Custom Order Already Made & Purchaser Wants To Cancel

[ItsyBitsyPaperCuts]

So yesterday I got a custom order from a lady. The sale was small, so I wouldn't be loosing very much money but today she messages me literally an hour after I made the items and asks for a refund because she switched the theme of her party. Should I refund her money or tell her it's already been made?

[byMaryGalou]

Yikes, that's bad luck!

Have you asked if she'd rather want something different? Maybe you could do something else in exchange instead of the refund, if it's not a lot of money and you can repurpose it.

Anyways, you are entitled to keep the money because it's not your fault that she changed her mind...

Hope that helped :)

[Former_Member]

Do you have anything written specific in your shop policies about canceling an order? Was it a custom order or one you can sell to anyone?

[Former_Member]

Hey, Kristen, that's a though one...

As Deanne says, it depends on what you have in your shop policies. Usually custom orders I make are non-refundable but that all depends on the situation and if I will be able to re-sell the item.

If it is so custom that it won't be sellable otherwise, I wouldn't refund. However, you should have this in your policies and also communicate with the buyer to explain the situation.

[Former_Member]

I have in my policies no refund on custom orders. But, I also try to take things on a case by case basis. If the item can be sold easily, I MIGHT refund. This is a bad habit for buyers to get into though.

[StuckOnSilver]

If the title of the items bought included the word "custom" credit cards will not honor the buyer's request for a cancellation/refund. Sorry this happened!

[ItsyBitsyPaperCuts]

So she paid through Paypal and I went ahead and refunded it. In my polices it says, "Refunds will not be granted on personalized items. However, if you are not happy with the item you received, message the shop and we will discuss a refund or exchange." I need to somehow change it because in my opinion, it looks like I won't refund an custom order once they've received it. So to cover my own butt and save a bad review on a small purchase, I went ahead and just refunded it.

Any tips on rephrasing the policies though?

[LovgrenandDaughter]

Custom ordfers require "____"% down payment and "(the rest)" upon completion. Unfortunately, custom orders cannot be cancelled or refund once the down payment transaction is paid for.

I think this would cover the cancellation issue. And if you decided, you could say that they don't owe you the reminder % for the cancellation. If you were trying to make nice with them.

Gosh, it's shame though. Pretty darn inconsiderate of your time and energy.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

@TheCarringtons, this is a non promo team and thread.

I do like Kristin's wording.

It is a shame (and inconsiderate) that they cancelled so quickly like this. :( But glad it was only a small order.