Maybe a hygiene item, maybe a custom piece, maybe a fragile one-off. Per-item rules take that moment off the table. The form doesn’t offer what you can’t deliver, so the customer never has to hear "we can’t do that" from your team.