If you buy or sell on Poshmark, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to cancel an order. Perhaps, you purchased an item by accident and you need to cancel the purchase. Or perhaps you’re a seller, and you need to cancel an order because you no longer have the item. Either way, we’ll teach you how to cancel an order on Poshmark:
🔑 Key Takeaways:
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A buyer can cancel an order made via Buy It Now within 3 hours of purchase.
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A buyer cannot cancel an order that came from an outgoing or incoming offer.
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A seller can cancel a sale for any reason at any time prior to purchase
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Poshmark live sales and accidental bids are a common issue for buyers and sellers.
Image source: No Issue
To learn more about returns and cancellations on Poshmark, check out their Terms of Service.
How to Cancel a Poshmark Order as a Buyer
As a buyer, there could be a few reasons you might need to cancel an order on Poshmark.
Perhaps you purchased an item accidentally, or you didn’t review the listing details and have no need for the item. Maybe you just changed your mind. Maybe, it was a “pocket order,” and you didn’t even realize you made the purchase.
Poshmark allows buyers to cancel an order within 3 hours of purchase if:
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The seller has not already shipped; and
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The purchase was not a result of an offer
That means that only Buy it Now orders are eligible for cancellation.
If the order was made via an offer (sent by the buyer or seller and accepted by the buyer or seller) the order is not eligible for cancellation. This is because offers on Poshmark are binding.
💡Tip: If you accidentally accepted an offer, or to request cancellation after the three hour mark, you’ll want to message the seller ASAP to request cancellation. Note that it is the seller’s discretion as to if they will cancel.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to cancel an order on Poshmark or request cancellation if the order is not eligible to cancel on your own:
Canceling an Order on Poshmark Within 3 Hours of Purchase:
1. Log in to Poshmark. Open Poshmark’s website or mobile app, and click on your profile icon. It appears in the top right corner of the website and the bottom right corner of the app.
2. Find the Order. Select “My Purchases” to go to your order history. Find the order you wish to cancel. Then you can select “Problems/ Order Inquiry.”
3. Request Cancellation by providing the reason you wish to cancel.
You’ll want to select the first option: “Accidental Purchase.” The others are not relevant to canceling an order, but apply to potential post-delivery issues.
Once you select submit your order will be canceled and the payment will be automatically refunded to the payment method used.
Note that if you used Poshmark credits, then your refund will be in the form of Poshmark credits.
Unfortunately, buyers cannot cancel orders once three hours have elapsed after purchase. Buyers also cannot cancel orders that were a result of an offer initiated by the buyer and accepted by the seller or vice-versa (an offer sent by the seller and accepted by the buyer.
However, buyers can reach out to the seller to request a cancellation. While the seller does not have to agree, they might!
How to Message a Poshmark Seller?
The messaging feature on Poshmark is only available to buyers and sellers after a purchase is made. To reach out to a Poshmark seller, visit the order screen and select “Message Seller.”
Prior to purchase, the only way to reach out to a Poshmark seller is by commenting on the listing or adding a listing to a bundle to comment in the bundle.
You might also be interested in the article Poshmark Shipping: How Does it Work for Sellers?
How to Cancel a Poshmark Order as a Seller
As a seller you might need to cancel an order. Perhaps the buyer requested cancellation and you want to provide excellent customer service and avoid headaches later on.
Perhaps, you noticed an undisclosed flaw or you cannot find the item. Perhaps, you already sold the item on another marketplace and you do not have it.
💡 Tip: Avoid double-selling and cancellations with Vendoo. With Vendoo’s Sale Detection, Vendoo automatically delists items from other marketplaces when they sell!
Sellers can cancel an order at any time prior to shipment, of course. Let’s walk through the step-by-step:
Canceling an order on Poshmark:
1. Log in to Poshmark. Open Poshmark’s website or mobile app, and click on your profile icon. It appears in the top right corner of the website and the bottom right corner of the app.
2. Find the Sale. Click on “My Sales” and find the sale that you wish to cancel. Then you can select “Problems/ Order Inquiry.”
3. Cancel the Order. Select “Cancel the Order.” Poshmark will ask for the reason for the cancellation:
Now, honesty is always the best policy, in business as in life. You should select the accurate reason. However, a common practice is for sellers to select “will bundle with another order” as an option to avoid the threatening email that Poshmark will send you if you select any other option. Do with that what you will…
If you select “Don’t have the item,” “Item got damaged,” “Changed my mind,” or “Other,” Poshmark will send you a strongly-worded email reprimanding you for not fulfilling the sale and emphasizing the importance of providing stellar customer service.
💡Tip: Do not worry if you need to cancel an occasional Poshmark order. Canceling a sale on Poshmark is not like canceling a sale on eBay; your account will not be immediately at risk. While it is not a good practice to disappoint buyers and cancel sales anywhere, your Poshmark account will be fine if you have to do this occasionally. Stuff happens.
Note that you do not need to refund the buyer yourself after you cancel the sale. On Poshmark, once you follow these steps, the sale is canceled, and Poshmark refunds them and emails them to tell them. Once you cancel, that’s all you have to do.
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Canceling Sales: Accidental Bids on Poshmark Live Sales
Since the inception of Poshmark live sales, accidental bids has been a recurring problem. Unfortunately, live sale notifications can be easily, accidentally clicked while someone is just using their phone. More unfortunately, a big can be easily, accidentally placed simultaneously.
If you’re in Poshmark Facebook Groups, you see hundreds of daily posts about accidental bids during live sales. It can be very frustrating for the buyer and seller alike.
I had a friend recently purchase a $2,000 designer bag by accident in a live sale!
Unfortunately these notifications cannot be turned off, so this problem persists. We hope that Poshmark makes some changes soon to avoid this common occurrence.
Image Source: Poshmark live seller and Vendoo user Alex Mahl featured on Business Insider.
How to avoid accidental purchases on Poshmark:
To reduce the instance of accidentally bidding, there’s two things you can do:
- Log out of Poshmark when you’re not using the app. You cannot accidentally bid if you’re not logged in.
- Remove your payment method from the Poshmark app. You cannot complete a purchase without a payment method on file. However, if you have credits in the app from sales, those will be used to complete purchases, so you’ll also want to withdraw your balance regularly.
I made an accidental bid in a live sale on Poshmark, how do I cancel?
The good news is that if you catch an accidental purchase within three hours, you can use the steps above to cancel the order. The bad news is, if three hours have passed, you cannot cancel the sale. In that case, follow the instructions above to reach out to the seller and request cancellation. If they have not shipped yet, they may agree to do so. Note that it is the seller’s discretion as to whether they must oblige.
A buyer wants to cancel an item purchased in a live sale- do I have to cancel it?
No, you don’t have to. Canceled sales are obviously a disappointment, but we highly encourage you to always cancel orders when requested. You can follow the steps above to cancel an order upon a buyer’s request. This will not hurt your Poshmark account standing.
It is better to cancel a sale than to proceed with one against the buyer’s will. First, because it’s just good customer service, which is part of your job as a business owner. Also, it is much better to just cancel and resell than it is to deal with a problematic buyer opening a frivolous case against you to attempt to force a return. While you will, to some extent, be protected by Poshmark in this instance, it takes time to deal with the case process, and time is money.
The way that Poshmark notifications work, and the constant reports of accidental bids truly illustrate how this is a problem that Poshmark needs to rectify. The sheer volume of accidental bids illustrates that it is not necessarily the buyers’ fault that this is happening.
Looking to grow your Poshmark business? Vendoo can help!
