How do I accept payment on Etsy after refunding a lost international order?

Hi! The cleanest, Etsy-safe way to let the buyer “pay you back” is to create a private custom listing for them and have them purchase it on Etsy—set the listing up with $0 shipping and clearly state in the description that no new item will be shipped because it’s payment for a previously refunded order that later arrived.

A simple way to do it (so it’s clear to Etsy and to the buyer):

• In your Messages thread with the buyer, use Create custom order / Send private listing.
• Title idea: “Repayment for refunded order (delivered later)” (you can include the original order date in the description—don’t include any private info).
• Price: whatever amount you both agree is being repaid (usually the item price + original shipping, if you want it to match what they paid).
• Shipping: set free shipping / $0 (since you’re not sending anything).
• Description: spell it out plainly: “This listing is for repayment of a previously refunded order that was later delivered. No additional item will be shipped.”

Once they purchase, you can mark it complete. If Etsy prompts for shipping details, you can complete the order without adding tracking (since there isn’t a new shipment).

What I’d avoid:

• Off-Etsy payment (PayPal/Venmo/etc.) for a transaction that started on Etsy can be interpreted as fee avoidance and can cause account issues.
• Having them buy your regular listing and you “pretend ship” it can confuse things if they ever need order records, and it can look odd in your shipping history.

If you want, tell me whether the original order was fully canceled/refunded in Etsy and whether you want them to repay the full amount or just the item price, and I’ll suggest the cleanest wording for the custom listing.