I had my faulty Airpod replaced via mail after calling them. They ship you a working one with a return label and you have a few days to send your broken one back. They also put a hold on a card as a deposit.
Better hope you have a credit card, I guess.
My list of questions that begin with “no idea why Apple, one of the richest companies in the world...” is quite long.
Most recently posed here https://jborichevskiy.com/posts/spending-electronics/
I’d say the credit card/mailing method is also not Apple’s preferred means of exchange - it’s the backup for when the Apple Store is unavailable. At the store you hand them the AirPods when you get your replacement so there’s no need to provide a deposit.
Hope they offer you it too!