Sample request statuses explained

This is for anyone reading the Sample Requests page (Dashboard → Affiliate CRM → Sample Requests) who's unsure what a status means.

Status glossary

• To Review — What it means: The creator requested a sample and is waiting on your decision. (TikTok and some tools call this "Requested" or "Pending".) A Repeat Request badge flags a creator who's requested before. · What to do: Approve or reject it.
• Ready to Ship — What it means: You approved it. It now needs fulfilling — shipping happens in TikTok Seller Center. · What to do: Ship the product (Seller Center → Orders → Free Samples).
• In Shipment — What it means: The product is on its way to the creator. (Stored internally as "Shipped".) · What to do: Wait for delivery.
• Content Pending — What it means: The sample has been delivered; you're waiting for the creator to post. · What to do: Nudge the creator if it drags.
• Posted — What it means: The creator posted a video or LIVE featuring the sample. · What to do: Track performance; follow up with top performers.
• Overdue — What it means: The creator received the sample but hasn't posted within 14 days. · What to do: Send a reminder; decide whether to keep sampling them.
• Expired — What it means: The request was never approved and the Target Collab invite's expiration date passed. · What to do: Nothing — it lapsed. Re-invite if you still want them.
• Cancelled — What it means: The request was pulled (by you or the creator) before fulfillment. Rejected and Expired are separate statuses (see their own rows) — a decline shows as Rejected, and a lapsed request shows as Expired. · What to do: See below.
• Rejected — What it means: You declined the request. · What to do: —
• Ignored — What it means: You chose to ignore the request (optionally all future requests from that creator). · What to do: Unignore from Manage Ignored Affiliates if needed.

Filter tabs that aren't statuses

• All shows everything.
• All Approved is a shortcut that combines Ready to Ship + In Shipment + Content Pending + Overdue + Posted — every request you've said yes to, at any fulfilment stage.
• Delivered appears in sample funnel / by-SKU reporting and means the product reached the creator (roughly the Content Pending stage onward).

Why an approved sample can show "Cancelled"

Two common reasons:

1. The creator has more than one request. A creator can have several sample requests, and a summary view (like My Affiliates) may surface a different one from the one you approved. For the accurate per-request picture, always check CRM → Sample Requests.

2. An approved request was cancelled downstream. A Ready to Ship request can flip to Cancelled if the creator cancels or the order is cancelled in Seller Center. (If it simply lapses unshipped, it shows as Expired — a separate status.)

Remember Cruva reads from Seller Center and syncs about every 2–5 hours, so a cancellation made in TikTok will appear in Cruva after the next sync.

Why requests show in TikTok but not in Cruva

This is a sync-timing thing, not a lost request. Cruva pulls sample data from TikTok Seller Center roughly every 2–5 hours, so a request made in TikTok a few minutes ago may not be in Cruva yet.

• Give it one sync cycle (up to ~2.5–3 hours) and refresh.
• Also check your date filter — the Sample Requests page can be scoped to a date range, which can hide older requests.