Create a replacement draft order in Shopify
A customer reports a damaged item and you agree to send a replacement. A draft order is the clean way to do it: you duplicate the original order, keep the item being replaced, and send the new draft for payment or mark it as paid at no charge. This tutorial replaces a damaged Summit Hoodie for Sam Okafor, order 1042.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Customer | Sam Okafor |
| Original order | 1042 |
| 1 × Summit Hoodie, $45.00 | $45.00 |
| 1 × Trail Crew Tee, $28.00 | $28.00 |
| Subtotal | $73.00 |
| Shipping, replacement | $0.00 |
| Total before tax | $73.00 |
Download the replacement lines: replacement-order-lines.csv (93 bytes).
The lines for the replacement draft. The two line totals add to the $73.00 subtotal in the slip above.
1Open the original order
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click order 1042. Check the order first: it holds one Summit Hoodie at $45.00 and one Ceramic Mug at $18.00. Only the hoodie was damaged, so only the hoodie is replaced. The mug stays out of the replacement.
2Duplicate the order
On the order details page, click Duplicate. A draft order is created with the same line items and customer information as the original order. The duplicate carries the products, the customer, the notes, and the tags. Discounts and shipping rates are not duplicated.
3Remove the mug from the draft
On the draft, hover on the Ceramic Mug and click the × to remove it. The draft should now hold only the Summit Hoodie at $45.00.
4Add a goodwill tee
Click Product, search for the Trail Crew Tee, select it, set the quantity to 1, and click Done. One tee at $28.00 brings the draft subtotal to $73.00. A goodwill item goes on the draft as a normal product line, so the record shows exactly what shipped.
5Set the shipping rate to $0.00
A replacement ships free, so add a custom shipping rate of $0.00. The shipping rate was not duplicated, so the draft has no shipping on it until you add it. The total before tax is $73.00.
6Finish the draft
Decide how the replacement is paid for. If the customer is not charged for the replacement, accept payment yourself by marking the draft as paid. If the customer pays part of it, send the invoice instead. When payment is accepted, an order is created for the replacement on the Orders page.
The arithmetic
| Line | Quantity | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Hoodie | 1 | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Trail Crew Tee | 1 | $28.00 | $28.00 |
| Subtotal | $73.00 | ||
| Shipping, replacement | $0.00 | ||
| Total before tax | $73.00 |
The replacement draft totals $73.00 before tax. The original order 1042 is untouched by this draft: the replacement is a new order, not an edit of the old one.
Held at the counter
Duplicating drops the shipping rate. Discounts and shipping rates are not duplicated. A duplicated draft has no shipping on it until you add the rate back, so a replacement draft sent without a rate ships with no shipping line at all.
The original order still stands. Duplicating an order does not cancel or refund it. If the damaged hoodie is also being refunded on the original order, handle that refund on order 1042 separately, and write a timeline note so the two orders are linked in the record.
Check the duplicate line prices. A duplicate line item carries the latest information for that product. If the hoodie price changed since order 1042, the draft shows the new price, not the price the customer paid.
Sources
- Creating draft orders — Shopify's help pages: the full create-draft steps, custom items, inventory warnings, reserving items, and the invoice, payment, and payment-terms options.