Plan: Premium, Enterprise | Platform: Shopify
Overview
Shopify Bundle Returns groups the component products of a Shopify bundle so shoppers return and exchange them as one set. A Shopify order lists each child SKU as its own line item, so without this grouping a shopper could return a single component and break up the set. This article explains how AfterShip Returns groups bundles, how it evaluates eligibility, exchanges, and sync, and what the mode doesn't support.
How a Shopify Bundle reaches AfterShip Returns
When a shopper buys a bundle built with the Shopify Bundles app, Shopify writes each child SKU to the order as a separate real line item, tagged part of a bundle. The order carries no bundle line item.
AfterShip Returns reads those tags and groups the child items back into their bundle on the returns page. Grouping changes the shopper's view only. Your admin, the RMA, and the Shopify order keep the real child SKUs.
Shopify Bundles compared with AfterShip Bundles
Dimension | AfterShip Bundles | Shopify Bundles |
Order and RMA view | 1 ordinary product line item | Individual child SKU line items, each tagged |
Shopper view | The bundle or its child items, by return type | One bundle, with the child SKUs grouped |
Bundle relationship | You define parent and child products manually or by CSV | AfterShip Returns syncs it from Shopify |
Return types | Whole bundle, or partial (proportional or equal price) | Whole bundle only |
Platforms | Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud | Shopify only |
Applies to | New orders only | All orders, existing and new |
Before you begin
Requirements
AfterShip Returns connected to the Shopify store that sells the bundles
Shopify Bundles app installed in that store, with at least one bundle set to Active
Bundles built in the Shopify Bundles app, not in a third-party bundle app
Bundles sold through the Online Store or a headless storefront, the only sales channels Shopify Bundles supports
A return policy with the return window and eligibility rules that your bundles should follow
The option to choose between Shopify and AfterShip Bundles is only limited to merchants who have registered with AfterShip Returns after 8th September 2026. Existing merchants can only choose between the two options if they haven't previously configured the Bundles option. Otherwise, they'll continue to use the AfterShip Bundles option.
Permissions
Shopify admin access, with permission to install apps and edit products
AfterShip Returns admin access, with permission to edit return policies
Limitations
Shopify bundles supports Shopify's first-party Bundles app only; other bundle apps use AfterShip bundles
Shoppers return the full bundle only, so you can't set eligibility, return type, or price allocation per child item
Bundle grouping applies to the returns page only; the Create Return API creates and returns individual child SKUs
Your bundle mode is a one-time choice that you can't change after you confirm it
Set up steps
Step 1: Install Shopify Bundles and create your bundles
AfterShip Returns groups bundles built with the Shopify Bundles app only, so set your bundles up in Shopify first. Shopify Bundles is a free first-party app, available on all Shopify plans, that creates fixed product bundles and multipacks from your Shopify admin.
Install Shopify Bundles from the Shopify App Store.
In your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Bundles, then click Create bundle.
Enter a title, click Select products, select your component products, then click Save and continue.
On the product details page, set Status to Active, then click Save.
Note: A new bundle saves with a Draft status, so shoppers can't buy it until you set it to Active. For bundle options, quantity limits, and editing, see Shopify Bundles in the Shopify Help Center
Step 2: Set Up Shopify Bundles in AfterShip Returns
Important: You can't switch between AfterShip bundles and Shopify bundles after you confirm your choice. Shopify bundles applies to all bundle orders in your store, including existing orders.
Go to Return policy > Bundle in your AfterShip Returns admin.
Under Choose how customers return bundles, select Shopify bundles.
Click Confirm. No further configuration is needed.
What customers see
Customers select and return the whole bundle in one action. They can't return part of a bundle.
Before submitting, the returns page shows how many items the bundle contains.
After submitting, customers can see the individual items included in the return.
Customers choose one return reason and one resolution for the whole bundle.
If a customer bought the same bundle more than once, it appears as one bundle with a quantity (for example, 2 sets). The customer chooses how many sets to return.
The return notification email lists the bundle as a whole.
What you see in your admin
The return request (RMA) shows the individual component items that match the Shopify order.
Each item is tagged part of a bundle, and hovering over the tag shows the bundle name.
Refunds use each item's allocated price from Shopify.
Items are restocked individually.
The return syncs to Shopify and your other connected platforms, including third-party logistics (3PL) providers, the same way as any other return.
How Return Rules Apply to Bundles
AfterShip Returns evaluates a bundle return as one bundle, then processes it on the individual items.
1. Return window
The whole bundle shares one return window, based on the latest date among its items.
If your return window starts from the fulfillment date or delivery date, the bundle counts as fulfilled or delivered only after every item in it is. Until then, customers can't return the bundle.
The return window comes from the return policy that the bundle matches.
2. Blocklist and allowlist
Rules based on product tag, type, category, brand, or SKU are checked against the bundle product, not each item.
An item that is non-returnable on its own doesn't block the bundle.
A rule that matches the bundle's own SKU or type blocks the whole bundle.
You can't set eligibility for individual items in a bundle.
Final sale line item properties don't apply to Shopify bundles.
3. Reasons, resolutions, and routing
Return reasons, resolutions, return methods, routing rules, and workflows use the bundle's own attributes (tags, type, category, and SKU), not each item's. The return reason the customer chooses is applied to every item in the bundle.
4. Exchanges
Shopify doesn't support exchanging a bundle directly, so AfterShip Returns exchanges the individual items instead.
Customers choose a variant combination for the whole bundle, such as sizes or colors.
The exchange is created as the individual items. You can add exchange items to the original order (including point of sale (POS) in-store exchanges) or create a new exchange order.
Prices are compared at the bundle level. If the new variant has a different price, your exchange settlement setting handles the difference. For details, see Variant Exchange.
Exchanging a bundle for a different bundle or for different products isn't supported.
How bundle returns sync to Shopify and your 3PL
Because AfterShip Returns groups the bundle on the returns page only, the RMA keeps the individual child SKUs and matches the Shopify order. The return syncs to Shopify and to every connected platform, including third-party logistics (3PL) providers, in the same way as a standard return.
What Shopify Bundle returns doesn't support
Other bundle apps: Shopify's first-party Bundles app only. Use AfterShip bundles for other apps and platforms.
Switching modes: your bundle mode is a one-time choice.
Partial returns: a bundle returns as a complete set, at Shopify's per-child allocated prices.
Create Return API: returns created through the API use individual child SKUs, with no bundle grouping.
Incomplete bundles: if you remove a child SKU in AfterShip or Shopify, or a shopper already returned one, the items return individually. AfterShip Returns keeps the bundle data, and complete bundles stay grouped.
Require gift product return: a Shopify bundle isn't supported as the gift product in this workflow action.
FAQs
1. How does a shopper return two of the same bundle?
The returns page shows one bundle with a quantity, for example 2 sets. The shopper chooses how many sets to return.
2. What does the return notification email show?
The email lists the bundle as a whole, not the separate child items.
3. How are refunds calculated for a bundle?
AfterShip Returns refunds each child SKU at its Shopify allocated price, and restocks each child separately.
4. Can I set a different return window for one item in a bundle?
No. The bundle shares one window, counted from the latest child's date.
Key Takeaways
Shopify bundle returns groups a Shopify order's child SKUs into one bundle on the returns page
AfterShip Returns evaluates eligibility, windows, and rules on the bundle, then acts on each child SKU
Shoppers return the full bundle, with one return reason and one resolution
Bundle exchanges run at the child SKU level, and cross-bundle exchanges aren't supported
Removing or returning a child SKU ends the grouping for that order