Refund Policy & Buyer Protection

Every Order Is Protected

When you buy a Zinn, you're not just sending money to a stranger and hoping for the best. Zinn Hub stands behind every order on the platform, regardless of how you choose to pay or what you're buying. The protection works the same way for a $5 logo touch-up as it does for a $500 SEO campaign.

Here's the headline promise: your payment is secured by Zinn Hub. The Zinner doesn't see a penny of your money until the order is delivered and accepted (or auto-accepted after the standard review window). If something goes wrong before that point, you can raise a dispute or request a refund — and any approved refund lands in your Zinn Wallet immediately, ready to use on a different Zinn or a different Zinner of your choice.

Every kind of order, every kind of payment

This policy applies without exception across the platform:

Future order types we add to the platform — bundles, multi-Zinner projects, ongoing retainers, and any other paid offering — are also covered by this policy from the moment they go live.

This page walks through every part of how that works. If you'd rather read the legal version, our full Terms & Conditions Section 10 covers refunds and disputes in legal detail. For wallet-specific questions, see our Zinn Wallet Help Centre article.

Secure Payments at Every Step

Every payment on Zinn Hub is processed through industry-standard, regulated, and PCI-compliant payment infrastructure. Zinn Hub never stores raw card details on our servers — all payment credentials are tokenised by the payment processor at the moment of entry, and all communication between your browser and Zinn Hub is encrypted via TLS 1.3 (the same encryption used for online banking).

Funds Held Until Your Order Completes

For Platform Payments — the default for most orders on Zinn Hub — your money is collected at the point of purchase but held by Zinn Hub on your behalf. The Zinner does not receive your payment until the order has been completed and accepted (or auto-accepted, see below). This means you have a built-in protection window during which a refund can still be issued.

For Direct Payments (where a Zinner has connected their own Stripe or PayPal account), the same buyer protection applies through Zinn Hub's dispute and refund process — the funding mechanics differ behind the scenes, but the protection you experience as a buyer is identical.

How Order Completion Works

Every order on Zinn Hub follows the same predictable lifecycle. Knowing how this works helps you understand exactly when you're protected and when an order becomes final.

1. You place an order. Payment is collected immediately. For Platform Payment orders, your money is held by Zinn Hub. For Direct Payment orders, the Zinner's connected processor receives the funds, but you are still protected by Zinn Hub's dispute and refund process.
2. The Zinner delivers the work within the agreed timeframe. You receive a notification the moment delivery happens.
3. Your 5-day review window opens. You have five calendar days to review the delivery, request revisions if the listing offers them, click Raise Dispute if something is wrong, or accept the delivery if you're happy.
4. The order completes. Either when you click "Accept Delivery" or when the 5-day review window expires (auto-acceptance). At this point the transaction is final and the Zinner receives their earnings.

When Refunds Are Available

Refund eligibility is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and is only available before an order is accepted or auto-accepted. The same rules apply to every payment method — there is no payment-method-based discrimination, and crypto orders receive the same protection as card orders.

Refunds may be issued when:

• The order was not delivered by the agreed deadline, with no communication or agreed extension from the Zinner
• The Zinner is completely unresponsive after a reasonable attempt to contact them
• The delivered service fundamentally does not match what was described in the listing — not a minor quality concern, but a substantive mismatch between what was advertised and what was delivered

Refunds are NOT available for:

• Change of mind after order placement
• Subjective preferences (you wanted a different style, you'd have approached it differently)
• Services delivered exactly as described but not to personal taste
• Requests that fall outside the original order scope (you wanted more than you ordered)
• Orders that have already been accepted or auto-accepted — at that point the transaction is final

This is why we strongly recommend reviewing every Zinn carefully before purchasing. Read the full description, check the seller's reviews and rating, look at examples of their previous work, and message them directly if anything is unclear. Setting expectations clearly up front is the single best way to avoid disputes later.

Where Refunds Go: Your Zinn Wallet, Every Time

This is a deliberate platform policy, not a limitation, and it applies consistently across every order on Zinn Hub. When a refund is approved, the credit lands in your wallet immediately and is available to spend on any Zinn, Custom Offer, or Project. There are three concrete reasons we do it this way:

Wallet credits are denominated in USD and reflect the original transaction value. They cannot be withdrawn to an external account, but they can be spent on any Zinn, Custom Offer, or Project across the entire platform — and they never expire. For the full guide to your wallet, including how to top up, send gifts, and use credits at checkout, see our Zinn Wallet Help Centre article.

Cryptocurrency: Same Protection, Same Refund

If you've used cryptocurrency on other platforms, you've probably been told that crypto payments are final and unrefundable. That is not true on Zinn Hub.

We process cryptocurrency through NOWPayments, a regulated, EU-licensed crypto payment provider, and we treat all crypto orders as Platform Payments. That means your crypto is held by Zinn Hub until the order is complete — exactly like a card payment — and is fully refundable to your Zinn Wallet if a qualifying refund scenario applies.

The only difference between crypto and card refunds is the destination wallet, not the protection: because cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible by blockchain design, your refund credits to your Zinn Wallet in USD rather than back to your crypto wallet. The end value to you is the same — and unlike a return to your crypto wallet, there are no network fees deducted, no confirmation delays, and no exchange rate slippage. Your refund is in your control instantly.

Cancelling or Disputing an Order

Every order on Zinn Hub has built-in cancellation and dispute controls — there's no need to email support, open a ticket, or wait in a queue. The relevant buttons live on your order page itself, ready to use the moment something doesn't feel right. Here's how the four-step flow works:

1. Talk to the Zinner first. Use the Zinn Hub messaging system on the order page to explain the issue and try to resolve it directly. Most problems are misunderstandings that get sorted with a single message — and if a revision is what you need, this is the fastest way to get one.
2. Use the relevant button on the order page. If direct conversation doesn't resolve things, click Cancel Order (for orders that haven't started or are in progress) or Raise Dispute (for delivered orders that don't match the listing, or stalled deliveries with an unresponsive Zinner). The buttons capture the full order context automatically — no order number to copy, no story to retell.
3. We progress the case. For cancellations, the other party gets 72 hours to accept your proposed refund, counter-offer, decline, or stay silent (in which case it auto-grants). For disputes, the case enters our review queue: we look at the order, the messaging history, the delivered work, and any evidence both parties provide. We may ask for additional information from one or both sides.
4. The case closes. Cancellations close when both parties agree, when the 72-hour window auto-grants, or when the case escalates to a dispute. Disputes close when our resolution team reaches a decision, when the Zinner self-resolves with a full refund, or when you withdraw the dispute. If a refund is approved by any of these paths, it credits to your Zinn Wallet immediately.

When to use Cancel Order vs Raise Dispute

The two buttons handle different situations:

• Cancel Order — for orders that haven't started or are in progress, where you and the Zinner work out a refund directly. Cancellations are agreed between the two parties through a structured 72-hour negotiation window — see "How Cancellations Work in Detail" below.
• Raise Dispute — for orders where you and the Zinner can't agree, including delivered work that doesn't match the listing, missed deadlines with no response, or fundamental quality issues. Disputes are reviewed by Zinn Hub's resolution team, with a 48-hour response window for the other party — see "How Disputes Work in Detail" below.

For most orders, no cancellation or dispute is ever needed. The vast majority of Zinns on the platform are delivered cleanly and accepted without issue. The Cancel Order and Raise Dispute buttons exist as built-in safety nets for when things go wrong — and they work fast.

How Cancellations Work in Detail

The Cancel Order button gives you and the Zinner a structured negotiation flow to agree on a refund without admin involvement. Most cases are settled in a single round. Here's exactly how it works.

Who can cancel and when

Either you or the Zinner can request a cancellation, but the option is only available at certain stages of the order:

• Before requirements are sent — either party can cancel at any time. Because no work has started yet, the refund is locked to 100%.
• While work is in progress — you can cancel if your delivery has been rejected at least twice (so the Zinner is given a fair chance to deliver before you can pull out). The Zinner can cancel at any time during this stage.
• If a deadline is missed without delivery — you can cancel for a 100% refund. The Zinner cannot cancel in this state.
• After delivery and acceptance — neither party can cancel. The order is final.

The negotiation: up to three rounds, 72 hours each

When a cancellation is requested, you propose a refund percentage — 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% (with the 100% lock applying when no work has started). The other party then has 72 hours to do one of four things:

1. Accept the proposed percentage — refund processes immediately and lands in your Zinn Wallet within seconds.
2. Counter-offer with a different percentage — opens round 2. You then have 72 hours to respond.
3. Decline the request — the order continues normally. A second decline on a re-raised cancellation auto-escalates to a dispute.
4. Do nothing — after 72 hours of silence, the request is granted automatically at the proposed percentage.

If the back-and-forth continues without agreement, you can use up to three rounds in total. If the third round also runs to silence, the case automatically escalates to a dispute for admin review. The same happens if either side actively escalates at any point. Throughout the negotiation, both parties receive notifications — by email, in-app, and (if connected) on Telegram — so neither side misses a deadline.

The 100% pre-work refund guarantee

This guarantee is built into the platform — you cannot accidentally accept a partial refund in either of these situations, and a Zinner cannot counter-offer for less than 100% in either of these situations. The system enforces the rule on both sides, every time.

What happens if you and the Zinner just can't agree

The 3-round limit prevents endless negotiation. If neither side will compromise, declining repeatedly, or letting deadlines pass on the third round, the case automatically becomes a dispute and is handed to Zinn Hub's resolution team. From there, it follows the dispute process described in the next section. You do not need to take a separate action — the system handles the escalation.

How Disputes Work in Detail

A dispute is what happens when a cancellation can't be agreed between the two parties, or when a delivered service genuinely doesn't match what was advertised. Disputes are reviewed by Zinn Hub's resolution team rather than negotiated between you and the Zinner.

Raising a dispute

Click Raise Dispute on the order page. You'll be asked to:

• Pick a reason category — quality issue, non-delivery, payment issue, communication breakdown, scope disagreement, or other
• Write a clear summary of what went wrong
• Attach any evidence — screenshots, files, message references — that supports your case

The full order context is captured automatically. You don't need to copy your order number, paste links, or repeat anything that's already in the system.

The 48-hour response window

The moment a dispute is raised, the other party receives a notification and has 48 hours to submit their side of the story. Twenty-four hours before that deadline, they receive a reminder. After 48 hours of silence, the case proceeds to admin review without further input from the non-responding party.

This is an important detail: not responding doesn't make the dispute go away. Admin will rule on the available evidence, and a non-responding party generally fares worse than one that engages.

How admin reaches a decision

The resolution team reviews the original Zinn listing, the full message history between you and the Zinner, the delivered work (if any), and any evidence either party provided. They may ask follow-up questions of one or both parties. Once they've considered everything, they issue one of these outcomes:

• Vendor at fault — full refund — buyer receives 100% back to wallet
• Vendor at fault — partial refund — buyer receives a portion back to wallet, amount set by admin
• Buyer at fault — partial refund — buyer receives some money back as a good-faith adjustment, but the Zinner is judged to have delivered what was sold
• Buyer at fault — no refund — order completes, payment is released to the Zinner
• Mutual — full refund — both parties off-the-hook, order voided, 100% back to wallet
• Mutual — partial refund — partial refund agreed by admin, no fault attribution
• Mutual — no refund, project completed — Zinner delivered what was reasonable, order completes normally
• Dismissed — the dispute is judged frivolous or invalid; the order returns to its previous state

The Zinner's self-resolve option

At any point during a dispute, the Zinner can choose to close it themselves by issuing a full refund. When they do this, you receive 100% back to your wallet immediately and the case is closed. This is a one-click option for Zinners who'd rather make things right than wait for admin review.

Withdrawing a dispute

If you've raised a dispute and decide you no longer want to pursue it (perhaps you've reached an understanding with the Zinner), you can withdraw the dispute yourself at any time before it's resolved. You'll be asked to provide a brief reason — at least 20 characters — and the case closes. The order returns to its normal flow.

Once a dispute is resolved

After a resolution is reached — whether by admin ruling, vendor self-refund, or buyer withdrawal — the order is locked. Neither party can raise a fresh dispute or cancellation on the same order. If you believe an exception is genuinely needed (for instance, new evidence emerges), contact Zinn Hub admin and we'll review whether to unlock the order for a fresh action.

What Gets Deducted: A Transparent Look at Refund Math

Refunds on Zinn Hub are simple from your side: the agreed amount lands in your wallet. But because we want to be completely transparent about how the platform works, here's exactly what happens to the money behind the scenes.

The headline rule

So if you paid $100 for a Zinn and a 50% refund is agreed, you receive $50 to your Zinn Wallet. If the refund is 100%, you receive $100. The refund percentage is always calculated on the listed total — the price you saw at checkout — including any tax or service fees that were included in that total.

Where the refund money comes from

Behind the scenes, your refund is sourced proportionally from two places: the Zinner's earnings on that order, and Zinn Hub's commission on that order. Both are reduced in line with the refund — not just the Zinner's side. This matters because it means Zinn Hub doesn't profit on cancelled or disputed orders. When a refund happens, both we and the Zinner give back our proportional share.

A worked example

Say you ordered a $100 logo from a Zinner whose tier puts Zinn Hub's commission at 20%. The order pays out as follows:

• You pay $100 at checkout
• The Zinner earns $80 (their 80% share of the order)
• Zinn Hub earns $20 (the 20% commission)

You and the Zinner can't agree on the work, so you raise a dispute and admin awards a 50% refund. Here's what happens:

• You receive $50 to your Zinn Wallet — instantly, ready to spend
• The Zinner's earnings on the order are reduced by $40 (their 80% share of the $50 refund)
• Zinn Hub refunds $10 of its commission (its 20% share of the $50 refund)

The refund total is $50 — the exact amount agreed. The split is just accounting: it ensures the Zinner pays back their share of the refund and Zinn Hub pays back its share of the commission. Your refund amount doesn't change based on this split — it's always the agreed percentage of what you paid.

Fault doesn't change your refund amount

You'll see admin decisions tagged with fault attribution — "vendor at fault", "buyer at fault", "mutual" — and these affect user reputation stats, but they do not change the refund math. Whether admin rules vendor-fault-50%, buyer-fault-50%, or mutual-50%, you receive the same $50. The refund percentage agreed (or ruled) is the percentage paid, full stop. Fault is for the public record; it's not a discount.

What stays absorbed: original payment processing fees

Card processors (Stripe, PayPal) and crypto processors (NOWPayments) charge a small fee to take payments. When you originally paid for the Zinn, that fee was already absorbed by the Zinner as a cost of doing business on the platform. On a refund, that original processing fee is not clawed back from anyone — the Zinner stays absorbed, the fee is gone. Likewise for any cryptocurrency exchange-rate slippage that was absorbed at the original sale.

The reason this matters to you, as a buyer, is simple: none of those costs come out of your refund. Your refund is calculated purely on the listed price you paid — never reduced by processing fees, never reduced by exchange slippage, never reduced by anything other than the agreed refund percentage.

Our Commitment to Fair Resolution

When a dispute is raised on Zinn Hub, you're not at the mercy of an algorithm, a single rushed decision-maker, or whoever happens to be online at the time. Every dispute is reviewed carefully by our team — and we've built our process so that outcomes are fair, balanced, and grounded in the evidence, never the result of one person's interpretation or a moment's judgement.

Here's what every dispute review involves:

• Both sides heard. We read the full messaging history between you and the Zinner, look at the original Zinn listing, examine any work delivered, and review any evidence either party provides. We may ask follow-up questions of one or both sides before reaching a decision.
• Multiple reviewers, not a single voice. Disputes are reviewed by more than one member of our team to protect both buyers and Zinners from individual bias. Where reviewers disagree on the right outcome, the case is escalated for senior review before any decision is finalised.
• Decisions grounded in evidence. We weigh the facts of the case against our published policies and the original Zinn listing. Outcomes are reached on what the evidence actually shows — not on who responded fastest, who was loudest, or who pushed hardest.
• Reasons explained. When we reach a decision, we communicate it clearly to both parties. You'll know what we found, what policy applied, and why the outcome went the way it did.

Our goal is straightforward: a system that protects buyers from poor service and protects Zinners from unfair claims, where every party can have confidence that the platform stands behind every transaction. We may not always agree with every claimant — but we always decide based on the evidence, applied consistently, and reached with care.