# UPS Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943 "2007-06-29T17:28:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Originals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@Psycho\_Originals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Originals)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/1 "2007-06-29T17:28:36Z")
What’s the easiest way to return something to the sender that was delivered via UPS and does not have a return sticker along with it? I know the return address and everything, and i know i could probably easily put it in another box and ship it with the USPS, but i have a local UPS store, and thought they could probably do it cheaper or easier. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/2 "2007-06-29T17:40:42Z")
Have you tried to call the seller? You may need an RMA number, and they may provide you with the return label. ---
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Originals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@Psycho\_Originals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Originals)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/3 "2007-06-29T17:41:32Z")
When i contacted the company they said just email it back to their HQ with the “Att’n Cancellation Department” written on it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/4 "2007-06-29T19:06:36Z")
[QUOTE=Psycho Originals] When i contacted the company they said just email it back to their HQ with the “Att’n Cancellation Department” written on it. [/QUOTE] I would like to see how you are going to attach that item to an email. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/5 "2007-06-30T13:02:25Z")
Absent a prepaid return label, you’re not _returning_ anything as far as the shipping company is concerned. You’re sending a fresh shipment from you to some other address someplace. So you’re going to pay full rate for whatever grade of service you buy from whoever you buy it from: USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL, Airborne, or Fred’s Bargain Box Hauling. The good news is you don’t need to repackage it. Just obliterate the UPS label that got it to you, add whatever info in whatever form the new shipper needs, and pay. For any level of service, the prices will probably rank from high to low like this: Fedex, UPS, DHL, Airborne, USPS. What’s _easiest_ for you probably depends on which company has a retail outlet closest to you open at times convenient for you. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/6 "2007-06-30T15:05:04Z")
IF and only IF the package has not been opened you can usually mark it “DELIVERY REFUSED - RETURN TO SENDER” OTOH if you have opened the package it is on your dime. Close the flaps of the carton with the label inside, add a new label and tape box securely. Mark for return per vendor’s advice. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/7 "2007-06-30T15:18:16Z")
If it’s “signature required” just don’t open the door. Three times. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/8 "2007-06-30T15:57:36Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] If it’s “signature required” just don’t open the door. Three times. [/QUOTE] no need, you can just refuse it the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Originals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@Psycho\_Originals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Originals)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/9 "2007-06-30T16:03:31Z")
i took it to the local UPS store and everything was fine. I had to pay to return it, but it wasn’t much. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/10 "2007-06-30T16:16:59Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] no need, you can just refuse it the first time. [/QUOTE] I was kidding. Shudda done a 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/11 "2007-06-30T16:33:19Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy] Absent a prepaid return label, you’re not _returning_ anything as far as the shipping company is concerned. You’re sending a fresh shipment from you to some other address someplace. [/QUOTE] Are you sure? Sometimes when I get (envelope) mail from previous residents of an apartment I am living in I will write “RETURN TO SENDER” in big letters on the envelope and drop it back in the box without putting any new postage on it. Are you telling me this doesn’t work? Or is it just different with packages? And if it is, where do they draw the line? At what point is something not returnable to sender? This is a good question and I’d really like to dig into it more. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/12 "2007-06-30T17:19:22Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy] For any level of service, the prices will probably rank from high to low like this: Fedex, UPS, DHL, Airborne, USPS. What’s _easiest_ for you probably depends on which company has a retail outlet closest to you open at times convenient for you. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: DHL merged with Airborne Express a couple of years ago, so you can remove Airborne from your list. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/13 "2007-06-30T17:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Are you sure? Sometimes when I get (envelope) mail from previous residents of an apartment I am living in I will write “RETURN TO SENDER” in big letters on the envelope and drop it back in the box without putting any new postage on it. Are you telling me this doesn’t work? Or is it just different with packages? And if it is, where do they draw the line? At what point is something not returnable to sender? This is a good question and I’d really like to dig into it more. [/QUOTE] You seem to be talking about USPS mail - United States Postal Service. They come in white trucks with a blue eagle logo. They’re a quasi-governmental agency. Their stores are usually called the “Post Office”. You can buy little stickers called “stamps” from them that you can use to send letters to anywhere in the world. A simple letter will cost $0.41 to send to anywhere in the US. Sending a letter overseas will cost $0.69 (for Mexico or Canada) to $0.90 (most other places). You can indeed simply write “Return to Sender” on the unopened envelope and they’ll send it back for free. The OP was talking about UPS - United Parcel Service. They are a private shipping company that uses brown truck with a yellow shield logo. They have their own, more expensive rates and they don’t let you ship anything back for free. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/14 "2007-06-30T18:39:26Z")
Yes **Terminus Est** , I am aware of the difference between the Post Office and UPS, but they are both shipping companies and what I am wondering about is their policies for returning mail/parcels to the sender in general. So will the USPS send back a package as well as an envelope, while UPS won’t return _anything_ to sender, or are there some items that are eligible to be returned and others that aren’t for both? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-question/409943/15 "2007-06-30T23:33:05Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] I was kidding. Shudda done a 😉 [/QUOTE] or you can wink at the delivery guy. Results on this one might vary depending on your hotness, the delivery guy’s orientation and marital status, and all that.