This template is part of the returns platform replacement guide, which explains why the return decision chain matters. Send it only after the returns meeting agenda has closed on "introduce now."
Draft: the returns history email
Fill the braces from your meeting notes. The finished email should run to roughly 180 words and fit on one phone screen.
Subject: {brand}'s returns history before the {old_app} switch
Hi {first_name},
Thanks for the time on {meeting_day}. Before {old_app} is switched off on {access_end}, a short follow-up on the question we discussed: are customer instructions linked to inspection and final refund approval? {cx_lead} said yes for returns since {first_year}: the customer's reason, the warehouse grade and the refund decision sit on one return record.
SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and handles the agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout. Nothing leaves {brand} unless you agree terms. To be clear about my position: I am a SourceX referral partner and may receive a reward from SourceX if a qualifying license completes. SourceX pays it separately, it never reduces what {brand} would receive, and it has no effect on the app project.
If useful, I can introduce you. SourceX would start with a description only: roughly how many returns a year and for how many years, which systems hold them, and who can approve a discussion. No returns, photos or exports. A one-word "yes" or "not now" is all I need.
{your_name}
Sentence by sentence: what each line does
Each sentence has one job. If a sentence cannot name its job, cut it.
| Line in the draft | Its job | Never put here |
|---|---|---|
| Subject naming the brand and the app switch | Makes the email findable when the founder forwards it to a COO or lawyer | "Opportunity", a dollar figure or "quick question" |
| "Thanks for the time on {meeting_day}" | Anchors the email to a conversation the owner chose to have | A recap of the whole meeting |
| "Before {old_app} is switched off on {access_end}" | Ties timing to the old app's documented contract end, the only real clock | A go-live date presented as a deadline, or any invented date |
| The chain question, in the same words as the meeting | Shows you are reporting the owner's answer, not judging the archive | Your own verdict on data quality |
| "{cx_lead} said yes for returns since {first_year}" | Credits each fact to the person who gave it, at metadata level | Return counts you pulled, order numbers or customer names |
| "The customer's reason, the warehouse grade and the refund decision" | Names the three links of the chain in plain words | Inspection photos, refund amounts or decline reasons quoted |
| The SourceX sentence | One accurate line on what SourceX does | Buyers, named AI labs, demand or price talk |
| "Nothing leaves {brand} unless you agree terms" | Lowers the cost of saying yes to a conversation | Any hint that records are already under review |
| The disclosure | States your interest in plain words before any introduction | "I may be compensated" with no names, or a link in place of the words |
| "No effect on the app project" | Separates the referral from your agency fees and scope | Discounts, bundling or any trade against project pricing |
| The description-only ask | Puts the metadata boundary in writing | A request to export, sample or screen-share |
| "Yes" or "not now" | Gives the owner a one-word exit | Follow-up pressure or a "last chance" line |
The disclosure sits in the body, not in a footer or behind a link, for a reason. The FTC's guidance on its Endorsement Guides says a material connection such as a payment or commission should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously unless it is already clear from context, and that vague labels or disclosures hidden behind links do not meet that bar. Whether the guides reach a private email is for your own advisers to judge. A plain sentence settles the question either way.
Words that stay out of a returns email
Returns history is full of personal detail, so the boundary is stricter here than in most introductions.
- Customer details. Names, addresses, order numbers and the free-text comments customers wrote. Describe the record type ("the reason and comment the customer gave"), never the content.
- Inspection evidence. No condition photos, grade sheets or warehouse notes, even if the 3PL offers a sample.
- Decline reasons quoted. Shopify keeps a decline reason that is internal only and never shown to the customer. That candor is exactly why it must not appear in your email.
- Refund figures. Neither the brand's refund totals nor any reward amount. The default reward is 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per company, and only after every payment condition is met; a number in the email reads as a forecast.
- Product claims you have not checked. Say what Shopify's documentation says or nothing. It says, for example, that an order refunded without a return records no return reason, and that Shopify introduced return processing in API version 2025-07 and asks existing returns apps to migrate to it. Neither fact sets a date for this brand.
ShopifySwaps for a broken or partial chain
Not every meeting ends with a clean "yes." Swap the second and third sentences of paragraph one to match what the owner actually said.
| What the meeting found | Replace the chain sentence with |
|---|---|
| Inspection sits with a 3PL | "{ops_lead} said inspection is recorded by the 3PL, so where the grades live is still being confirmed." |
| Many refunds were issued without a return | "Some refunds were issued directly on the order, so not every case carries a return reason." |
| Decline reasons began partway through | "Decline reasons have been recorded consistently since {year}." |
| Only open returns will migrate | "The new app will import open returns; closed returns stay in {old_app} until access ends." |
| The founder wants the COO to lead | Address both, and add: "{coo_name} would be SourceX's contact." |
The second row matters more than it looks. Because an order refunded without a return carries no return reason, a brand that often refunds directly has a thinner chain than its return volume suggests. Saying so in the email keeps expectations honest. The archive context checklist tracks these facts through to switch-off, and the introduction email builder or the email preparation worksheet help collect the placeholders.
Fit, disclosure and the reply
Check fit before you send, not after. The brand needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded; 3PL staff do not count), a documented operating history, rights to license the records and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
What stays unknown until SourceX reviews an application: SourceX's current data needs for returns decision data, the rights review result (including 3PL and app agreements), de-identification needs and any offer.
On "yes." Sign the Channel Partner Agreement if you have not already, then submit the introduction through your partner account with the authorized contact's details and your metadata notes. SourceX works with the brand directly from there. Attribution goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application, with one partner per company.
On "not now." Note the date and the reason, and do not chase. The app project carries on unchanged.
If the owner asks about the reward. Point to the rewards page. A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details. The cumulative cap is $100,000 per referred company. More ecommerce context is on the ecommerce industry page.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Before the email goes out, register as a partner, confirm the brand on who qualifies and read the program terms, so the disclosure you write matches the terms you signed.