Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and part of what has made them so successful is their commitment to customer service.
Not only are you able to order just about anything imaginable on their website, but they are quick to take care of any problems that you may have.
One of the most common issues shoppers experience is the need to cancel their order. Whether you changed your mind, found a better price or simply no longer want to order the item, Amazon makes it simple to cancel your order in exchange for a full refund.
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know about cancellations on Amazon. We’ll also go over all of the common questions shoppers have, to ensure you get the speediest refund possible for your Amazon order.
How To Cancel An Order On Amazon (Step-By-Step)
Cancelling an Amazon order is simple, and can be done in just a few steps.
However, the process is a little bit different if you’re doing it on a computer, or on your mobile phone via the Amazon app.
Therefore, let’s quickly look over how to cancel an Amazon order on both platforms.
How To Cancel An Amazon Order Through Amazon.com (Desktop / Laptop)
1. Visit The ‘Orders’ Page On Amazon’s Website
First, you will want to visit the Orders page on Amazon’s website. This can be found by going to your local Amazon website (such as Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.co.uk) and clicking on the ‘Returns & Orders’ button at the top-right corner of your screen.
2. Navigate To The Order That You Want To Cancel, And Click ‘Cancel Items’
Next, you’ll want to scroll down until you find the order that you’re looking to cancel. Note that a single purchase may be split into multiple orders, and you don’t have to cancel ALL items in each order.
Once you’ve found the order you’re looking to cancel, click on the button that says ‘Cancel items’.
3. Select The Items You Want To Cancel, And Click The Cancel Order Button
Next, you’ll be brought to a page that contains a list of all of the items that you’ve ordered.
On the right-hand side, there will be a little checkbox next to each item. Check each item that you want to cancel, and click on the ‘Cancel selected items in this order’ button towards the bottom of the page.
After completing these steps, these items will be cancelled. Any items left unchecked will still process and ship as normal.
How To Cancel An Amazon Order Through The Amazon Mobile App (iPhone, Android, And Other Mobile Phones)
Cancelling an Amazon order on mobile is almost exactly the same, and can be done in only a few steps.
1. Open The Amazon App, And Navigate To Your Orders Page
First, open up the Amazon mobile app, and visit the Orders page. This can be found by clicking on the icon that looks like a person, running across the bottom of your phone’s screen.
This will bring up a page that that looks similar to the screenshot above. Once you’re there, click on the ‘Your Orders’ button running across the top.
2. Tap On The Order, Then Click ‘Cancel Order’
Once you’re on the page with all of your orders, locate the order with the items you’re looking to cancel. Note that Amazon shows your most recent orders first, so it should be up towards the top.
This will bring you to a new page. Scroll down to the ‘Order Info’ section, then click on ‘Cancel order’.
3. Select The Items You Want To Cancel, And Click The Cancel Button
Finally, you will be brought to a page containing all of the items from your order.
Select the items that you want to cancel, and click the ‘Request cancellation’ button. Optionally, you may also select a reason for the cancellation, but this isn’t required.
Congratulations! After you’re done, your cancellation request will be put through.
How To Confirm An Amazon Order Has Been Cancelled
Once you’ve followed the steps above, your order cancellation will be pending. But how do you know when it’s actually been fully cancelled?
Thankfully, there’s a way to find this out fairly easily.
The first thing to do is to check your email for an order cancellation confirmation. Amazon will send these out any time an order is cancelled – just make sure you’re checking the same email that’s tied to your Amazon account!
Secondly, you can always visit the orders page on Amazon’s website, or through the Amazon mobile app.
There is a section specifically for cancelled orders, which you can view here:
After pulling up this page, you will be able to view all orders that have been successfully cancelled.
If your recent order appears here, you’ll know that it’s been cancelled and that you’ll receive a refund shortly.
How Long Does Amazon Take To Refund A Cancelled Order?
After your order has been cancelled, there’s unfortunately a delay between when the order cancellation takes place, and when the funds are actually returned to your original payment method.
But how long is this delay, and is there any way to speed it up?
The total time for a refund takes between 3 and 30 business days, and is dependent on the payment method you used to place your order. The only exception to this is if you pay with an Amazon gift card, in which case the refund can be processed in as little as 2 to 3 hours.
This assumes you’ve actually been charged already. Many Amazon orders aren’t actually charged until the item ships, especially if the item is being sold directly by Amazon and not through a third-party seller.
In these instances, Amazon’s order pages can update within hours or even minutes confirming the cancellation.
But what if you actually have been charged – how will you know how long it takes for the funds to be refunded?
Purchases made with a credit card can take as little as 3 business days to fully return to your account, whereas purchases made with debit cards or EBT / SNAP can take as long as 10 business days.
Unfortunately, prepaid credit cards take the longest – up to 30 days for the funds to be refunded back to the card.
Therefore, if you aren’t yet entirely sure that you want to go through with your purchase, it may be a good idea to purchase using a credit card or an Amazon gift card, as these payment methods have the fastest refund time.
Cancelling Third-Party Seller Orders
Unfortunately, things are a little bit harder if you’ve placed your Amazon order from a third-party seller.
You will be able to recognize your item was sold by a third-party seller, because it will say ‘Sold By’, and then the seller’s name. Notice how in the picture below, one is sold by ‘Amazon.com Services LLC’, which means it was sold by Amazon directly. The other order was sold by a third-party seller.
When items are sold by third-party sellers, they are not always cancelled automatically when you place the cancellation request.
Instead, sellers have to manually approve and process the order cancellation.
The problem is, Amazon sellers are given up to 24 hours before they have to respond to messages by customers.
This means that by the time they see your message, it is possible that the item will already have been shipped (at which point, it can no longer be cancelled.)
Therefore, if you’re going to place an order with a third-party seller, it is best to place the cancellation request as early as possible. Amazon sellers are supposed to honor the customer’s request once they see it, so by cancelling as quickly as you can, you give yourself the best chance of your cancellation being seen before the item ships.
Can You Cancel Amazon Orders That Have Already Been Shipped?
No. Once an item has been shipped, Amazon will no longer allow you to cancel it.
Instead, you must wait for the product to arrive, and then return it for a refund.
This is because it is very difficult to retrieve a package once it’s been shipped. Rerouting a package can be costly and Amazon doesn’t have built-in systems to handle this.
It’s very important to cancel orders as quickly as possible, as you never know when an item will ship. Additionally, always double check your address to ensure your order is going to the right place – unfortunately shipped orders cannot be cancelled, even if the address is incorrect.
So at the very least, you want to be sure you’ll be able to safely receive the item, so you can return it!
Are There Any Fees When Cancelling An Amazon Order?
No. You will not be charged with any extra fees for cancelling an order on Amazon, and you will receive a full refund for the items that you cancel.
In fact, this is why it’s so important to cancel your items, rather than wait for them to ship and return them.
Some Amazon items can’t be returned, even if they are unopened and unused. Additionally, orders placed from third-party sellers may be subject to restocking fees, at the seller’s discretion.
While Amazon has taken steps to minimize restocking fees in recent years, they may still be an issue for some returned items. And sadly, it may not even be your fault.
For example, if an item arrives to you in perfect condition but then is broken in transit during the return, sellers may be able to charge restocking fees for the damaged item – even though it was no fault of your own.
Therefore, in order to ensure that you receive the maximum refund possible, you should always attempt to cancel your order when you decide that you no longer want it.
This will ultimately save you both time and money, and will prevent needless shipping costs for both parties as well.
Why Was My Amazon Order Automatically Cancelled?
In rare cases, your Amazon order may be cancelled, even without you requesting it. But what actually causes this?
Typically, this comes down to a few issues:
1. Shipping Address Undeliverable
If for whatever reason the courier will be unable to deliver their package to your address, your Amazon order may be cancelled.
Always make sure you have a valid address on file when placing your Amazon order to avoid any issues.
Note that while addresses that are slightly off won’t necessary lead to your order being cancelled, it can cause shipping delays.
2. The Item Is No Longer Available
In some instances, the item may no longer be available, even if it was still shown as in stock while browsing Amazon’s website.
For example, the item could’ve accidentally been broken during the packaging process, without a replacement available.
3. The Order Wasn’t Processed In Time
If the order is taking too long to be shipped by a third-party seller, Amazon may automatically cancel the order.
This is to ensure that you receive a timely refund, in the event that the seller fails to fulfill their agreement to ship the item.
This is rare, as Amazon is quick to suspend sellers who violate their guidelines.
4. Pricing Errors
In extremely rare circumstances, Amazon orders may be cancelled due to errors with pricing.
We’ve heard stories of sellers accidentally listing products for $1.00 instead of $100, for example.
Amazon allows cancellation for pricing errors, though Amazon sellers can be suspended if too many orders are cancelled without the buyer’s request.
These are only a few reasons why your Amazon order may have been cancelled. Most of the time, placing a second order will fix things – just make sure you have a valid address!
If Amazon keeps cancelling your order, it would be best to contact customer service for more information. They should be able to pinpoint what’s going wrong, and help you fix the issue.
I Accidentally Cancelled My Amazon Order – What Should I Do?
Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot that you can do if you’ve cancelled your Amazon order.
In most cases, you will need to place a second order for the products.
Note that the cancelled order will remain in your Amazon order history. This means that you can visit your Orders page to quickly locate and reorder the same items.
However, if the prices have changed since you placed your original order, you will be subject to the new pricing – even if they have gone up.
If you’ve ordered through a third-party seller, there may still be a chance to prevent the order from being cancelled, even if you’ve already placed a cancellation request. This is because Amazon sellers have up to 24 hours to fully process the order cancellation.
Therefore, reaching out to them through Amazon’s messaging system can let them know that you actually still would like the item, and that they shouldn’t cancel it.
As always, reaching out to them as quickly as possible gives you the best chance at receiving a favorable result.
Conclusion
Cancelling an Amazon order is simple, and can be done in just a few steps.
As long as you cancel your order before the item ships, you should have no problem receiving a full refund for all of the items that you’ve cancelled.
Amazon’s cancellation policies are quite lenient, and should certainly be taken advantage of if you no longer want your items!
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about cancelling orders on Amazon, please feel free to ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister
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