If an amount of money is non-refundable, the seller will not pay it back. Deposits, plane tickets, concert seats, and some course fees are often like this. You pay, and if you change your mind — or even if you get sick — the money stays with them, unless their own rules or the law say otherwise. Though actually, 'non-refundable' is the starting rule on the form, not a magic wall: a company may still refund you to keep a customer, and consumer law sometimes forces a refund when they cancel, or when the product is faulty. Read the small print. A ticket can be non-refundable but still changeable for a fee, or neither. The opposite is refundable: they promise to give the money back if you cancel in time.