Get All Access for $5/mo

Shyp Wants to Make Online Shopping Returns Easy Peasy The San Francisco-based shipping startup is unveiling a new product today that aims to make the process of returning items you buy online hassle free.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

How long have you had that pair of pants sitting in the corner of your bedroom waiting to be returned? You ordered them online and they arrived, what, three weeks ago now? There's no way can keep them; they won't zip. (The retailer you bought them from must have changed their sizing, of course, since there is no way you have gotten any bigger.)

But every morning, as you rush out of the house to go to the office, you can't be bothered to dig up the right box to return those too-tight pants. You also don't remember where you filed the return shipping label. On top of all of that, you can't make it to the post office today, not with the six meetings and hundred emails on your to-do list. And so that pair of too-tight pants just sits and sits, taunting you every night.

That's the scenario that Shyp is trying to save you from.

Related: 10 Promising Startups Poised to Change the Way You Live, Work and Play

The San Francisco-based shipping startup released a product today called Shyp Returns that wants to make returning an item you bought during your last "click, click, click" shopping spree as easy as it was to buy it.

For $5, Shyp will pick up, package, and send any item. That's its sell. With Shyp Returns, you enter an order number and snap a quick picture of the item, and for $5, a Shyp Hero (that's what the startup calls its couriers) comes to you, whisks away that pair of too-tight pants, and away they go.

Image credit: Shyp

Related: Why These Ecommerce Front-Runners Are Building Brick and Mortar Stores

If you happen to be returning an online purchase to one of the most popular Shyp retailers, then you save yourself a step of entering the return address or finding the prepaid return shipping form. Featured retailers are expected to rotate, but right now, they include the likes of Zappos, Banana Republic, Overstock.com, Amazon.com, RenttheRunway.com, J.Crew, Gap, Bonobos.

If you want to return an item to a retailer that isn't featured, then you will need to give the prepaid shipping label to your Shyp Hero when they come and collect your item to be returned.

Related: By 2017, the App Market Will Be a $77 Billion Industry (Infographic)

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

I Tried Buying a Car on Amazon. Here Are the Pros and Cons.

Amazon Autos just launched, and users can buy a new car online. Here's how it works and what needs to improve.

Starting a Business

Nearly 50% of America's Workforce Has a Secondary Source of Income or Side Hustle. Here Are 7 Steps You Should Take to Create Lasting Value for Yours.

Today's entrepreneurs have the opportunity to generate long-lasting supplementary income if they take these steps.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says the Best Entrepreneurs Are Good at This One Thing

Real estate entrepreneur and investor Barbara Corcoran says a few key traits prove effective when starting a business. Here's her top pick.

Franchise

Discover the Low-Risk, High Reward of Owning this Property Restoration Franchise

PuroClean offers multiple revenue streams with services related to water, fire, smoke, mold and biohazard damage.

Business News

'I've Got All the Time in the World': AI Grandma Thwarts Scammers By Answering Their Calls

The AI persona called Daisy keeps scammers on the line for 40 minutes at a time with stories of her family and passion for knitting.

Business News

Alexis Ohanian Says This Is His Best Investment So Far: $10,000 Turned Into More Than $17 Million

Ohanian has backed 40 unicorns, but one investment stands out the most.