Custom item doesn't fit and seller wants me to pay return shipping
Sellers of custom or made-to-order items sometimes ship products that are significantly the wrong size and refuse to cover return shipping costs. This leaves buyers stuck paying expensive shipping fees out of pocket for a mistake they didn't make, often with international shipping making the return cost prohibitive.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Custom item doesn't fit and seller wants me to pay return shipping
- 1Gluing foam pieces to the inside of oversized partsDid this help you?
- 2Filing a help request or opening a 'not as described' case through platform supportDid this help you?
- 3paying for return shipping out of pocketDid this help you?
- 4opening a case with Etsy customer support for buyer protectionDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I ordered a very expensive custom cosplay from an Etsy seller in Canada.”source ↗
“When the cosplay arrived, I noticed that some of the pieces were significantly larger than expected.”source ↗
“I contacted the seller and they told me they knew it would not fit but that I could glue foam pieces to the inside”source ↗
“They also told me that they could not feasibly print smaller pieces that would fit me, but they told me this only now after I’ve already received the order.”source ↗
“The seller has now offered to accept a return and issue a refund after inspecting the suit. However, they say I would be responsible for the return shipping.”source ↗
“so I ordered a case for my Z Flip 8 and it's far too big. its unusable because if I even push it a little it'll fall off.”source ↗
“he's telling me I have to return it at my own expense and he'll refund me when he verifies that it's the wrong case”source ↗
“idk what to do bc I dont want to return at my own expense because shipping isn't cheap :(”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4Custom order buyer won't stop asking for changes
- 5Where to find nonstandard size HVAC vent registers
- 4How to combine single items and kits under one product listing