Undo a reservation or purchased mark

You can release your own GiftList reservation using the unreserve link in your confirmation email or the gift's undo controls. This makes your recorded quantity available again. It does not cancel a retailer order or issue a refund.

Use your confirmation link

1. Find the GiftList confirmation email for the gift. Search for notifications@giftlist.com and check spam if it is missing.
2. Open its unreserve link. This link is personal to your reservation; do not post or forward it as a general list link.
3. Return to the list and check the updated status. Another shopper's reservation may still keep some or all of the item claimed.

If you continued without email confirmation, use the recovery link you saved on the purchase confirmation screen instead.

Watch the walkthrough

Prefer to watch? The written steps cover the full task.

Play video: How to Buy a Gift From Someone's Wishlist Without Spoiling the Surprise

Release it from the gift

Watch this step, from 1:15

1. Open the same list and gift.
2. Choose Unreserve gift if that control is shown.
3. Otherwise, including when only part of the requested quantity is claimed, choose Did you reserve this? Release it if shown, enter the email used for that reservation, then choose Release reservation.
4. Refresh the list and check availability.

The email-based route deliberately uses a general confirmation message. It does not tell you whether an arbitrary email had a reservation. A success message alone is not proof that a claim made with a different email was removed.

If you're the list owner

To remove a purchase you recorded yourself, such as one you marked "by unknown", open Tracker (Gift tracker in the app), open that purchase and choose Remove this record, then Remove record. Only the record you added is deleted. If you choose Unmark as purchased on a gift that also has someone else's claim, the dialog offers Remove only that record. Collaborators on the list can do the same. These controls need a current version of GiftList.

Don't use Unmark as purchased to remove just your own record on a revealed list: it deletes everyone's claims on that gift, and the givers are not told. See Keep gifts a surprise.

If you cannot release it

Use the same browser/device that recorded the gift, or try the original email link. Guest records are not guaranteed to follow you to a different browser or a newly created account. The list owner's view does not offer every shopper recovery control because that could reveal surprises.

If you have lost the recovery link, used the wrong email, or cannot find the list anymore, contact support with the list link, gift name, approximate date and email used. Keep personal recovery links out of public messages. Support can investigate your record; do not release someone else's purchase.

If you also need to cancel or return the actual gift, contact the retailer separately. The web and supported mobile apps use the same GiftList record; your recovery link can be opened in a browser if an app route fails.

Related: Guest details, shipping and returns, shared-list troubleshooting.