An Etsy customer wants to cancel: what to do, step by step

01What Etsy says

• Once a buyer has purchased, only the seller can cancel the sale. Etsy recommends that you write to the buyer in Etsy Messages before you cancel.
• The Seller Policy says that if you cannot complete or honor an order, you must tell the buyer and cancel it.
• An order that is still processing cannot be canceled or refunded yet. Etsy says most orders paid through Etsy Payments finish processing within 24 to 72 hours.

02Steps on Etsy

1. On Etsy.com, open Shop Manager, then Orders & Shipping.
2. Open the order and choose More actions, then Cancel.
3. Choose a reason. You can see the refund amount for the buyer.
4. Write an optional message to the buyer, then choose Cancel order.

Etsy says the cancellation can take up to 48 hours to process, that the buyer is fully refunded, and that the refund can take 3 to 5 days to appear in the buyer’s account. Etsy credits you the related listing and transaction fees, and you pay no extra fee for canceling. Request refunds for any unused shipping labels first.

03At your supplier

First check whether the order has already left. If it has not been paid, nothing is charged. If it is already paid or shipped, see with the supplier what is possible before you decide on the Etsy side.

With Sereane, the Cancel the sale action asks for a reason and a message, then carries out the cancellation on Etsy once you have asked for it. Sereane does not cancel the supplier order for you. An order that Sereane prepared but you never paid cancels itself at the supplier. Check it after a day or two. If you already paid, cancel it yourself.

04A refund is separate

Etsy says that issuing a refund does not cancel the order by itself, and canceling is separate from refunding. See the refund guide.