HELP! Customer order cancelled and refunded after order was shipped

[OutsideFabric]

Hello,

I had a customer place a big order on the 25th.  The order was processed and shipped that evening.  I went in this morning to send the tracking information for the order to see that the order had been cancelled and refunded without my knowledge. I accept cancellations but only 1 hour after the order has been placed.  I never even received a cancelation notice.  What do I do?  How can this happen?

Chris

OutsideFabric

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

A buyer can't cancel an order on their own. Only the seller or Etsy can do that. It was most likely cancelled because of a payment issue on the buyer's end. You can try to contact Etsy about it but I don't know if that'll do any good.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

If it is not marked as completed,(shipped) then, if there is a problem with the payment, etsy cancels

as you are in the USA, can you contact USPS and have it intercepted?

[GalleryAntiques]

The buyer cannot cancel an order, only you can, or Etsy. There has been an ongoing issue with Etsy canceling orders after they have been processed since the beginning of this year. IIRC it is something to do with the payment processor that's being used, the payment clears/has been processed, but later it is kicked back to Etsy incorrectly classed as a fraudulent/non-authorised payment. That is not the case, as the buyers are legitimate and have been as surprised by the cancellations, as the seller.

Unless in this case, it is a genuine cancellation due to fraudulent/non-authorised payment/not enough funds, etc.

All I can suggest is that you contact Etsy through the help pages to enquire about this cancelled payment, as Etsy CS does not interact on the forum per se. Add the tracking number to the order, if you have not done so, it may help you.

[VintageRescueSquad]

When it is cancelled like this, it's always a payment issue (fraud? expired card?) and it's for your protection.

Since you are in the US, you can do a package intercept. It costs about $15 but it's worth it if it hasn't been delivered yet.

https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm

In the future, it's a good idea to wait about 24 hours before shipping, to make sure the payment goes through.

[digitaldoodlebug]

No, it's an etsy bug. Fraud prevention to protect the seller happens before it's approved. Not after it's shipped. Etsy should cover it because it's their mistake. Plenty of sellers have reported it happening days later. There is no safe time. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@digitaldoodlebug 

etsy doesn't know it's shipped, because the OP didn't mark it as shipped

[digitaldoodlebug]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

It doesn't matter. It's happened to plenty of people who had tracking uploaded. Etsy is not supposed to cancel orders after it's approved and supposedly gone through the vetting process. This has been going on for months including for digital downloads people have already downloaded. Their process doesn't seem to look to see if it's shipped or not. Their late/messed up fraud detection detects it then cancels and refunds regardless of the orders status.

[LastCentury]

When you do contact Etsy about this refund from your account, include a screen shot of your purchase order & circle the part that says "Congratulations on your Sale..." & "Paid via Etsy Payments on ..." Proof that this is Etsy payment processor's problem. Not yours. You were told there was indeed a sale & the money would be in your payment account. No waiting to ship! Sold! Done! We should not have to wait 24 hours to make sure the sale is good.

Etsy needs to be held accountable for premature approval for problem transactions. And now Etsy debits your account for their mistake & you have already shipped, so the fraudster wins anyway, unless you can intercept the parcel.

I trust that the "order" did not say "Please do not ship this order until this payment has finished processing" - That's a different story.

[artbyjocelyn]

It's terrifying to ship anything same day it is ordered anymore, geez.

[howtobooksandmore]

Etsy is responsible for payments.  If the payment proved to be fraudulent after the fact, that is Etsy's problem, not yours.  I would contact Etsy with the tracking number with date and time and keep contacting them until they give you the payment you are due.  And don't spend money intercepting the shipment.  You shouldn't be out of pocket at all for Etsy's on-going issue with payments.

[Former_Member]

I would enter the tracking number as soon as you know what it is.  Also, maybe extend your cancellation time out some in order to avoid Etsy canceling an order for whatever reason after you have already shipped.  

[BeJeweledByDEBORAH]

A good rule of thumb on any order is to wait 24 hours before shipping it. If there are issues with payment, etc., those are typically identified within 24 hours, and this reduces liability for the shop owner.

[CoquetteBath]

good info for me, too. A few times I've also shipped same day...and then get a blurb from Etsy about 'making sure my processing times are accurate'...geeze.

if you 'paid' for the refund, and you had a confirmation from Etsy, then definitely take it up with them. We're supposed to be able to rely on their word that the payment is good. If you didn't have this confirmation, then this could be 'on you', and I sincerely hope that it isn't.

Nice collection of outdoor fabric, by the way.