Payouts

Understanding when and how you get paid is the most important thing to know as a ScentSell seller. This page explains the full mechanism — money movement, order status transitions, the release function, and what happens in every edge case.

1. The critical distinction — money movement vs status movement

Read this section twice. It is the single biggest source of confusion for sellers.

Money moves ONCE: instantly at checkout.

When a buyer completes payment, Stripe immediately splits the transaction via destination charges:

85% of the sale price goes into your Stripe Connect account
15% is retained by ScentSell as the platform fee

This happens in real time. Before the buyer's confirmation email arrives, your Stripe balance is already credited.

Order status moves many times: across multiple stages.

The order then progresses through these statuses: paid_pending_ship → shipped → delivered → buyer_confirmed → payout_released → completed. Each transition triggers notifications and updates your ScentSell dashboard — but none of these transitions move money.

warning

Emails saying "Sale complete," "Order completed," or "Payout released" describe order status changes, not money transfers. Your funds were already in your Stripe account when the buyer paid.

2. Why this distinction exists

ScentSell uses destination charges (money at checkout) for good reasons:

Sellers get paid fast. You have the funds in your Stripe account before you even ship. No waiting for delivery confirmation.
Buyers are protected by the status gates. The post-purchase stages (shipped, delivered, confirmed) create windows for buyers to raise disputes if something goes wrong. If a dispute is opened, Stripe's own chargeback mechanism handles the reversal — the status stages are notification checkpoints, not payment gates.
Chargebacks work cleanly. If a buyer initiates a chargeback through their bank, Stripe automatically reverses the destination charge from your Stripe balance. The status gates ensure both parties are notified through each stage and have opportunities to communicate.

3. The full order lifecycle

Here is every state the order passes through and what triggers each transition:

Status	What it means	What triggers it
`pending_payment`	Stripe checkout started, buyer hasn't paid yet	Buyer clicks "Checkout"
`paid_pending_ship`	Payment confirmed. Money is in your Stripe balance now.	Stripe webhook or reconciliation confirms payment
`shipped`	Seller entered a tracking number. 17track registered the parcel.	You enter tracking in your Dashboard
`delivered`	17track detected delivery at the destination address	`check-delivery-status` edge function (runs every 6 hours)
`buyer_confirmed`	Buyer clicked "Confirm Receipt" in their Dashboard	Buyer action — triggers immediate release
`payout_released`	Release function ran. Status flipped. Notifications sent.	Automatic (see section 4)
`completed`	Final state. Archived in both dashboards.	Follows `payout_released` immediately

tip

If you see paid_pending_ship on your order, that is the moment to check your Stripe Express dashboard — your balance will show the credit.

4. What the release-payouts function actually does

The release-payouts edge function runs daily at 06:00 AEST via a pg_cron scheduled job. Here is exactly what it does — and what it does not do:

What it processes:

Orders in delivered status that are older than auto_payout_days since delivery (default: 3 days)
Orders in buyer_confirmed status (processed immediately regardless of timing)
Orders in shipped status older than 14 days (the timeout fallback — see section 5)

For each eligible order:

Updates the order status to payout_released
Sends a "Sale complete" email and push notification to the seller
Sends a notification to the buyer
Skips orders with an open dispute

What it does NOT do:

Move money (that already happened at checkout)
Initiate any Stripe transfer
Change your Stripe balance

Think of it as a bookkeeping and notification job, not a payment job.

5. The 14-day timeout

If a buyer never confirms receipt AND 17track never detects delivery AND no dispute is raised, the 14-day timeout protects you.

Exactly 14 days after an order moves to shipped, the release-payouts function marks it payout_released regardless of delivery confirmation. This means:

You are never held hostage by an inactive buyer
The funds in your Stripe balance are never at risk from buyer inactivity alone
The timeout gives 17track and the buyer a generous window before triggering automatically

The 14-day threshold is configured in admin_settings.auto_payout_days and can be adjusted by the ScentSell admin team if needed.

6. How to check your payouts

In Stripe Express (the authoritative source for money):

Go to connect.stripe.com or click Dashboard → Seller settings → Manage Stripe account
Your home screen shows: current balance, upcoming payout date, payout history, and individual transaction details including the ScentSell split

In your ScentSell Dashboard:

Go to Dashboard → Orders
Each order shows its current status, the sale amount, and your share
Use this for tracking which orders have shipped, been delivered, and completed

If there is ever a discrepancy between what ScentSell shows and what Stripe shows, Stripe is the source of truth for financial data.

7. What happens in a dispute or chargeback

Buyer-initiated dispute (through ScentSell):

Buyer opens a dispute from their order page within 7 days of delivery
Order status moves to disputed
release-payouts skips this order until admin resolves it
Admin mediates: outcome is refund, replacement, or seller upheld
If refunded: Stripe reverses the destination charge from your Stripe balance

Bank-initiated chargeback (buyer goes to their bank directly):

Stripe's Radar system flags and processes the chargeback automatically
Funds are reversed from your Stripe balance by Stripe
ScentSell is notified and the order is flagged for admin review
You can submit evidence through Stripe Express to contest the chargeback

In both cases, you have the opportunity to provide evidence. The best evidence is: proof of postage, tracking confirmation, and any communication with the buyer.

8. What happens in a refund

If a refund is initiated (by ScentSell admin or via Stripe dashboard):

Stripe reverses the destination charge in full
The buyer receives their full purchase price back
Your Stripe balance is debited for your 85% share
ScentSell's 15% commission is also returned
The order status moves to refunded

If your Stripe balance doesn't have sufficient funds to cover the reversal (e.g. you've already withdrawn to your bank), Stripe will attempt to debit your linked bank account directly.

note

This is why Stripe holds your first payout for 7 days on new accounts — it provides a buffer in case of early refund requests.

9. Example timelines

Best case — happy path

Time	Event	Order status
Day 0, 10:00	Buyer completes checkout	`paid_pending_ship` — money in your Stripe balance
Day 0, 14:00	You dispatch via AusPost, enter tracking	`shipped`
Day 3, 09:00	AusPost delivers. 17track detects it within 6h.	`delivered`
Day 3, 09:15	Buyer clicks "Confirm Receipt"	`buyer_confirmed` → `payout_released`
Day 3, 14:00	Stripe's payout schedule moves balance to your bank	Money in bank

Buyer inactive (no confirmation, delivery detected)

Time	Event	Order status
Day 0	Checkout	`paid_pending_ship` — money in your Stripe balance
Day 0	Shipped + tracking entered	`shipped`
Day 3	Delivered (17track detects)	`delivered`
Day 6	`auto_payout_days` (3 days after delivery) elapsed. Release runs.	`payout_released`
Day 8	Stripe 2-day payout schedule pays out to your bank	Money in bank

Worst case — 17track doesn't detect delivery, buyer ghosts

Time	Event	Order status
Day 0	Checkout	`paid_pending_ship` — money in your Stripe balance
Day 0	Shipped	`shipped`
Day 14	14-day timeout triggers. Release runs.	`payout_released`
Day 16	Stripe payout to bank	Money in bank

In the worst case, you wait 16 days from shipping to bank receipt. Your funds were always safe in your Stripe balance from Day 0.

Related pages:

1. The critical distinction — money movement vs status movement​

2. Why this distinction exists​

3. The full order lifecycle​

4. What the release-payouts function actually does​

5. The 14-day timeout​

6. How to check your payouts​

7. What happens in a dispute or chargeback​

8. What happens in a refund​

9. Example timelines​

Best case — happy path​

Buyer inactive (no confirmation, delivery detected)​

Worst case — 17track doesn't detect delivery, buyer ghosts​