Waitlist

I've only gone onto waitlist twice. One item never reappeared on the site, so presumably they'd stopped stocking it, but the other item was despatched and it was brand new. It was a beauty item and the seal was intact. I'm not sure what happens if it's clothing but, hopefully, those on the waitlist would receive brand new items as there would presumably be too many waiting for the item to come back into stock to supply the customers on returns alone.

Waitlist can mean you either get a brand new item when new stock arrives or a customer return (though QVC say they do not send out customer returns we know they do and I don't have a problem with this if the item is in new like condition).
I think they remove your item from waitlist by cancelling it if the item is not available in 90 days. I've had items that were removed from waitlist and then when I searched a bit later the item has been available again so I've been able to order it.

I once was on waitlist for a ring, it took about 6 months to come back into stock. So not a return for sure. They used to send me letters every few months asking if I still wanted the ring. Yes, I did.