Android phone sales surpass those of iPhones, but to compare the popularity of the two classes of smartphones you have to take returns into account. According to a report, customers return Android devices at a far higher rate than they do their Apple rivals.

TechCrunch, quoting “a person familiar with handset sales for multiple manufacturers,” reports shoppers return 30 to 40 percent of some Android devices. In comparison, iPhone 4 returns were 1.7 percent as of last year’s antenna scandal.

The report should be taken with a grain of salt because of the vagueness of the source, who doesn’t identify high-return devices or compare their rates with Android handsets with low return rates.

If you’ve bought and returned a smartphone, why did you take it back?

Android’s Dirty Secret: Shipping Numbers Are Strong But Returns Are 30-40% [TechCrunch]

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