Customers can return Amazon.com purchases to most of the company's stores — here's how it works

Amazon operates more than 20 stores under the Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star name.

These stores accept returns — and not just for purchases that were made at the actual store.

Other purchases from Amazon.com must be sent back to Amazon through the mail or dropped off at places like Hub Lockers or Kohl's stores.

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Amazon has been slowly growing its fleet of Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star stores, and they're designed primarily as a place for purchasing and browsing.

But the 19 Books and three 4-star stores will also accept customer returns for most items purchased on Amazon.com, in addition to items that were actually purchased at each store.

“Eligible items purchased on Amazon.com can be returned to an Amazon Books store,” Amazon's website says. The 4-star help page says the exact same thing.

Here's how to return an item to an Amazon Books or 4-star store:

As almost always, the return starts in Amazon's Online Return Center.

Customers will see Amazon Books or 4-star pop up as an option for “Amazon In-Store Dropoff” if the item is eligible for return there and there's a location nearby.

Select that return option and bring the item to the store.

Amazon Go's locations, of course, don't even have cashiers, and they can't accept returns.

Read more: You can now return Amazon orders for free at all Kohl's stores — here's how it works

Some items purchased online cannot, however, be returned to stores, depending on the size.

“Amazon Books may not be able to accept in store returns for certain items you purchased from Amazon.com (for example, items greater than a certain size or that don't meet safe to ship standards),” Amazon's website says.

With no large-scale fleet of physical outlets to accept returns, Amazon has also been rolling out initiatives like Hub Lockers and partnerships with discount department stores like Kohl's to expand its ability to accept returns without customers having to mail items in themselves.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that Amazon's stores did not accept returns of online purchases. After the story was published, an Amazon spokesperson said that the stores have accepted returns since July 2018, though that fact was not stated on the company's website.