If a buyer is refunded — for example because an item wasn’t sent, or a problem was resolved in their favour — the refund is reflected in your payout. What happens depends on whether your money had already been released.
If your funds were still being held
If the payout for that order hadn’t been released yet, the held amount for it is simply cancelled. Nothing leaves your bank account, because the money never reached it — it was still in the secure holding system.
If your funds had already been released
If the money had already been transferred to your connected Stripe account, the matching amount is reversed from it. Where an order was only partly refunded, the reversal is worked out pro-rata — only the portion that relates to the refunded part is taken back, not the whole payout.
About the protection fee
The buyer’s Preloved Protection fee isn’t part of your payout — it’s kept by the platform — so a full refund to the buyer doesn’t claw anything extra back from you for that fee.
Good to know
- Refunds go back to the buyer’s original payment method.
- If you posted an item and it arrived fine, a refund isn’t automatic — genuine disputes are looked at on the facts.
- Keeping your listings accurate and shipping promptly is the best way to avoid refunds in the first place.