Duplicate Orders

[audio_australia_]

It's been many years since I last posted on here.... but I need a small vent so here we go!

We quite often have buyers purchase the same item twice, three times and sometimes even a fourth time when they only want one. I don't know if they are having problems with their browsers or maybe forgetting their Paypal passwords???

It can be very time consuming for a seller to fix.

We message the buyer asking them if they still want the duplicates, wait for their response (which can take days sometimes), then request a "mutual cancellation". Most of the time, the buyer does not respond to the "mutual cancellation" and we have to wait 8 days to recover our selling fees.

On some occasions, the buyers simply choose to ignor our messages suggestiing they have purchased mutliple item's by mistake, or have not taken time to read them properly. They simply cancel our mutual's for the duplicates, possibly fearing it would cancel all of their purchases. Ebay now keeps the fee's... and then it takes a phone call to ebay to recover them manually (normally 5-10 mins on hold, and then 5-10 mins entering "one time passcodes, explinations etc). This is the worse case.... but it does happen regularly!

Apart from all of this, we then have to "revise the item" so that the " the number of available items" matches our stock levels.

Not too much frustrates me selling on ebay... but this issue does. I'd like to see how many other sellers are also frustrated and maybe some suggestions on how to save time and money avoiding these situations.

I don't see why ebay can't have a pop-up window that warns buyers when they are making duplicate orders???

Justin Frith

[digital*ghost]

This happens to me on the odd occasion, too. Some buyers report getting an error saying that the purchase didn't go through, so they buy again. I presume they're on a mobile device because usually, if on a PC etc, the checkout will automatically combine purchases from the same seller so they would know at that point they've purchased more than one, but the app doesn't seem to allow combined purchases at all, so they may be none the wiser, sometimes mobile buyers seem to be more prone to not receiving and/or checking any post-sale messages, unfortunately. 

Usually, if I can communicate with the buyer, I explain that they have purchased the same item multiple times but payment has only been received for one, then I ask if they whether they would like an updated invoice for the extras, or a cancellation (you can explain that you're only going to send through a cancellation for the extras that weren't paid for). If I don't get a response confirming that A) they don't want it and B) they're happy to agreee to the cancellation, I won't trust that the actual cancellation request will be tended to so let it go to a UPI dispute after 4 days, thus ensuring my fees are credited. (If you only accept electronic payment methods, and use the UPI assistant, the inventory will be automatically updated once the UPI closes, but not so if the transaction is mutually cancelled).

[amber-eyed-girl]

Buyers using a PC, or standard browser on a mobile device, receive two warnings:

The first on the listing page. It says "you bought this item" and "buy another" rather than buy it now.

then, if one proceeds with buy another:

Another, rather obvious warning, before having to click commit to buy.

so it has to be the app version of eBay only. Or not reading the warnings, or the changed button...which nothing can help, if the buyer does not read/see.

pop up might be a bit more of an attention grabber. So not a bad idea.

[cq_tech]

Interestingly Amber, that warning appears even if the previous purchase of that item was as long as 2 or 3 months ago. Just the other day I attempted to buy 3 batteries from a seller from whom I'd purchased one of the same batteries 3 months prior, and it gave me that same warning before I could commit to the current sale.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes. So really, there is no excuse on a normal browser.

[audio_australia_]

Hi digital*ghost and thanks for all the replies.

I do do exactly what you do "I explain that they have purchased the same item multiple times but payment has only been received for one, then I ask if they whether they would like an updated invoice for the extras, or a cancellation (you can explain that you're only going to send through a cancellation for the extras that weren't paid for".

I don't do the next bit that you do.... I've found that if we do it that way they end up with a "strike" and get the **bleep**s. Anything can happen from there.

So in maintaining the best business relationship with the buyer, we do the right thing and got the other way. The procedure is very complicated and buyers either ignore it or cancel the mutual mainly because they have no idea what is going on.

Sellers should have more power to cancel orders immediately, especially duplicates!

Thanks again, Justin Frith

[amxsuperstores]

One quite simple way to basically eliminate that issue is to make all your items 'Pay immediately'.  Since doing this we never, ever have the duplicate sales as if someone buys an item but doesn't pay for it, it doesn't get allocated to them.

[sueken4812]

Lately, this has been happening more and more.  And each time, the buyers have said they were working on their smart phone.  Apparently it is a problem with the App.

[digital*ghost]

---

@audio_australia_ wrote:


So in maintaining the best business relationship with the buyer, we do the right thing and got the other way. The procedure is very complicated and buyers either ignore it or cancel the mutual mainly because they have no idea what is going on.

Sellers should have more power to cancel orders immediately, especially duplicates!

Thanks again, Justin Frith

---

Hmm, maybe try a different tact - something along the lines of letting customers know that duplicate purchases / transactions need to be finalised before the order can progress, and/or make it very clear that agreeing to cancel means they are no longer obligated to pay the outstanding amount, you could also stipulate to them that items which have been paid for will be packaged and posted and that the process to cancel the remaining unpaid items will initiate by x date if you're not able to confirm other preferences from them (by which I mean the UPI process as opposed to the mutual cancellation) - that may help them to understand that the cancellation is for items they purchased but didn't pay for, and they would have no one to blame but themselves for not following it up before the specified date.

[davewil1964]

That is fine if -

a) You are happy not to combine postage;

b) You are happy to only accept Paypal;

c) You don't do auctions;

One size does not necessarily fit all.