can seller cancel a transaction on a buy it now purchase that I bought

[putney32]

no they cannot ''cancel'' it without your permission, (its called a Mutual Cancellation), however, there is no way ebay (or you) can force them to send the item once you have paid.

so, if they are saying now, before you pay, that they will not be sending it, all you can do is leave appropriate feedback, and do not agree to the Mutual cancellation if they send it thru (actually you need to respond but put in NO I do not agree), that way at least they have to still pay ebay the final value fee.

[thecatspjs]

Both a seller and a buyer can request a cancellation of the sale, however, only a seller can forward the relevant transaction cancellation "form" and the cancellation needs to be mutally agreeable.

I would suggest reviewing the actual reason provided and any notes the seller has included in the cancellation message, as well as messaging  the seller if you are not clear about these reasons and require additional clarifying information to make your decision.

From time to time, things don't go quite as sellers plan for example missing stock items they thought they had etc or buyers change their minds or they have made an error in the purchasing process

I think buyers and sellers and should give a cancellation request due consideration prior to making a decision and taking any action.

[wargul]

Yep, if the item isn't going to be sent the best course of action is to agree to cancel. Anything else just isn't worth the angst. There are good and bad sellers. Equally things can happen to the best of sellers that make it impossible to complete a sale (rare but possible). Take it easy and buy elsewhere.

[adornedau]

I've had to cancel the odd sale in the few years I've been selling and I really felt bad about doing so. When I first started I didn't realise that if I had an item listed as a quantity of 2 and one sold, then I re-listed the item it re-listed as 2 items not the one I had on hand. Stupid Rookie mistake but a genuine one and I apologised to the buyer and refunded their money immediately or offered them any other product for free (regardless of price). It made me become a better seller ultimately as I became meticulous with stock levels and listings so I don't tend to have the need for cancelled transactions anymore (unless the buyer needs to). I was lucky that I had buyers who realised I was genuine and worked with me towards a solution. But anyway, it does happen but a genuine mistake by the seller should come with some sort of explanation before the cancel transaction request comes through IMO. It's just good customer service.