Cancellations FAQ

A buyer wants to cancel an order. What should I do?

Buyers can cancel orders up to 5 minutes after placing their order. This 5 minutes’ rule applies to merchant-fulfilled orders only. Sellers can cancel an order after the order is confirmed up to the time that the shipping notification is sent. The process for handling order cancellation requests from buyers differs depending on whether you have sent a shipping notification or not.

If you have already shipped and confirmed the order, you will need to let the buyer know the order is already on its way. Request that they return the package to you when they receive it. Upon receipt of the return, you should issue a refund for the order.

If you have not sent a shipping notification and the item has not shipped (including items shipped directly from manufacturers), don't ship the item. Locate the order in your Manage Orders page and cancel it. If you have already shipped the order without sending a shipping notification to the buyer and are unable to stop the shipment, upon receiving the cancellation, you are responsible for the costs of the return.

See also Cancel an order or multiple orders.

I canceled (or refunded) an order by mistake. Should I charge the buyer's credit card again?

Refunds are reflected immediately. Amazon does not charge buyer's credit cards again if orders are canceled or refunded by mistake. When you have sent a refund by mistake, you can recharge the buyer's credit card if the buyer contacts Amazon directly and requests it. The buyer can click the Contact Customer Service button to send an email or call Customer Service. After the buyer's credit card is charged again, you will be able to see the amount of the charge in your seller account.

If refunds are sent by mistake

Refunds are kept in a pending state for two hours after being processed. You can cancel refunds if you refunded the wrong amount or refunded an order by mistake. This feature is only available for refunds that were processed manually. If an Order Cancellation feed is used for refunds, the refund is processed immediately.

To cancel a refund, click the Cancel Refund button. If you do not see this button, you cannot cancel the refund. In that case, you can inform the buyer and ask them to contact Amazon Customer Service to request a recharge on their credit card. If the buyer agrees, direct them to contact Customer Service and ask for their credit card to be charged again. Amazon can only recharge a buyer's credit card if they get a request from the buyer. After the buyer's credit card is charged again, you will be able to see the amount of the charge in your seller account.

Can I be reimbursed for fees or the handling charges?

Yes. However, the calculation methods for full refunds and partial refunds differ. The restocking fees differ according to product categories and order amount. Read more about it here.

I can only ship part of the order. How do I cancel it?

If you cancel an order, the entire order is canceled. To cancel only part of an order, first send the shipping notification and then issue a partial refund.

I heard from the buyer that they were charged for their order even though the order was canceled.

Credit cards with debit card functionality deduct the amount from the user's bank account the moment the credit card is authorized, even if the order is canceled. The authorized order amount is refunded at a later date. The amount of time it takes for the refund to be completed depends on the card issuer, but sometimes it can take as long as 60 days. Direct the buyer to contact the card issuer directly. Learn more about credit cards with debit card functionality.

What should I do for the inventory quantity if the convenience store payment is not paid in 6 days?

The order will be canceled automatically but the canceled item will not be added back to your inventory. You will need to update the available quantity manually in the Manage Inventory.

Buyer and Seller did not cancel this order then who cancelled the order?

Amazon can automatically cancel orders if seven days have passed after the expected shipping availability date and you have not yet shipped and confirmed the shipment.

How long can an order be in Pending status before it get cancelled?

In some cases, payment and order detail verification processes may potentially extend order processing times for as long as 21 days.

What kind of cancellations negatively impact Cancellation Rate metric?

Cancellation requested by	Cancellation scenario	Negatively impact Cancellation Rate?
Buyer raised	1. Standard cancellation request 2. Non-standard cancellation request	No Yes
Seller raised	1. Cancellation due to item went out of stock 2. Cancellation due to undeliverable address 3. Cancellation due to unresponsive buyer	Yes Yes Yes
Amazon raised	1. Auto cancellation when Seller did not confirm shipment within 7 days of ship-by-date 2. Amazon detected buyer to be fraudulent, cancels order 3. Payment verification failure cancellation	Yes No No

How to cancel partial order? Can all Seller cancel order partially?

Refund Orders tool on the Order Detail page and the Order Adjustments feed both enable you to issue full and partial refunds for each item in an order.

What do I do if Buyer reach out to update address in the order?

If you have not yet shipped the order and the buyer says they cannot receive the order at the address they provided originally, ask the buyer to cancel the order. The buyer can then return to Amazon to place a new order using the correct address. Amazon’s policy requires sellers to ship only to the address provided in their seller account.

I cannot fulfil this order as address is undeliverable? What should I do?

If you have not yet shipped the order you can reach out to the buyer by contacting them through the Buyer-Seller Messages to cancel this order and place new order for correct address.

If order is shipped you can contact the carrier service and ask them to return back the product and when the product will get back, you can deduct the restocking fee from the order and can refund the buyer.

Need more details from buyer to fulfil this order, buyer is unresponsive? What should I do?

If you have not yet shipped the order you may cancel the order as the buyer does not respond and contact the amazon seller support team explaining why the order was canceled.

If order is shipped you can contact the carrier service and ask them to return back the product as buyer is unresponsive and when the product will get back, you can deduct the restocking fee from the order and can refund the buyer.