Can’t cancel an order that’s past the refund window

[SnowDayProject]

Hi - I have an order that’s past the refund window and the customer finally asked for a refund. That’s fine,m; I can PayPal the money back to them, but now I’m stuck with an order that can’t be cancelled. My only option is to mark it Shipped. How do I   mark it Cancelled? 

[MikkiMadeDesigns]

You can't mark it cancelled without fully refunding from the Etsy account first. 

[WitticismsRus]

@SnowDayProject 

Assuming it's in your completed orders just make a note to yourself on the order that buyer returned and you refunded via PayPal. That's are you can really do with it. 

[halfcentury]

You need some shop policies if you want to avoid having buyers request refunds whenever they want.

[Spellbinderie]

@halfcentury @WitticismsRus 

OP said the only way they can move it from open orders is to mark shipped which sounds to me like they are talking about an uncompleted order that has been sitting for months -- since I think you can give a refund for up to 6 months.  So if I understand the situation correctly, that the OP never fulfilled the order for some reason, this appears to be way beyond policies or making notes.  The OP needs to contact Etsy to get the matter handled. 

[WitticismsRus]

@Spellbinderie 

ahhh ok yeah, I just assumed it had been marked as completed since it was an old order past the refund window time. You can still add tracking to older orders where the refund window and purchasing shipping labels window has closed so I assumed that's what OP meant. 

[SnowDayProject]

I don't mind offering refunds to anyone who wants one, especially if they can't get me useable assets.

[VintageGiftsEE]

You must refund via Etsy account and the order will be cancelled 

[swatchoclock]

that's the normal way, but when you're past the refund window, that won't work...

[halfcentury]

@Spellbinderie Shop policies are your friend, especially when your business model involves custom orders. Just a friendly suggestion.

[SnowDayProject]

Yeah, but as said, the refund window is closed.

[BlueCatStudioShop]

@SnowDayProject 

If it's too late to cancel, is it too late for the customer to leave a review? If so, ignore the request. Done and done.

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

@BlueCatStudioShop  Totally agree.  The refund window is very long and no one should have to refund after 6 months

[Spellbinderie]

@FenderGemsNCrystals @BlueCatStudioShop 

If I understood correctly, the OP never sent the item so a refund would be in order.

Note they said that the only way to get rid of the order is to "mark as shipped".

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

@Spellbinderie  gotcha, too early in the morning here.  I see he clarified below.

[Spellbinderie]

@SnowDayProject 
You mention that you'd need to mark as shipped -- does that mean that you never fulfilled the order?  I see you make custom items and potentially have a production delay that goes beyond what Etsy allows.  If that is the situation, I'd contact Etsy for assistance.  Marking as shipped and refunding via a method other than how the buyer paid may be your only option but I'd want to verify with Etsy and make sure all bases are covered.

[SnowDayProject]

Yes. Actually, because our shop makes custom snowglobes (usually of people’s houses,) we need to get video taken of the houses, and getting that video is on the customer’s schedules.  

…so in this case the customer just couldn’t get around to doing it and changed his mind about the project. 

I will contact Etsy. Thanks! 

[PAPERFLORISTS]

I have no advice. I just want to say your house snow globes look amzing. What a great gift idea!

[CosmicLensJewellery]

Hi, I know it's an old post but I have a similar situation. Can I ask what did Etsy tell you to do?

[SnowDayProject]

I think they're cancellable now? Beware of asking Etsy to cancel for you; I tried that and they marked every order as complete, which messed me up for months and they couldn't undo it. All of my customers were sent emails that made no sense - it was super embarrassing.