Amazon makes shopping almost too easy. Whether you’re looking for a last-minute Halloween costume or wedding guest dress or redecorating your home on a budget, Amazon has endless options at a comparative price. Need to make a return? If you’re a Prime member, all you have to do is submit a return request and drop off your unwanted items at an Amazon Hub Locker or participating retailers like Staples, Whole Foods, Kohl’s, or UPS. But like at any storefront, those returned items can be repurchased by other Amazon customers. And now, a shopper is sharing a helpful trick that proves whether your Amazon items were previously returned.
RELATED: 9 Best Amazon Basics Products That Are a Great Value, According to Retail Experts.
Amazon returns can be hit or miss. There’s a 50/50 chance that you’ll receive a product that was returned to the warehouse in pristine condition, or you’ll get stretched-out clothing or scuffed shoes. While you probably can’t tell whether the product you’re ordering was previously returned from how it looks online, there’s a secret trick to find out when it arrives.
According to content creator Laura Mudrich (@lauracoblog), a white barcode sticker that begins with the letters “LPN” means the Amazon item was returned by a previous customer. LPN stands for “License Plate Number,” which is a unique identifier within Amazon’s inventory control system.
“Have you ever wondered if an item you purchased from Amazon has been used before? Well, if you get an item with this white sticker, with a code that starts with ‘LPN,’ and it’s usually in a clear bag with green writing, that means that the item you got has been purchased and then returned to Amazon,” Mudrich explained on Instagram.
“If you get any items that say ‘LPN,’ check it because it has been returned to Amazon and sometimes it’s in poor condition,” she continued.
Mudrich said this has happened to her on more than one occasion. In recent purchases, she’s received returned bras, belt bags with sticker residue and discoloration because it was previously worn, and a used skirt that already had pilling and stains.
RELATED: Dollar Tree Is Selling the Same Exact Beauty Products as Amazon for $20 Cheaper.
According to the My Amazon Guy blog, “Amazon LPN (License Plate Numbers) are used for Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) item tracking (mostly with returns) and other internal processing uses, not directly specified by Amazon.”
Typically, LPN stickers are placed over Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU) barcode stickers. Additionally, LPN barcodes allow the seller to find out why an item was returned to Amazon and who ordered it.
However, sometimes Amazon returns aren’t available for repurchase because they wind up at Amazon return resale stores. TikToker @mirandarosanne visited one of these warehouses in Orlando, where products range from $20 to $3 depending on the day.
Returned items across all major categories are placed in big bins that shoppers can rummage through to find stellar deals. Larger items, including furniture and mattresses, are displayed in their own section at a higher price.
Other places sell “mystery Amazon pallets,” gigantic boxes filled with a random assortment of Amazon returns. TikToker @julietsfinds paid $483 for a pallet that contained more than $1,000 worth of name-brand products.