Clarks Outlet Return Policy: how to send shoes back and get your cash back
You know that feel. A new shoe box lands on your mat. It feels like a small win, like a fresh coat of paint on your day. Then you try them on, and the fit is off. Or the shade is not what you saw on your screen. Now you want a clean, fair way to send them back.
If you shop on the Clarks Out-let site, the re-turn rule is not hard, but the fine bits can trip you up. This guide lays it out in plain talk. No fog. No fluff. Just what you can do, how long you have, what it may cost, and what to keep in mind so your cash back does not drag.
Which Clarks Out-let are we on?
Clarks has more than one web shop and more than one kind of shop door. This guide is for the Clarks Out-let web shop that uses the clarksoutlet.co.uk site and its help pages. If you buy from a full price Clarks shop, or a non UK site, the re-turn rules can shift. So match the rule to the place you bought from.
Think of it like rail lines. The Out-let line has its own stops. The full price line has its own stops. If you hop on the wrong line, you may end up at the wrong desk.
The main time rule: act fast, and know the 28 day cap
For most Out-let web buys, you can send your order back for a full cash back in a 28 day win-dow. That win-dow is tied to when you got the box, not when you first saw the ad. If you miss that cut off, your re-turn may be turned down.
One more thing. The Out-let site also shows a note on its ship and re-turn page that links the re-turn tool to “re-turns with-in 14 days with re-ceipt.” On top of that, some deal items can have a 14 day win-dow. So if you want the safest path, aim to start your re-turn in the first two weeks, even if the main rule says 28 days. Fast steps give you more room if a box is late or a label will not print.
Sea-son rules: the hol-i-day ex-tra time that may still help you
Clarks Out-let may add a hol-i-day rule in late fall and win-ter. For the 2025 hol-i-day span, the site said that stan-dard Out-let price or-ders set from Nov 1, 2025 to Dec 25, 2025 may be sent back un-til Jan 31, 2026. The same note says that more cut, deal, or pro-mo items still fol-low the “nor-mal” 14 day time rule.
If you bought in that span and you are read-ing this on or be-fore Jan 31, 2026, that ex-tra time may save you. If you are past that date, use the main 28 day rule, and move fast.
How Clarks Out-let wants you to send web buys back
For web buys, Clarks Out-let points you to a re-turn por-tal. That por-tal is the main door for a mail back re-turn to their ware-house. In plain terms, you go to the por-tal, pick the order, pick the item, and get the re-turn flow set up.
Once you have a label, pack the shoes well. Use the shoe box and any out-er box if you can. The goal is to send the pair back in a way that looks like it did when it left. A shoe that comes back with scuffs can lead to a fight you do not want.
When you drop the box off, keep proof. A slip, a scan, a pic of the drop point screen. This is your rope bridge if the box goes lost. Do not toss it right a-way.
Can you try the shoes on?
Yes, but be smart. Clarks Out-let help text puts it in a way most of us can live with: try them at home, then send them back in an un-worn and un-marked state with-in the re-turn win-dow.
Here is a good rule of thumb. Treat your home like a fit room, not like a side-walk. Try the shoes on a clean rug or a clean floor. Keep the soles clean. Keep the box and any tags. If you step out on grit, the sole can tell on you.
It is a bit like tast-ing soup with a clean spoon. A quick test is fine. A full meal with the ladle left in the pot is not.
Re-turn by post cost: the £2.95 fee you should plan for
On the Clarks Out-let ship and re-turn page, the “Re-turn by Post” fee is shown as £2.95. That means a mail back re-turn is not free in all cases. Plan for that fee so you do not feel stung at the end.
The same top bar on the site calls out “Free Re-turns to Store.” That can be a way to skip the post fee if you have an Out-let store near you and the item is ok for a store drop. If you go that path, keep your proof of buy and ask for a re-turn slip at the till.
Do you get the ship fee back?
Most of the time, no. The Out-let help page on ship fees says ship fees are paid back on-ly if a prod-uct in the order is found to be fault-y. If you send shoes back due to fit, feel, or just a change of mind, the ship fee is not paid back.
So, if you paid for ship, treat it like the bus fare to try on at home. You might get the fare back if the bus broke down. If not, it is just part of the ride.
How long will your cash back take?
Clarks Out-let gives two time frames, based on how you send the item back.
If you mail your re-turn to the ware-house, their help page says to al-low up to 14 days for the ware-house to get and work your re-turn. They also say they will send an e-mail with your cash back de-tails once it is done.
If you re-turn to a store, their help page says to al-low up to 10 days for the cash back to hit your ac-count.
These time frames are not rare. Card nets can be slow. Banks can be slow. If day 10 or day 14 lands on a week-end or a bank day off, it can feel like the last mile of a long run.
Ex-change: can you swap for a new size?
For Out-let web or-ders, the help page is blunt: they do not do ex-change. If you need a new size or a new shade, you send the first pair back for a cash back, then place a new buy if you still want the shoe.
This can feel odd, but it has a bright side. A cash back keeps you free. You are not tied to a swap that may be out of stock by the time the box gets back.
When a re-turn may get shut down
One clear “no” is time. The Out-let help page says you may not be able to re-turn if it has been more than 28 days since de-liv-er-y. So if you are near that line, start the re-turn now. Do not wait for a “bet-ter day.” Time does not care.
A re-turn can also get hard if the shoes are worn out-side, scuffed, or not in a re-sale state. Keep the pair clean, keep the box, and do your fit test in the house.
Last, keep in mind that some steep cut deal items can have a short-er time rule. The Out-let ship and re-turn page calls out a 14 day rule for some deal types. If you see “fur-ther re-duced” or a flash deal tag, move fast.
If you bought in a store, not on the web
Store buys have their own lane.
The Out-let help page says store buys can on-ly be sent back to a store. You can not mail back a store buy. So if you paid at a till, you need to go back to a Clarks store for the re-turn.
It also says you can not mix store types. A buy made in a full price Clarks store can not go back to an Out-let store. A buy made in an Out-let store can not go back to a full price store. Keep that in mind if you have two Clarks shops in your town and one is far.
Think of it like two keys that look close, but fit two locks. One key will not turn the oth-er lock, no mat-ter how hard you push.
Gift cards and e-gift: can you send them back?
No. The Out-let help page says gift cards and e-gift can not be sent back, paid back, or ex-changed. So if you buy a gift card, treat it like cash. Once you hand it off, the deal is set.
If you used a gift card to pay for shoes and then you re-turn the shoes, the way the cash back is paid can be tied to the gift card rules and the way you paid. If you want no sur-prise, save your e-mail proof and ask on the help page if you are not sure how the split pay is han-dled.
Real life tips that make re-turns less of a head-ache
Most re-turn pain comes from small slips. A box gets tossed. A label is lost. A date is missed. Here are a few calm moves that help.
Do a “box check” on day one. Open the box, take a quick pic of the shoes and the tag, and tuck the box in a dry spot. This is fast, and it can save you if you see a fault or if a pair is not what you thought.
Try on shoes in the eve-ning, not right be-fore you head out. It is much eas-i-er to keep them clean when you are not in a rush.
Start the re-turn in the first week if you can. Even if you have 28 days, a lot can go wrong in week three. A trip. A cold. A lost pen. A jammed print-er. When you move soon, you get wig-gle room.
Keep proof of drop off. Put it in your phone notes with the date. If you need to chase a lost box, this proof is your map.
What if the shoes are fault-y?
If a pair is fault-y, you have more ground to stand on. The Out-let help page on ship fees says ship fees are paid back if a prod-uct is found to be fault-y. That is a key line. Take clear pics of the fault. Note when you saw it. Do not keep wear-ing the pair in hopes it will “break in.” A fault is best dealt with fast.
If you bought the fault-y pair in a store, the Out-let help page on fault-y store buys says to take the item and your re-ceipt back to the store you bought it from. The store team can help from there.
Clarks Out-let re-turns for shoe fans who buy a lot
If you buy one pair a year, the re-turn flow is a small task. If you buy a lot, or if you buy for a fam, re-turns can pile up like wet coats on a chair. In that case, a bit of gear can make life less mess-y.
One high end pick is a pro la-bel print-er. On A-ma-zon, a Ze-bra ZT610 la-bel print-er can list well past the $2,000 mark, and in some spots it can be far more. It is not for most home use. It is for small shops, re-sell ops, or any-one who prints tons of la-bels and wants them sharp and fast.
If you do a lot of web buys and you like to keep clear logs, a high end lap-top can help. A 16 inch Mac-Book Pro is sold on A-ma-zon in top end trims that can cost $2,000 or more, based on the chip and the RAM. A big screen makes it less of a strain to pull up or-ders, save e-mail proof, and track re-turns.
And if you like clear pic proof of shoe state be-fore you send a pair back, a pro cam can help. On A-ma-zon, cams like the So-ny a7R V or the Can-on EOS R5 Mark II are high end buys that can top $2,000. A quick shot of soles and seams can shut down a lot of “he said, she said” if a box gets beat up in post.
Do you need any of this for a one off re-turn? No. A phone and a pen can do the job. But if you run a re-sell side gig, or you buy a lot of shoes for work, the right tool can turn a long chore in-to a short task.
A quick “do this now” plan if you might re-turn
If you are on the fence, do this. Put the shoes on in the house on a clean rug. Walk for two min. Check toe room. Check heel slip. If it is not right, stop. Put the pair back in the box. Do not take them out-side “just to see.” Then go to the Out-let re-turn por-tal and start the re-turn. Aim to do it in week one, so you are safe if you hit a snag.
When the box is set, drop it off, keep proof, and mark your cal so you know when day 10 or day 14 hits. If the cash back does not show by then, you have the key facts and dates in hand to ask for help.
Last word: keep it clean, keep it fast, keep your proof
Clarks Out-let re-turns are not meant to be a maze. The core is plain. You have a set time win-dow, the shoes should be un-worn and un-marked, and you use the re-turn por-tal or a store lane based on how you bought.
If you treat the re-turn like a small job and not like a storm, it goes smooth. Keep the box. Keep proof. Move soon. Then the cash back is just the last step, like the last click of a lock when the door shuts with-out a fuss.