Ozon Centralizes Returns for FBS Sellers Starting October 1, 2025
Beginning October 1, 2025, Ozon will implement a major change to its returns process for sellers operating under the Fulfillment by Seller (FBS) model.
Under the new policy, any goods canceled by customers before pick-up or returned without quality complaints will now be redirected to Ozon’s fulfillment centers for inspection and potential restocking.
Certain categories — such as jewelry and items unsuitable for storage — remain exceptions and will continue to be returned directly to sellers.
Ozon frames this centralization as an efficiency initiative, claiming it will triple the speed of relisting returned goods and reduce logistical costs through aggregated processing at its facilities.
Policy Context and Operational Background
This move follows a sequence of Ozon’s recent logistics and return policy updates, each aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and customer experience.
- Until July 1, 2025, Ozon will not charge sellers for return processing at pick-up points.
- After that date, new service fees are expected, with sellers notified in advance.
- Previously, FBS sellers could choose between collecting returns themselves or redirecting them to Ozon’s warehouses, maintaining autonomy over stock condition and relisting quality.
The upcoming centralization removes that choice — making Ozon the default handler for most non-defective returns and effectively centralizing the inspection and relisting pipeline.
Logistics Fee Adjustments
Coinciding with the policy change, Ozon is also revising logistics pricing for oversized goods:
- For items over 3 liters in volume, per-liter logistics fees will increase:
- From 10 → 15 rubles for Ozon-warehouse shipments.
- From 18 → 23 rubles for FBS-managed goods.
- Base delivery fees remain unchanged, and low-value products (under 300 rubles) are unaffected.
However, the increase in oversized item tariffs represents a tangible rise in fulfillment costs for certain seller categories.
Implications for E-commerce Operations and Content Infrastructure
The introduction of automated return routing—replacing flexible, seller-driven logistics—marks a significant shift in Ozon’s operational structure.
For the broader e-commerce ecosystem, this change carries multi-layered implications.
Impact on Product Feeds and Inventory Updates
The new system requires sellers to rethink how they synchronize product feeds and inventory data.
Centralized returns mean faster item restocking cycles, but also less direct visibility into stock flow and condition.
Accurate, near-real-time updates are crucial to maintaining catalog freshness and avoiding listing errors.
Read more about best practices and tools that support this process:
- How to Structure Product Data for Smooth Integration
- Product Feed – NotPIM
- Common Mistakes in Product Feed Uploads
Maintaining feed integrity during policy transitions like this is essential to minimize listing disruptions, ensure pricing accuracy, and sustain buyer confidence.
Broader Trends and Outlook
Ozon’s new returns policy exemplifies a broader global marketplace trend: the centralization of logistics and returns to enhance speed, content consistency, and customer satisfaction.
This strategy aligns with a wider movement toward:
- Automation and AI-based warehouse routing.
- Data-driven inventory management.
- Algorithmic catalog optimization and product curation.
However, this centralization also raises concerns over seller autonomy and operational transparency — particularly in markets where small and mid-sized sellers rely on flexible, individualized workflows.
In the coming months, industry attention will focus on:
- The actual turnaround time of the new returns process.
- The quality and speed of relisting returned items.
- The impact on catalog accuracy and customer satisfaction.
How Ozon manages these outcomes — and communicates them to its merchant community — will shape its reputation as a marketplace innovator and partner to sellers.
For continuing updates and commentary, follow Retailer.ru and Vedomosti, which provide in-depth coverage of Russian e-commerce infrastructure reforms.
NotPIM Commentary
Ozon’s new centralized returns model highlights a growing challenge across e-commerce:
the need to optimize inventory flow while maintaining data accuracy and content quality.
Mandatory return routing and centralized inspection make accurate product data management more critical than ever.
At NotPIM, we help e-commerce businesses handle such transitions seamlessly by:
- Automating product feed updates in sync with marketplace APIs.
- Ensuring data accuracy, error detection, and format compliance.
- Simplifying catalog management through a no-code interface.
Our tools help clients adapt quickly to policy and infrastructure shifts — minimizing operational disruptions and preserving catalog consistency.
As platforms like Ozon move toward greater automation and control, the demand for scalable data management solutions will only grow.
NotPIM provides exactly that foundation — ensuring your product data remains accurate, responsive, and compliant, no matter how the marketplace evolves.