A MARKET order arrives for Ahmad’s French Press — but the last unit on his shelf turns out to be scratched. Rather than shipping a bad item or letting the order go stale, he cancels it immediately, the honest way. Here is the exact flow and its consequences.
Starting point
State: order ORD-284551, one MARKET item (French Press 600ml), item status NEW in the New Orders tab. Goal: cancel cleanly, release the reserved stock, and record the correct reason. Cancellation is available while the item is still yours — from NEW up until the shipment is handed to the captain chain.
Where this happens
Orders → status tab New Orders → the order row’s actions (or the order detail page).
Step by step with Ahmad’s values
- Open Orders and find ORD-284551 in New Orders. The row shows two actions: Approve and Cancel Order.
- Click Cancel Order. The dialog asks: “Are you sure you want to cancel order #ORD-284551?”
- Choose the cancellation reason — here Seller Request (the item is damaged; the buyer didn’t ask for this). Choose Customer Request only when the buyer contacted you to cancel.
- Optionally add a note (“Last unit damaged in storage”) and confirm with Cancel Order.
What you should see
The item status flips to CANCELLED and the row leaves the active queue for the Order History tab (history collects DELIVERED, CANCELLED and RETURNED). The unit that was reserved for this order is released back into your available stock, so it can sell again. The stored reason (SELLER / CUSTOMER / PLATFORM) stays on the order record.
Every seller-side cancellation counts toward your Cancellation Rate in Sales Reports. One honest early cancel is far better than a late one — but a pattern of cancels hurts your standing.
A common mistake on this journey
Picking “Customer Request” because it “sounds better” when the real cause was your stock. The reason is recorded and shapes how the cancellation is assessed; misreporting it can backfire in disputes. Recovery: if you chose the wrong reason, contact support with the order number and ask for the record to be corrected — and fix the root cause by keeping declared quantities honest.
When to contact support
Contact support (category Orders) if the cancel action fails repeatedly on a NEW item, if stock was not released after cancellation, or if you cancelled with the wrong reason and need it corrected. Include the order number.