In our discussion of reverse logistics in Sidebar 5.3, all channel flow costs are raised when returned product is not handled efficiently. Physical possession, ownership, and financing costs are too high, exemplified by the 30 to 70 days during which a returned product sits in the reverse channel; promotional effectiveness is hurt when returned merchandise turns up in uncontrolled third-party channels at distressed prices; risking is endemic in the system, arising from uncertainties in both demand for original new goods and in the percentage of those new-good sales that are returned; and payment involves repetitive costs due to the multiple times the product is handled and paid for. In this situation, then, a single apparent problem in the channel gives rise to many sources of higher cost.