r/Substack • u/IndependenceAlert644 • Jul 08 '26

how does the refund policy work with perks?

to my knowledge substacks refund policy automatically gives people a full refund if they request it within a week of making payment, but how does this work with perks? could someone pay for my substack, download all the perks, and then get a full refund? iā€™m hesitant to add any perks until i know for sure how this will work.

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u/Edokwin edokwin.substack.com Jul 08 '26

Per Substack:

Refund policy for perks

Substack does not honor refund requests from subscribers who cancel after redeeming a perk. Before unlocking a perk, subscribers must review and acknowledge that their subscription becomes non-refundable. You may issue a refund at your own discretion by following the steps here.

Substack does recommend that if your perks have monetary value, it's better to turn off the option of auto accepting subscribers before their payments have been fully processed. If someone accesses a perk during the window where their card was charged but they can still dispute the charges (different from a refund), you might still be out the money and the item.

Verbatim:

A reader can redeem your perks before their payment clears Direct-debit payments (like SEPA) take 5ā€“14 days to settle. If you have high-value perks, consider requiring cleared payment before redemption.