Once a custom order is past Pending Review, neither the buyer nor the creator has a one-click cancel button — the platform’s design assumes by that point both sides are committed. There are still ways to back out, but the right route depends on which status the order is at and which side you’re on. This guide walks through every status, what each side can do at it, and when to contact support. It works for both buyers and creators — the table at the top tells you which section to read.
1. What you can do at each status
| Status | Buyer can… | Creator can… |
|---|---|---|
| Pending Review (creator hasn’t decided yet) | Message the creator and ask them to decline. No self-serve cancel; the order is parked unpaid. | Click Decline on the order — see Declining a custom order safely. |
| Pending Payment (creator accepted, buyer hasn’t paid) | Just don’t pay. The order parks here indefinitely until you cancel via support or eventually pay. | No self-serve cancel. Contact support if you need the slot freed. |
| Paid / In Progress | Contact support — refund depends on what work the creator has done. | Contact support — explain why you can’t deliver. |
| Delivered | The clip is in your library. If something’s wrong with it, message the creator first; refund requests via support. | Order is essentially closed — no creator action needed. |
| Completed / Cancelled | Final state. Nothing more to do. | Final state. Nothing more to do. |
2. If you’re the buyer — before you’ve paid
Until you complete payment, no money has changed hands and the order is fully reversible. Two paths:
The order is at Pending Review (creator hasn’t decided)
Open My Account → Orders. Find the order. Use the order’s Message creator link (or the creator’s storefront message button) and ask them to decline. Most creators will. The system note will read “Creator declined this custom order request.” and the order will close as Cancelled.
If the creator doesn’t respond, the order just sits there. It can’t be paid (only the creator can move it forward), it doesn’t show up as a debt, and it doesn’t expire automatically. You can ignore it.
The order is at Pending Payment (creator accepted, you haven’t paid)
You have two options:
- Don’t pay. The order stays at Pending Payment indefinitely. The creator can’t deliver until you’ve paid. There’s no penalty and no automatic charge.
- Cancel cleanly via support. Open support, pick the appropriate category, and ask them to cancel order #X. Mention the creator’s name. Support will close the order and the creator will see it as Cancelled.
The polite move is to cancel via support, not to leave the order hanging — the creator may have set time aside to film once you pay. A two-line cancellation message is enough.
3. If you’re the buyer — after you’ve paid
Once payment has cleared, the order is at Paid and your refund options narrow. Whether you get money back depends on how far along the creator is.
The status is still Paid (creator hasn’t started)
Contact support immediately. If the creator confirms they haven’t started filming, a full refund is usually possible. The faster you ask, the higher your odds.
The status is In Progress
The creator has started work. A partial refund may be possible — support will mediate. Be honest about why you’re cancelling: a brief that’s no longer relevant gets a different response from “I changed my mind”. Either way, message the creator yourself first to explain — they may be willing to retarget the brief, or pause the work, before support gets involved.
The status is Delivered
The clip is in your library. At this point you’ve received what you paid for. If the clip didn’t match the brief, contact support with specifics. If you just don’t want it any more, refund is unlikely — custom clips are non-restockable digital goods.
What you can do at Delivered:
- Message the creator if the clip has a clear flaw (audio missing, wrong scene, an unfulfilled add-on). Many creators will reshoot or extend the brief.
- Open a support ticket if the creator delivered something significantly different from what you ordered.
- Live with it. A custom clip is your clip — you’re not obliged to share or rate it.
4. If you’re the creator — backing out after acceptance
You don’t have a self-serve cancel button after Accept Order. If you genuinely can’t deliver — illness, equipment failure, something in the brief that’s now off-limits — your only path is support.
Open a support ticket from /store-manager/support/:
- Pick the category Other or Streaming (camera, mic, toys, collabs) — whichever fits closest.
- Title the ticket “Cancel custom order #X”.
- Explain in the body: which order, what status it’s at, what’s preventing delivery.
- Mention whether the customer has paid yet. If they have, support will need to issue a refund.
Message the customer first. Walking away from an accepted order without telling the customer is the worst possible move — they’re waiting on a clip they paid for. A short message (“I’m not going to be able to film this — opening a support ticket to cancel and refund. Sorry for the wait.”) softens the impact.
Backing out of paid orders too often will be flagged. Custom orders are a creator commitment; the platform expects you to deliver what you accept, except for genuine emergencies.
5. Refunds — how and when
| Cancel point | Refund |
|---|---|
| Before payment (Pending Review or Pending Payment) | N/A — no money was charged. |
| After payment, before work started (Paid, no further status) | Usually full refund via support. |
| After payment, work in progress (In Progress) | Partial refund possible; depends on how much work was done. Support mediates. |
| After delivery (Delivered) | Refund only if the clip materially failed to match the brief. “I changed my mind” is not grounds. |
| Creator cancellation after acceptance | Customer always refunded in full; the creator may face platform action depending on history. |
Refunds go back to the original payment method (wallet, card, bank). Wallet refunds are instant. Card and bank refunds take a few business days to appear on your statement.
6. What happens to the order record after cancellation
A cancelled order doesn’t disappear:
- It stays visible in My Account → Orders (buyer side) and Custom Orders (creator side) with the status Cancelled.
- The original brief, the package, the add-ons — all preserved. So if either side wants to reference the order later (for a re-order, or as evidence in a support escalation), the record is intact.
- If the buyer was refunded, the order’s payment line shows the refund.
- The order doesn’t count as a “completed” sale in your earnings, your sales dashboard, or your storefront stats.
Either side can place a fresh order for the same brief at any time — there’s no link between the cancelled record and any new request.
7. Special cases
The creator stopped responding mid-order
If you’re a buyer and a creator has gone silent for a week or more on an in-progress order, contact support. They’ll reach out to the creator. If the creator doesn’t respond within a reasonable window, the order is cancelled and refunded.
The creator’s account was suspended
All open orders for that creator are cancelled and buyers refunded automatically. You’ll get a notification — there’s nothing else to do.
The buyer’s account was suspended
Open orders are cancelled. If the suspension was for fraud (chargebacks, stolen card), the creator will not be paid; if it was for a different reason, support handles the case-by-case.
You bought an Exclusive custom and now want it un-exclusive
Once delivered as Exclusive, the clip is yours alone — the creator can’t sell it to anyone else. You can’t “un-exclusive” it post-delivery. (You can give the creator permission to relist it, but that’s a private agreement, not a platform action.)
8. Common questions
Q: I placed a custom order by mistake. Will I be charged?
Not until the creator accepts it and you complete payment. If you spotted the mistake before either of those happened, message the creator and ask them to decline. No money moves.
Q: The creator hasn’t responded to my Pending Review for weeks. Am I being charged?
No — Pending Review never bills you. The order parks unpaid. You can ignore it, or open support to formally cancel it.
Q: I paid for an order and the creator said they’d film it but never did. What’s my recourse?
Open a support ticket. If the creator confirms they can’t or won’t deliver, you’ll be refunded. The creator will face platform action depending on their history.
Q: Can a creator cancel an order I’ve already paid for?
Only via support. Creators can’t unilaterally refund — they have to ask the platform. If they do, you’ll get a full refund.
Q: I want to cancel because I don’t like how the creator is talking to me in DMs. Can I get my money back?
If you’ve paid and they haven’t started, yes — open support and explain. If they’ve started, support will mediate. Separately, if the creator’s behaviour was abusive, report them via the standard Report flow — see Reporting a creator or content.
Q: How long does a refund take to appear on my card?
Wallet refunds are instant. Card refunds typically take a few business days. Bank-transfer refunds can take a week or more depending on your bank.
Q: Does cancelling a custom order affect my account standing?
For buyers — no. Cancellations before payment, or refund requests for legitimate reasons, are normal and not held against you. For creators — repeated cancellations after acceptance are flagged and may affect your custom-orders standing.
Related guides
- How custom orders work (creators) — the full lifecycle including accept and deliver.
- Requesting a custom video (buyers) — the order flow from filling out the form to receiving the clip.
- Declining a custom order safely (creators) — the Pending Review path before any commitment.
- Contacting support — how to open the right ticket.
- Pricing a custom order (creators) — the Custom Fee tool that prevents many cancellations.
