Rules around trade cancellation — when it's allowed, how it affects your stats, and what to do instead.
Nina Patel
Head of Compliance
You can cancel a trade at any point before you mark payment as sent. Just click "Cancel Trade" inside the active trade — the escrow is released back to the seller instantly.
Once you have marked payment as sent, you cannot unilaterally cancel. The seller would need to agree, or you would need to open a formal dispute. This rule exists to protect sellers from buyers who mark payment, then immediately cancel to avoid sending funds.
Repeated cancellations affect your completion rate score, which is permanently visible on your public profile. A low completion rate makes other traders less willing to trade with you.
If you opened a trade by mistake before sending any payment, cancel immediately — it will not affect your score if you cancel before the payment step. Cancellations after the payment step are counted against your rate regardless of the reason.
If the seller is asking you to cancel so they can offer a worse deal outside the platform, do not comply. Report the seller using the flag icon in the trade chat — off-platform trading is a violation of our terms and a common scam vector.