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Exchange flows

Return portals typically support two different ways of handling exchanges. This page describes both patterns and explains which one TRAEDE supports today.

Two common patterns​

1. New order for the exchange​

The customer returns the original items and receives replacement items as a brand-new order. Under the hood:

  • A return is created for the items coming back.
  • When the return is received, TRAEDE issues a credit note for the returned items.
  • The exchanged items are shipped on a separate new order, which the customer either pays for (with the credit note applied) or receives at no extra cost.

This model keeps the original order immutable and produces clean audit trails: one credit note for the return, one invoice for the new order.

2. Shopify native exchanges​

Shopify's native return system supports an "exchange" outcome that swaps items on the original order without creating a new one. The replacement items appear on the original order and Shopify reconciles the difference in value internally. No separate credit note or invoice is produced.

What TRAEDE supports​

TRAEDE supports pattern 1 only. Every exchange handled by TRAEDE results in a credit note for the returned items plus a new order for the replacement items. TRAEDE does not integrate with Shopify's native exchange flow and does not rewrite an original order in response to an exchange.

See Recommended data flow for the full credit-note-based return lifecycle.

Implications for this API​

The external Return Portal API exposes the return and claim claim types only. Exchanges are not driven through this API.

Partners that want to offer exchanges to their end customers should:

  1. Call Create a return for the items coming back, using claim_type: "return".
  2. Follow the normal return lifecycle through to Finalize a return.
  3. Create a new order in TRAEDE for the replacement items - typically via the Order Channels API or by agreement with the brand on how replacement orders are placed.
caution

Do not attempt to send claim_type: "exchange" to this API. The exchange claim type is an internal TRAEDE concept used by the built-in return portal and is not part of the public contract.