If you need to cancel your purchase, you can request cancellation before it ships. The seller reviews your request and decides whether to approve it, and Whatnot Support can help in certain situations.
If your cancellation is approved, you'll get a full refund. If it's declined or the seller doesn't respond within 48 hours, your order will ship as normal.
All bids are binding under Whatnot's Community Guidelines, and when you win an auction, you're generally expected to complete the purchase. You can still request cancellation if something unexpected comes up.
On this page:
- When can I submit a cancellation request?
- Request cancellation
- After you request cancellation
- When Whatnot can help
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
When can I submit a cancellation request?
You can ask the seller to cancel your purchase if:
- They haven't created a shipping label yet, or
- It’s been less than 24 hours since you placed the order (even if a label was created)
Once an order is in transit, cancellation isn't available, but you can still get help with your purchase.
Note: Trust in the selling experience is what allows communities to thrive on Whatnot. Frequent cancellations may lead to account action under our Community Guidelines.
Request cancellation
You can request to cancel individual items from your order.
If the item is part of a bundle, only that item will be canceled and refunded for its portion of shipping. The rest of the bundle stays unless those items are also canceled.
Request cancellation from the app
- From the Whatnot app, tap Activity at the bottom of the screen
- Select Purchases
- Choose the order
- Tap Get help with this purchase
- If eligible, you’ll see the option to Request cancellation – tap it
- Fill out the form and submit your request
Request cancellation on web
Note: When you use whatnot.com, your request is sent to the seller and creates a ticket for Whatnot Support.
- From whatnot.com, click the Activity icon on the top right
- Under the Purchases tab, select the order you want to cancel
- Choose Get help with this purchase
- Click I need help with something else
- Choose Submit a cancellation request
- If eligible, submit your request
After you request cancellation
Once you submit a cancellation request:
Your order is marked Pending Cancellation while the seller reviews it
The seller has 48 hours to respond
You’ll be notified as soon as a decision is made
You can check your order status anytime under Activity > Purchases
What happens next:
If the seller approves: your order is canceled and you’ll receive a full refund within 3–5 business days to your original payment method.
If the seller declines or doesn’t respond within 48 hours: the order remains final and will ship as normal.
When Whatnot can help
Cancellation requests are usually handled directly by the seller. In some situations, Whatnot can help or make limited exceptions to final sale:
- Bidding error (auction purchases only): If there was a technical issue during bidding, contact Support within 2 hours of the error. Tell us what happened and include any screenshots.
- One-time exception: If the shipping label hasn’t been created and you haven’t been granted an exception in the past, Whatnot may approve a one-time cancellation for eligible buyers. This exception doesn’t apply to Card Breaks, or items that can be used or consumed on-screen.
- EU or UK buyers: You may have a legal right to cancel under local consumer laws. Review our Buyer Protection Policy to learn more about the EU/UK Right of Withdrawal.
Note: Whatnot reserves the right to deny cancellation requests. Cancellations and refunds aren’t offered for buyer's remorse. Learn more in our Buyer Protection Policy.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
I bid by mistake and won. Can I cancel?
You can request cancellation for the seller to review, though approval isn’t guaranteed.
Can I cancel my pre-bid?
No. Pre-bids can’t be canceled or changed. Learn more.
If you win the auction, you can still request to cancel your order for the seller to review.
My package is delayed. Can I cancel my order?
Orders can’t be canceled once they're in transit. Learn what to do if your package is delayed.