Abstract: A third party establishment (agent) acts as an agent to an e-commerce or catalog merchant (merchant) and processes product returns for that merchant. The agent utilizes a computer system that is linked to the merchant's computer system that enables the agent to establish authenticity of the returned item and correlation to an original purchase, further enables the agent to establish whether or the not the return is acceptable per the merchant's return policies, and enables the agent, acting on behalf of the merchant, to issue financial credit instantly to the customer, provided the requirements for returning the item are satisfied. The system has the flexibility to then allow the agent to ship the returned product back to the merchant, or, alternatively, to ship the returned product directly to the original manufacturer or supplier (manufacturer).