A refund is the cheapest apology available to you. The screen for it is simple; what happens behind it depends on how the buyer paid, and the note on the screen tells you which of the three it is.
Where it lives
Seller → Orders → open the order → Refund. The sheet is headed Refund Order and shows Buyer paid: {amount}.
You need the Cancel and refund permission — yours as owner, and included in Manager and Customer care.
1. Refund type
full— the whole amountpartial—Refund amount (up to {amount})
A cancelled order only offers full. It was never fulfilled, so there is nothing to keep.
A partial refund keeps the order a sale. Its earnings go down by what you refunded and it stays in your figures as a sale, which is the right answer for "the dress had a mark, here's ₹300 back, keep it". Partials add up — reach the full total and it becomes a full refund.
Partial is underused. For a small flaw on something expensive to post back, a partial refund keeps the sale, keeps the buyer and costs you less than a return.
2. Reason
Buyer requested cancellationItem out of stockItem damaged before shippingPricing errorDuplicate orderOther
Same list as a cancellation, and the same rule: the reason is a record, so make it the true one.
3. Mark {amount} refunded
And here is the part that matters.
If the order was paid online, the money is sent back automatically. The app reverses the payment through Razorpay when you confirm. You do not send anything yourself. If the payment gateway refuses, nothing is marked at all — you see the order exactly as it was, rather than a refund that never happened.
If the order was cash on delivery, nothing moves and you pay the buyer back yourself — UPI, bank transfer or cash. The screen is clear about this: This marks the order refunded and tells the buyer. It doesn’t move money — the buyer paid you in cash, so pay them back directly (UPI, bank transfer or cash).
If there is no Razorpay payment behind the order, there is nothing to reverse, so the figure is recorded and you settle it with the buyer another way. Metzee Credits they spent come back on their own.
The note tells you which one it is
The red note on the sheet is worded from the same rule the refund itself goes by, so it cannot tell you the opposite of what happens.
Paid online, it reads: Confirming sends {amount} back to the buyer through the payment they made, and tells them. It usually reaches them in 5–7 working days — don’t send it again yourself. Do not send that one twice. The toast after you confirm says the same thing: Refunded — {amount} is on its way back to the buyer. Nothing more for you to send.
With nothing to reverse, it reads: This marks the order refunded and tells the buyer. There’s no online payment behind this order to reverse — any Metzee Credits they used come back automatically, and anything else you settle with the buyer directly.
Either way, read the note before you confirm and let it tell you whether anything is left for you to do. If you are ever unsure, check the order's status afterwards rather than paying by hand: if it shows as refunded and the note said the money was sent, it is on its way.
What the buyer sees
They are told, and the order shows Refunded or Partially refunded. An online refund typically reaches their account in a few working days — the gateway's timing, not ours.
What it does to you
A refund after shipping counts toward your Order defect rate, which is one of the six measured store-health standards. A refund before shipping does not land there in the same way.
That is not an argument for refusing refunds. It is an argument for the things that prevent them: accurate photos, named flaws, careful packing. How to describe condition honestly.
A refund that comes from a return
If the buyer opened a return, do it from there rather than here — Refund for a return keeps it attached to the return, with Reason for the return on the record. A refund issued separately leaves the return sitting open.
And the clock: you have 48 hours to answer a return before the buyer can ask Metzee to step in. Answering fast is most of what decides how a dispute goes.
Questions people ask
Do I get the Metzee fee back?
Your earnings go down by the refund. See the deductions on your statement for how a given refund shows up.
How long does the buyer wait?
A few working days for an online refund. For cash on delivery, as long as you take to send it.
Can I refund part of the shipping?
partial refunds an amount, not a particular line. Decide the total you mean to return and enter that.
Can I refund after the money has been paid out to me?
Yes. It comes off your balance, and a balance that goes below zero shows as You owe Metzee {amount} and settles from later sales.
What if the buyer wants a refund but will not send the item back?
That is a return question, not a refund one. Buyer keeps it is a legitimate choice for a low-value item where return postage costs more than the thing. How returns work.
More: how refunds work, how to cancel an order, disputes from the seller side.