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AbeBooks Help Center

How do I Complete a Return/Refund?

When a return has been initiated by either the bookseller or the buyer, it must be completed by the seller upon return receipt of the book.

If you have received email notification of an outstanding return and have not yet received the book back, the return will auto-complete in 7 days unless you report the shipment missing.

The process below will refund orders placed on any of the AbeBooks web sites. Please note that for orders placed in currencies other than your own billing currency, fluctuations in currency exchange rates may result in a refund amount different than the original charge. AbeBooks will debit the bookseller the amount refunded to the buyer, regardless of whether that amount is more or less than the original charge.

Note: If you are accessing the return through the link in the Outstanding Return email notification, you must be signed on to your AbeBooks account for the link to work. If the link returns an error message, please click the ‘sign off’ link above the red banner, sign on to your seller account, and try the link again.

Important: You should always wait until after you’ve received the book back to complete a refund. If you complete a refund before the book has been returned to you and it doesn’t arrive, the refund cannot be reversed.

To acknowledge receipt of the return and complete the buyer’s refund, simply follow these steps:

  1. [Sign on] to your AbeBooks account.
  2. Click [View All Returns] in the My Sales section of the Menu.
  3. You may view a list of returns for a specific return reason, or retrieve a specific order by inserting the AbeBooks Order Number. Once you’ve made your selection, click [View Results].
  4. For the return you want to update, click [Transactions], then choose one of the following:
    • [Complete] – the buyer will be refunded immediately.

      • Note: For ‘Item not as described’ returns, you will be asked to choose ‘I agree’ or ‘I disagree’. Both options will complete the refund of book price + shipping immediately, however ‘I agree’ will refund both original and return shipping, while ‘I disagree’ will refund original shipping only.

    • [Notify AbeBooks of Missing Shipment] – AbeBooks will contact the buyer regarding the shipment. If they are unable to provide proof of shipping, the return will be cancelled by AbeBooks.*
  5. Regardless of the selection, you’ll be asked to confirm. Please do so to save your changes.

*Note: If the buyer has provided tracking information for the return shipment, that information will be displayed and the [Notify AbeBooks of Missing Shipment] button will be removed. Instead, you should use the tracking information to locate the package. If you require additional assistance, please contact Customer Support.