Why Walmart Jacking Up Charges for Returned Items Could be Good for Shoppers

Those shopping through Walmart might want to doublecheck what they're buying because it could cost them down the road.

The retail giant is set to hike fees associated with returns on some items.

How Walmart Is Raising Return Fees

For those who have never fully plunged into the world of shopping on Walmart.com, the website operates somewhat like Amazon when it comes to who can sell there. Along with items typically sold at Walmart stores, you'll also find goods from third-party sellers.

It's those sellers who will initially be hit the hardest by Walmart's increase of returned item fees.

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TalkBusiness.net reported that Walmart will raise the return shipping rate for any order fulfilled by a third-party seller. The full return rates and increases have yet to be made public.

Before you say "but Walmart has free returns," there are a couple ways this rate hike could mean some changes for dedicated online shoppers.

How The Return Rate Increase Affects Walmart Shoppers

Common sense says that additional cost for the seller could be passed down to the customer through price increases. But there's also a way this could benefit Walmart shoppers.

Sellers can sidestep the potential fee increase, or any return fees, by simply adding the "Keep It Rule" to their listing on Walmart.com.

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TalkBusiness.net says this new rule lets customers keep their unwanted items while still receiving full refunds. There's no shipping involved and possibly less hassle for those handling returns inside Walmart stores.

The "keep it" option has already been adopted by Amazon and other online retailers. You'll most likely encounter this when trying to return lower priced items.

Sorry, you won't be able to keep that giant TV you were "trying to return."