Frate
Frate is a returns platform Pinch merchants use for mail-in and drop-off returns. The integration is bi-directional: Pinch ingests every return Frate creates, scores it, and writes the decision back as a Shopify customer tag that Frate reads inside its policy engine.
What data Pinch gets from Frate
Pinch subscribes to Frate's return events and pulls the following on each return:
| Data | Used for |
|---|---|
| Return ID, parent order ID, customer email | Linking the return to the order and the Pinch Identity |
| Line items being returned (SKU, quantity, price, reason code) | Workflow conditions, abuse-pattern detection |
| Customer-stated return reason | Wardrobing, switch-fraud, size-abuse signals |
| Return method (mail-in, drop-off, in-store) | Differentiating risk by return channel |
| Return state transitions (created → label issued → in transit → received → resolved) | Time-in-transit signals, return-tag-not-used detection |
| Disposition / inspection outcome from Frate's receive step (when configured) | Disposition data when Frate is the source of truth |
Pinch receives these via Frate webhooks (live) plus a historical backfill on first connect.
What Pinch writes back
Pinch writes the decision back to Shopify as customer tags (e.g. pinch-allow, pinch-review, pinch-deny, plus Sub Decision labels). Frate reads those tags inside its Workflows engine.
Using Pinch tags inside Frate Workflows
Frate's rule engine is called Workflows and lives at Frate Admin → Workflows. Workflows stack one or more Conditions with AND logic and apply one or more Actions when the conditions match. Frate exposes a Customer Tag condition with operators Equals, Not Equal To, Is One Of, and Is Not One Of. (There is also a separate built-in Final Sale Order Tags workflow that reads order tags — you can keep using it for non-Pinch final-sale logic, but Pinch decisions land in customer-tag conditions.)
Recommended Pinch-tag → Frate workflow mapping:
| Pinch tag | Frate workflow | Frate action |
|---|---|---|
pinch-deny | Customer Tag Is One Of pinch-deny | Order Ineligible for Return |
pinch-review | Customer Tag Is One Of pinch-review | Hold for Manual Review |
pinch-vip | Customer Tag Is One Of pinch-vip | Waive Fees, allow instant exchange, Override Return Window to extend |
pinch-suspect-abuse | Customer Tag Is One Of pinch-suspect-abuse | Disable Exchanges / Disable Original Payment Method (force store-credit), Require Images, Add Handling Fee |
pinch-first-order | Customer Tag Is One Of pinch-first-order | Allow Instant Exchange, waive return-shipping fee |
| Default (no Pinch tag) | — | Standard return policy |
Concrete example — set up the deny rule:
- Frate Admin → Workflows → + New workflow
- Condition: Customer Tag Is One Of
pinch-deny - Action: Order Ineligible for Return
- Save
How to connect
In the Pinch dashboard, go to Integrations → Returns System → Frate. Paste API credentials from your Frate admin. Pinch verifies the connection and begins ingesting events within a few minutes.
See also
- Disposition data — what Pinch does with Frate's inspection outcomes
- Workflows — where Frate return data is evaluated
- Install on Shopify — the customer-tag writeback path Frate reads from