Refund all or part of an order from the Orders page, see where the money comes from, and what happens if you refund from Stripe instead.
Updated 6 Oct 2026
You can refund any paid order, in full or in part, from the Orders page. Only the site owner and admins can refund or cancel an order. If someone with the Editor role tries, they see "Only the owner or an admin can refund."
If you type more than is left to refund, the refund box says how much you can refund, and the button stays off. If Stripe cannot take the refund, the refund box says why and nothing is refunded.
For your safety, after 5 refunds in one hour you are asked to sign in again before the next one. A box says Sign in again to keep refunding; click Sign in again. The page reloads with a fresh sign-in, so open the order and refund it again. Signing in within the last 10 minutes counts, so you are not asked twice.
The refund is paid out of your own Stripe account, back to the card or payment method the buyer used. ContentMetric never holds your money.
The order first shows the refund as requested. Once Stripe confirms it, the payment status changes to Partly refunded or Refunded, and the timeline records the amount. A card refund usually reaches the buyer's card or bank in 5 to 10 working days; a PayNow refund usually arrives within a few days. Stripe can still fail a refund after it first accepts it (see below).
On an Oversold order, Refund this line refunds that item and puts back into stock only the units that were really taken. See the Manage your orders and stock article.
If you track lots and best-before dates and the item has already been shipped or collected, it does not go straight back on sale. The order asks which lot it came from, and you choose Put back or Write off. See Track lots and best-before dates.
When a refund goes through, the buyer gets an email from your shop with the amount and the order number, and your Reason, which is shown to them. It says the refund was sent and how long it usually takes to arrive (5 to 10 working days for a card, a few days for PayNow), not that the money has already arrived. A partial refund says so. In test mode the email is marked TEST. The status on their order confirmation page changes to Refunded or Partly refunded with the amount, a refunded order no longer tells them when to collect, and the money returns to their card.
Sometimes Stripe accepts a refund and then cannot send it, for example when your Stripe balance is too low for a PayNow refund, or the buyer's card was closed. The order then shows Refund failed and you get an email. The amount no longer counts as refunded, so you can still refund up to the full amount. The buyer has not been paid back, so refund them another way, for example by bank transfer. Then click Mark as refunded on the order. This only records it; no money moves.
While a buyer's dispute is open, Stripe does not allow a refund. Refund shows "This order is disputed. Answer or accept the dispute in Stripe; the money is returned there." Use Answer in Stripe on the order.
If you refund from your Stripe dashboard instead, the order is still updated to Refunded or Partly refunded, so your records match. One difference: a refund made in Stripe does not put items back into stock. Use Reset to starting stock on the Stock tab if you need to.
Can I refund more than once? Yes, until the whole amount has been refunded. Stock is never put back twice for the same items.
Can my AI assistant refund? It can ask, but you must confirm in the editor before any money moves.