Shyp, the startup that brings couriers to your door so you never have to visit a UPS location or a post office ever again, is rolling out a new "returns" feature for its app.
Shyp launched just under a year ago, and a company representative says that even though people use it mostly to ship gifts to friends or for online sales — think Etsy or eBay sellers — a growing percentage of users were using Shyp for an unintended purpose, one Shyp wasn't designed to serve: returning items bought online.
So Shyp, which says it is seeing 20% month-over-month growth, embraced the unexpected use case and decided to build a custom product inside of the existing Shyp app dedicated to returns.
The process is not unlike Shyp's shipping procedure. It takes just a few taps on your phone.
First, you tap "Add Shipment."
Then you select "Return Online Purchase." This is the new feature.
Then select whether you would like to pay with your order number or a prepaid label.
Enter your order number and select your reason for returning the item. Shyp charges a $5 flat-rate pickup fee, regardless of how many items you are shipping or returning.
Take a picture of whatever you are returning.
When you are ready, tap the "Pickup Now" button, and a Shyp courier will show up in roughly 20 minutes to whisk away your returns. You will get a confirmation from the retailer when it receives your package.