What to Do for TikTok Shop Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund

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TikTok, as a short-form video platform, has gotten immensely popular as a way for people and e-commerce companies to sell their products and services.

The launch of TikTok Shop last year was eagerly anticipated, making TikTok a major player in social commerce offering in-app shopping.

TikTok Shop is widely seen as an innovative new shopping feature which enables merchants, brands and creators to showcase and sell products directly on TikTok through in-feed videos, LIVEs, and product showcase tab. 

In an ideal world, consumers will have a whole gamut of online stores to choose from and online shopping will be hassle-free.

However, even the best social commerce platforms—including TikTok Shop–do need to address challenges such as order cancellations, product returns, and refunds. The reasons for cancelling are varied and may include: defective products; shipping delays, wrong products; lack of proper coordination between sellers and logistics firm; and so on.

In this article, we will look what online sellers (and consumers) can do in the event that they need to cancel, return, or refund products from TikTok Shop.

TikTok Shop Order Cancellation, Return, and Refund

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Although TikTok has its own extensive guidelines in its website, we will hopefully be able to simplify these steps so that your online e-commerce business can provide a positive shopping experience to customers.

Here are a few tips:

Know TikTok’s policies.

Do remember that TikTok aims to protect both seller and customer and thus, most of its guidelines apply to both. Sellers are welcome to customize their own cancellation policies but they must comply with our TikTok Shop Merchant Terms of Service.

All conditions or terms within a seller’s cancellation, return, and refund policy must also be clearly displayed on the product detail page and be visible to customers before an order is placed. Sellers must also ensure that all cancellation policies are compliant with local consumer statutory rights. An important here is that these guidelines are only applicable for local-to-local transactions. 

On Cancellation

Once payment for an order is made, both customers and sellers can cancel an order before the order status is updated to “To Ship – Awaiting Collection.” An important note here is that sellers and customers can communicate with each other before a cancellation.

Since “Cancellation” is a touchy topic, Sellers are prohibited from using abusive or threatening language. However, if the seller believes that the customer is abusing the cancellation process, a Seller can raise a ticket by selecting the reason “Complaints & dispute – Customer” in the TikTok Seller Center

A ​Seller can cancel the order before the order status is changed to “Shipped”.  Orders will be automatically canceled if customer payment has not been made within the predefined time frame set by the seller or the platform (whichever is applicable). ​All sellers must handle all cancellation requests within 48 hours of submission. A Seller can also cancel if the product is no longer available due to lack of stock or unforeseen stock damage. However, the Seller should promptly notify the customer.

A ​customer, on the other hand, can cancel orders without the seller’s approval if the shipping type is Ship by TikTok and the order status has not changed to “To Ship – Awaiting Collection”. ​Customers can cancel orders without the seller’s approval if the order is shipped via shipping type Ship by Seller and the cancellation request is made less than one (1) hour from the time of ordering. 

​If more than five calendar days have passed after order payment and the order status is still “Pending,” customers can choose “Late Shipment” as a cancellation reason. 

On product return

Sellers must handle all return/refund requests within 48 hours of submission. If the seller does not contest the request, a refund will be automatically approved. A ​Seller must also not reject a customer’s return/refund request without a solid and justified reason and if the seller rejects the return/refund request, the customer can submit a second request within 48 hours after the seller’s rejection; otherwise, the return/refund request will be closed by TikTok. 

​After the seller approves the return/refund request, the customer must upload the necessary logistics information required to return the product within five calendar days from when the seller approves the return request. The Customer must also ensure that he or she enclose the correct and complete item when making a return.

If a customer accidentally sends a wrong item, the customer should get in touch with the seller as soon as possible. Neither the seller nor TikTok Shop can guarantee the item will be found and returned. Please note that no compensation will be provided for incorrect items sent by the customer. 

​Once a customer uploads the logistics information of the returned product, the seller must confirm the receipt of the returned product in the Seller Center. 

​If the seller takes no action eight days after the customer uploads the logistics information of the returned product, the return request will be automatically approved. However, if the seller selects “extend receiving” in the seller center, the return request will be automatically extended by four days. 

Note: A Seller can choose to refund the customer without receiving the returned product, however, the Seller must accept the relevant risk or loss associated with this decision. 

​Subject to TikTok Shop’s applicable enforcement policies, if a Seller account is terminated under applicable circumstances, all refund requests submitted by customers will be disposed of by TikTok Shop.

On refund

According to TikTok’s policies, Sellers must handle all return/refund requests within 48 hours of submission. If the seller does not contest the request, a refund will be automatically approved. A ​Seller must not reject a customer’s return/refund request without a solid and justified reason and ​if the Seller rejects the return/refund request, the customer can submit a second request within 48 hours after the seller’s rejection; otherwise, the return/refund request will be closed by TikTok. 

​After the Seller approves the return/refund request, the customer must upload the necessary logistics information required to return the product within five calendar days from when the seller approves the return request. 

​Customers must ensure that they enclose the correct and complete item when making a return. If a customer accidentally sends a wrong item, the customer should get in touch with the seller as soon as possible. Neither the seller nor TikTok Shop can guarantee the item will be found and returned. Please note that no compensation will be provided for incorrect items sent by the customer. 

​Once a customer uploads the logistics information of the returned product, the seller must confirm the receipt of the returned product in the Seller Center. ​If the seller takes no action eight days after the customer uploads the logistics information of the returned product, the return request will be automatically approved. However, if the seller selects “extend receiving” in the seller center, the return request will be automatically extended by four days.

Tracking and Managing TikTok Shop Orders

For both sellers and buyers on TikTok Shop, understanding and managing order logistics is crucial. To check your order status, navigate to the TikTok Shop tab or your user profile and access the purchase history. Here, detailed information about each order, including its current status, estimated delivery time, and tracking details, can be found. This is particularly important for keeping tabs on orders and ensuring a smooth delivery process.

When facing delivery issues or needing to reach out for specific concerns, TikTok Shop users can contact the shipping provider directly. This information is typically available within the order details. Prompt communication with the courier or shipping service is vital for addressing any discrepancies or delays in the delivery of orders.

Effective communication and staying informed about your order’s status are essential components of a successful transaction on TikTok Shop. Regularly checking the status of orders and being proactive in communication helps both sellers and buyers ensure a seamless shopping experience.

Communicate, Be Updated

Communications between Sellers and Buyers will always be important. Although this is not specifically mentioned in TikTok’s guidelines, the cancellation, return, or refund, can hopefully be stress-free if there is proper and cordial communication Seller and Buyer.

For e-commerce companies and individual sellers, always keep in mind that TikTok Shop’s policies are being updated from time-to-time so it will be worth it to be proactive in checking for any updates regarding cancellation, return, or refund guidelines.

What we listed here are just a few of the more important details when dealing with cancellations, return or refund, and it is worth it to visit TikTok and review its extensive guidelines.

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