Exchange Request Email Template: 4 Replies to Copy

Each template uses the same sample order: a customer swapping a hoodie in size M for size L. Replace the bold parts with your own order details. If you’d rather not write these by hand, Relay handles Shopify exchange tickets with your store’s rules. It understands the request, finds the order, follows your rules and knows when to bring in your team.

How an exchange works in Shopify

Your emails should follow the steps your store actually takes. In Shopify, an exchange means you “send a customer an alternative item as part of the return, such as a different size or color” (Shopify Help Center). You set it up from the order in the Orders section of your admin.

That gives you at least three things to tell the customer:

1. Their request has been received and is being checked.
2. How to send the original item back.
3. When the replacement is on its way.

Generic templates cram all three into one email. That’s why customers write back asking “so what do I do now?”

Before you approve a swap, run the order checks: return window, item eligibility, stock, price difference and any refund already issued. They’re all covered in our guide on a customer who wants an exchange instead of a refund. This article covers what comes after: the emails themselves.

Template 1: Exchange request received

Send this as soon as the request comes in, before you’ve checked everything. It confirms the request and asks for anything missing, so you don’t lose a day going back and forth.

Subject: Your exchange request for order #1042

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for your message. We’ve got your request to exchange the Classic Hoodie, size M for size L on order #1042.

We’re checking stock and your order now. To speed things up, please reply with a photo of the item with its tags on.

We’ll email you the next steps.

Sam, Customer Support

This reply doesn’t decide anything. It confirms the request and collects facts, so it’s the safest one to turn into a standard reply.

Template 2: Exchange approved, return instructions

This email does the most work. Number the steps so the customer can follow them without reading twice.

Subject: Exchange approved for order #1042: how to send your item back

Hi Jordan,

Good news: your exchange is approved. We’ll send the Classic Hoodie in size L in place of size M.

Here’s what to do:

1. Pack the hoodie with its tags on.
2. Print the return label attached to this email and stick it on the parcel.
3. Drop it off by November 9.

We’ll ship your new size as soon as your parcel reaches us, and you’ll get a tracking link by email.

Sam, Customer Support

Add one sentence on return shipping that matches your policy, and put it in this email, not a later one. Two versions to choose from:

• If your store pays: “The label is prepaid, so there’s nothing to pay on your side.”
• If the customer pays: “Return shipping is at your cost. Please use a tracked service and keep the receipt.”

Not sure which policy to pick? Read who pays return shipping on Shopify, and how to reply.

Template 3: Replacement shipped

Many stores skip this one. It’s the email that heads off a “where is my new order?” ticket a week later.

Subject: Your new Classic Hoodie (size L) is on its way

Hi Jordan,

We’ve received your return, and your replacement has shipped. You can track it here: tracking link.

There’s nothing more to do on your side. If the new size doesn’t fit either, just reply to this email.

Sam, Customer Support

If your store ships the replacement before the return arrives, send this right after Template 2 and repeat the return deadline in it.

Tracking questions after an exchange look like any other order status ticket. Here’s how to automate “where is my order” emails on Shopify.

Template 4: Exchange request reply email when you can’t say yes

Use this one when the exchange can’t go ahead as asked: the window has closed, the item is final sale, or the size is out of stock. Give the reason in one sentence, then offer something the customer can act on.

Subject: About your exchange request for order #1042

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for reaching out. We can’t exchange this hoodie because the order is past our return window.

Here’s what we can do: size L is in stock, and you can order it here: product link.

If something else is going on with this item, reply and tell us. A member of our team will look at it.

Sam, Customer Support

For an out-of-stock item or a price difference, change only the two bold lines. Offer the closest variant, a refund once the return arrives, or a payment link for the difference.

Subject lines for each stage of the exchange

The subject line is what the customer sees first in a full inbox, and what your team searches for later. Keep the order number in every one, so the whole exchange stays in one thread.

Avoid subjects like “Update on your order” or “Re: Re: question”. They don’t say whether the customer needs to do anything, so many of them reply just to ask.

Check before you send

The order checks happen before you approve. These three are about the email itself:

• One next step. Can the customer tell in five seconds what to do next, or that there’s nothing to do?
• The right variant, named. Does the email say the product and the exact size or color, both the old one and the new one? In an order with several items, “your item” isn’t enough.
• A clear date. Is there a drop-off deadline in Template 2, and a “when it ships” line in Template 3?

If a reply fails one of these, fix it before sending. Each gap tends to come back as a new ticket.

Which replies need a person

Not every exchange email carries the same risk. Templates 1 and 3 confirm facts: a request came in, a parcel shipped. Templates 2 and 4 carry a decision: yes or no, who pays, by when. Those are the ones to base on your written rules, and to send to a person when the case falls outside them.

Keep these for your team:

• A damaged or faulty item, where the customer may want a refund, not a swap.
• A customer who disputes the return window or the final sale status.
• A swap to a pricier product where the difference hasn’t been settled.
• Any message where the customer sounds upset or says they’ll file a chargeback.

A keyword rule that fires on “exchange” in the subject isn’t enough. A customer who writes “I don’t want an exchange, I want my money back” will set it off too. The reply has to read the whole message and the order behind it.

That’s the job Relay is built for. It understands the request, finds the Shopify order, follows your rules and knows when to bring in your team. You set the permissions, so it only takes the actions you allow. And when a customer asks for a person directly, these replies for when a customer asks for a human agent keep things calm.

FAQ

How do you respond to an exchange request from a customer?

Confirm the order and the items involved first. Then check the return window and stock, and send clear steps: how to return the item, who pays shipping, and when the replacement ships. Each email should have one next step.

What should an exchange confirmation email include?

The order number, the original and the new variant, any price difference, the return label or address, who pays return shipping, the deadline to send the item back, and when the replacement ships.

What if the item a customer wants to exchange for is out of stock?

Say so plainly, then offer two choices: the closest variant in stock, or a refund once the return arrives. Don’t leave the exchange open with no date.

Should exchange emails be automated?

The confirmation replies (request received, replacement shipped) are routine, so they’re the easiest to standardize. Replies that approve or refuse an exchange depend on your policy and the order, so base them on written rules and send anything outside those rules to a person on your team.