Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA)

RMA is the marketplace's returns workflow. When a customer wants to return or exchange an item they bought from a seller, they raise an RMA request from their storefront order, and the seller handles it from Sales → RMA — reviewing it, messaging the customer, moving it through its statuses, and refunding when the goods come back.

What you'll learn

• How returns reach the seller
• The RMA statuses and how a request moves through them
• How a seller messages, refunds, and reopens a return

How returns reach the seller

Returns start on the customer's side: from their order, a customer raises an RMA against specific items. The marketplace routes each request to the seller who sold those items, so it lands in that seller's RMA list. Whether a product can be returned at all — and under which rule — is set by the seller on the product's RMA tab (see Product Management).

The RMA requests list

Open Sales → RMA in the Seller Panel. Each request shows its RMA ID, the order ID, the customer name, the RMA status, whether it was a guest order, the order status, and the date.

Working a return

Open a request with its View action. The page gathers everything about the return: a General panel (date, package condition, notes, images), an Items panel (each returned item with its price, RMA quantity, resolution type, and reason), a Conversation thread, and Order / Customer details. The Status panel shows the current RMA Status and Order Status, and an Update Status control moves the request forward.

• Message the customer — the conversation thread lets the seller and customer exchange details (reasons, photos, resolution) with file attachments, right on the request.
• Update the status — move the request through its lifecycle. RMA statuses are Pending Review → Approved → Awaiting Return → Return In Transit → Refunded → Solved, with Request Declined, Item Canceled, and Request Canceled as end states. A brand-new request starts at Pending Review, from which you either Approve it or decline it (Request Declined); which statuses you can move to next depends on whether the resolution is a return or a cancellation.
• Refund on receipt — moving a return to Refunded processes the refund for the returned items (you can also refund the shipping). A refund needs the item to have been invoiced first.
• Reopen — if a request was declined and the admin allows it, the seller can reopen it, which returns it to Pending Review.

Admin oversight

Admins see every seller's RMAs across the marketplace under Marketplace → Sales → RMA, and RMA availability and policy are governed by the admin. Each status change notifies the customer.

TIP

Respond to return messages quickly and keep the status current — a smooth returns experience protects your ratings and your account health.