topic Re: I don't get it?? in Selling

I don't get it??

maxmaxc — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:30:25 GMT

I recently sold an item. The buyer then said, the he made a mistake and did not want to pursue the item. I said fine however , why is it up to me to cancel the transaction? Because when I did, the seller (who changed his mind) had to agree to cancel the transaction. How does that work? It should be the other way around, should it not?

Re: I don't get it??

harley_babes_hoard — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:43:26 GMT

yes the seller has to initiate the cancellation and buyer has to agree to it. Otherwise some suspect sellers could just cancel purchases if they don't get the price they like etc. When a buyer asks for a cancellation though always make sure you tick the option that says buyer changed their mind.

Re: I don't get it??

thecatspjs — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:50:16 GMT

I agree OP, I think there should be an option where buyers can send a cancellation request to the seller - and then the seller can respond through the request.

Makes no sense IMO that a seller has to initiate a cancellation at a buyers request that then gives the buyer the option to decline, or ignore for up to 7 days before the seller can close the cancellation.

A seller who initiates a cancellation at a buyers request also gives up their opportunity to turn it into an unpaid dispute if it does go ignored by the buyer beyond 4 days.

Re: I don't get it??

maxmaxc — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:00:33 GMT

And don't forget that if the buyer wants to play 'funny buggers' and does not respond, the buyer loses their listing fee (and seller did nothing wrong???)

Re: I don't get it??

ajarnjenny — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:07:39 GMT

Yep, been there, done that. Buyer tells you they made a mistake by buying and then declines your cancellation request.

Who would know why they do that?

Re: I don't get it??

thecatspjs — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:24:27 GMT

Had a few of those in my time and usually for some of the most expensive items on my IDs.

Re: I don't get it??

davewil1964 — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:11:04 GMT

@maxmaxc wrote:
And don't forget that if the buyer wants to play 'funny buggers' and does not respond, the buyer loses their listing fee (and seller did nothing wrong???)

Close. If the BUYER rejects the request the SELLER loses their FVF. Unless the SELLER rings eBay and points CS to the message(s) from the BUYER requesting a cancellation.

If the BUYER does not respond within 7 days the SELLER can close the case and get their FVF refunded. or it might be automatic.

eBay NEVER refund listing fees. The end result is the same as if an item didn't sell (which it didn't) - eBay do not refund listing fees. Probably because they are fees for listing. A bit like the charge for a newspaper classified. The charge is not contingent on sales, nor the number of tyrekickers the lister gets.

Re: I don't get it??

phorum_junkie* — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:34:12 GMT

A seller does not have to offer the buyer a cancellation, they can, and should, ope an unpaid item dispute and then the buyer can continue to choose not to honour the deal and pay or they can cop the unpaid item strike that they deserve.

Re: I don't get it??

thecatspjs — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:52:07 GMT

@phorum_junkie* wrote:
A seller does not have to offer the buyer a cancellation, they can, and should, ope an unpaid item dispute and then the buyer can continue to choose not to honour the deal and pay or they can cop the unpaid item strike that they deserve.

However, regardless some sellers operate from more goodwill than the position you advocate PJ and do send a cancellation if a buyer requests to cancel a purchase

It would make sense IMO, given the DEFECTIVE DEFECT system that will be in play, that buyers could access a request to cancel at their end, so that if the seller accepts they can recoup their FVF and relist item straight away, instead of having to wait it out for a buyers response.

Re: I don't get it??

digital*ghost — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:14:09 GMT

@phorum_junkie* wrote:
A seller does not have to offer the buyer a cancellation, they can, and should, ope an unpaid item dispute and then the buyer can continue to choose not to honour the deal and pay or they can cop the unpaid item strike that they deserve.

True, but the situation sometimes calls for a cancellation over a UPI - I had a newbie buy one of my items twice recently, with payment coming through only for one, (joined the same day they purchased and definitely a new to ebay account, not a new ID). It actually took several messages back and forth to clarify the situation with them, and I walked them through how to cancel it, where they can look to find both tranactions etc etc

As this was their first buying experience on eBay, the last thing I would have wanted to do is go the UPI route, and they were genuinely appreciative that I took the time to help them through the whole process - end result is someone who hopefully had an overall positive experience on eBay, and has a bit more knowledge on how to navigate the site, where to find things and so on.

If I send a buyer an cancellation request, I always mention that it will remove the item from their "awaiting payment" list (i.e. removes their obligation to pay), so it's something they get out of it... 😄 and as a matter of courtesy, that it would be sincerely appreciated if they could agree to the cancellation request at their earliest convenience - thankfully so far, not a single buyer has declined a request, though I did have one that was ignored so I had to close it myself, but the rest have agreed within half an hour.

Re: I don't get it??

bettyboopsadaisy — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:27:14 GMT

Yeah, I agree with your POW, especially when you get a message from ebay after the buyer has agreed to the cancellation saying: 'Good news !! The buyer has agreed to a cancellation of this transaction", as if it was us the sellers who'd wanted it in the first place !!??!!

I do, however, understand the explanation other ebayers on this thread have given.

Maybe ebay should re-word their message to take into account the fact that the sellers in this situation are not the ones wanting the cancellation but only signalling their willingness to cancel by requesting it !!

Re: I don't get it??

lane-ends — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:11:45 GMT

If there was a request cancel transaction option from buyer, without having to ask seller directly, you would see an enormous increase in requests to cancel. Not good for sellers nor Ebay. Having to ask seller to initiate will make many think twice about it first.

In 11 years i have never had a buyer decline after requesting. I have had many not respond and so had to wait it out. Being all BINs loss of listing fee is insignificant so overall inconvenience to me to cancel is minimal. Auctions would be a different story due to loss of listing fee and potential underbidder.

Re: I don't get it??

thecatspjs — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:28:08 GMT

I am not so sure that if buyer intitiated cancellation requests was implemented that there would be an increase of requests if it was premised on being transparent, to encourage responsible buying.

If the number of cancellation requests were limited (like feedback revision requests are) and the tally of cancellation requests showed (like bid retractions do) I imagine you may see a decline overtime.

Re: I don't get it??

digital*ghost — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 03:00:47 GMT

@lane-ends wrote:
If there was a request cancel transaction option from buyer, without having to ask seller directly, you would see an enormous increase in requests to cancel. Not good for sellers nor Ebay. Having to ask seller to initiate will make many think twice about it first.

The function is available on another site, but it remains that only a seller can actually cancel a transaction, and having been selling there for around 4 months (not long at all I know), but with reading the forums on a daily basis to get an idea of the general climate / ethos of the site, the instances where a cancellation request causes complaint is very low. Granted, there are no auctions there, so no impulse bidding to an unaffordable point etc, and probably less chance a buyer will continue to 'shop' until they find something cheaper, but I still think - like bid retractions - that here it has the potential to solve more problems than it causes; there's already a couple of ways discussed how it could help sellers, but maybe there'd be less 8+day UPI cases because a buyer would feel more comfortable clicking a button to request a cancellation than sending a message to say 'I can't pay'.