Island Returns
Doorstep pickup for online returns, aimed at a small local market. A potential side hustle and learn-by-building project: a full web app with customer and driver views and a database behind it, built with Claude Code and hosted on Cloudflare.*
*Currently in beta with a group of 15 free users, so payments aren't needed yet. Stripe is the last piece before a paid launch.
At a glance
Customers on Daniel Island, SC leave online returns on their porch. We pick them up and drop them at the UPS Store or Postal Haus.
About 19% of online sales were returned in 2025 (National Retail Federation). In a LendingTree survey, 58% of shoppers kept an unwanted item because returning it was too inconvenient.
Higher-income households shop online more and return more. The island's 29492 ZIP code has a median family income of about $168K (Census ACS 2023).
On-island only. Online returns only, dropped at the UPS Store or Postal Haus. One or two pickup days a week. Nothing over 50 lbs.
About 3,800 reachable households: roughly 2,500 single-family homes plus 1,300 front-door-accessible units in multi-family buildings.
A web app with a customer view and a driver view: scheduling, return intake, route and drop-off tools, QR labels and receipts. Designed by me, built with Claude Code.
The customer home screen, annotated
Tap a number on the screen, or pick one from the list, to see what each part does and why I designed it that way. Sample data throughout.
How a return moves through the app
From the customer's first tap to the refund, across both views.
From the home screen, the customer adds a return by uploading a screenshot, texting it, or forwarding the return email.
Returns are out on the porch, and the customer agrees to the charge. Confirmed returns show as ready for pickup.
Tomorrow's route at a glance: pickups, returns and items, every stop on a map, and the stops in order with the QR codes at each. Then the drop-off location, a link to open the route in Google Maps, and drop-off mode.
Directions from the last stop, the address and pickup spot, and the customer's porch photo. Then the expected items by store and QR code, a counter for library books, and a photo of everything left out.
Confirming sends the customer the photo and item count right away.
Returns are split by drop-off location, UPS Store or Postal Haus. The driver steps through each QR code with the customer and item shown, marks it scanned, and tracks progress. Receipts are uploaded here too. A refund counts only once the return is scanned at the counter, then shows on the customer's home screen. (Sample QR code.)
Product decisions I'd point to
Returns the AI reads from a screenshot, text or email arrive as drafts. Nothing goes on a route until the customer confirms it.
Tapping "Confirm pickup is ready" re-confirms the charge, so the driver never makes a stop for nothing.
Dollars refunded, items returned and trips completed sit at the top of the home screen, so customers see what the service does for them each time.
Items that go back together are one stop and one charge, however many items are in the box.
Tools used
Customers can text a return straight to the app. Also sends the notifications, like the pickup photo and item count.
Payments. This is the last piece before a paid launch.
Data storage for customers, returns, pickups and routes.
Maps, address autofill, and sign-up.
Hosting.
How the app was built, from my designs and specs.