VCU Procurement Services

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Avoid Amazon Order Headaches: Cancel Orders the Right Way

by Brandy Miles

We’ve seen an uptick in issues with canceled Amazon orders, and wanted to clarify an important step to help avoid payment confusion or invoice problems.

All approved Realsource orders are sent electronically to the vendor. If an order needs to be changed or cancelled, the vendor needs to be contacted directly.  Amazon begins fulfilling orders within minutes of receipt, making changes or cancellations particularly difficult.

Simply canceling an order in RealSource does not stop a shipment or cancel an invoice. The vendor needs to be contacted directly if a change is needed. Because of the efficiency of its fulfillment process, contacting Amazon quickly after order approval is the only way to mitigate the uptick in issues.

What happens if you only cancel an Amazon order in RealSource?

Amazon still sees the order as active and may ship the items, and worse, still bill us. This leaves Accounts Payable with an invoice it can’t match to a PO, it causes confusion for departments, and time-consuming follow-ups with Amazon support.

Here’s what to do instead:

  1. Log into Amazon Business Prime.
  2. Cancel the order directly through your Amazon account.
  3. Wait for confirmation from Amazon that the cancellation was successful.
  4. Only then should you cancel in RealSource (if needed) to update the internal tracking.

This quick step helps prevent Amazon from shipping goods and unexpected invoices.

Questions about your Amazon orders?

Check our Amazon Business Prime guide or reach out to Procurement Services.

Let’s keep things smooth and simple—cancel directly in Amazon first!

Reminder: While this post focuses on Amazon, the same principle applies across the board — canceling an e-catalog order in RealSource alone may not always notify the vendor. Always communicate with the vendor directly when canceling or changing an order.  Many vendors now process orders rapidly after receipt, so prompt communication is essential to avoid unwanted shipments or invoices.

This post was written by Brandon Augustine, Assistant Director of Purchasing

Categories Procurement Services