Amazon flags Surface Laptop 7 as a frequently returned item — warns buyers to check reviews first

Customers looking to purchase a brand new Surface Laptop 7 via Amazon will notice that the retailer is now flagging the device as a frequently returned item, encouraging customers to thoroughly research the product and check reviews before buying the product.

The frequently returned warning appears in yellow on the product page below the item description. It means the Surface Laptop 7 is being returned more than usual, but frustratingly it doesn’t give reasons for why the product is being returned.

Amazon allows customers to return most products for almost any reason, including hardware faults, software compatibility issues, or buyer’s remorse. Any combination of these reasons could be why customers are returning the Surface Laptop 7 more than usual.

The label only appears on certain hardware configurations, but this still isn’t a good look for Microsoft and the Surface Laptop 7. This warning will likely discourage people from buying the device on Amazon until the label is removed.

When the Surface Laptop 7 launched last year, it was met with mostly positive reviews, albeit with warnings that some apps and games may run slower or not at all if not natively compiled for Windows on Arm.

It’s possible that these software compatibility concerns are contributing to the larger number of returns. It’s worth noting that no configurations of the Surface Pro 11 are currently flagged as frequently returned.

According to Amazon's seller FAQ, the frequently returned label is applied to items "with the highest return rates for their product category." The Surface Laptop 7 currently has a rating of 4.2 out of 5 and 360 ratings, 12% of which are 1 star and 71% of which are 5 stars.

So overall, the Surface Laptop 7 still has a majority positive review score on Amazon, suggesting the return rate has only recently spiked. Perhaps this is spurred on by the recent launch of the Intel-powered version of Surface Laptop 7, which some customers may want instead of the Snapdragon X models.

Have you recently purchased a Surface Laptop 7 and ultimately decided to return it? Let us know your reasons for returning in the comments below.