eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

This has happened to me twice recently.

 

Note: What I mean buy accidentally buying an item is that a second after I press the final confirmation button I no longer want the item.

 

I have tried to close the page as soon as I realise that buying the item was a mistake, but strangely, the order still goes through. On other sites closing the webpage will cancel the transaction.

 

After accidentally ordering an item I have cancelled the item seconds later. Strangely, eBay are now giving sellers the option to reject or to allow buyers to cancel orders. Which I suspect might be breaking consumer laws.

 

1st time this happened to me, I cancelled the order and contacted the seller. The seller admitted that he hadn't posted the item and that he stands to lose nothing by cancelling the order. But, he still decided to post the item because it was to his financial advantage.

On this occasion I decided to let it slip.

 

It happened to me a second time just then. I cancelled the item seconds after I purchased it, I got eBay's message "You are at the mercy of the seller." So what does the seller do? They completely ignore the cancellation reqest and days later, posts the item.

 

So, I contacted eBay live help and they said "on this occasion, we will refund your money." But, they made it clear it's a once off.

And they refused to explain themselves.

 

I am extremely suspicious that eBay is breaking Australian consumer law and as a buyer I think it's outrageous.

I'm also pretty sure that this new rule they have is only a few months old. The previous rule they had gave the buyer 3 days to cancel an order if it was a mistake.

 

I don't really have any questions for the community about this, I'm just making a statement.

 

*If eBay ever refuse to cancel my orders for no good reason I will take it up with CBS.*

 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items


@kaibacorp* wrote:

 

 

No one is losing out by allowing buyers to opt-out seconds after a purchase.

If no one is being harmed by it, then what's the big deal?

 

 



Actually, yes they are. 

 

Sellers are charged fees as soon as the sale is confirmed - ie. as soon as you press the "final confirmation button".  While most ot these fees will probably be refunded, that refund is not immediate.

 

Also, if you have paid through Paypal, the seller is charged a non-refundable fee for every transaction.

 

Again, as mentioned by other people, the seller will have to relist the item.  To do this, they have to wait for the buyer to confirm the cancellation and possibly lose the sale in the mean time.  They may also have been charged a fee to list the item, which is not refundable.  They may then have to pay another fee to relist the item.

 

There is also the inconvenience, and their time, which may not be important to you, but is to them.

 

As others have suggested, if you change your mind that quickly, either you should allow yourself more time to think before pressing the "final" button, or stay away from online shopping completely.

 

 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

eBay has never given buyers the ability to cancel an order. They have recently implemented the option for a buyer to officially request a cancellation within an hour of purchase (as long as the item hasn't shipped), but the seller doesn't have to accept or agree (for obvious reasons, it's generally a bad idea not to, but it's not an obligation).

 

It is not in breach of any consumer laws as such, though if a seller accepts change of mind returns, there could be an issue with not accepting a request to cancel as it's essentially the same thing (retailers in Australia have no obligation to accept change of mind returns, legally, unless they indicate that they do - and if they do accept them, they are allowed to be conditional, meaning the retailer can reject a return if the conditions are not met). 

 

I suggest if you regularly change your mind about a purchase, it might be a good idea to stop the purchase process before making the final committment to it - have a coffee or something while contemplating it. 

 

(PS, rather than suspect something is breaking consumer laws and base a position on that, it's better to know for sure). 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

Good chance this will become less of a problem as sellers can block non-payers and a large number of sellers read these boards, not just those who post on the boards

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

@kaibacorp*,

 

On reading your opening post, I did have a moment of thinking, "Is that seriously meant?"

 

I'm a buyer only, not a seller, yet I'm aware that sellers are immediately charged a transaction fee by PayPal upon an immediate payment being made. That transaction fee is not refundable.

 

Perhaps, though, you don't pay before suddenly changing your mind. The seller is still automatically charged the final value fee, and may have to go through a few hoops in order to be credited that fee.

 

In addition, there is considerable inconvenience involved; ask the average seller how much they like a buyer regularly cancelling their purchase, and how they must then go through the process of deciding whether to open an Unpaid Item Dispute or trust to luck that the buyer will immediately cancel a cancellation request (as otherwise it will take 8 days before they can relist the item).

 

If you're doing this regularly - changing your mind as soon as you commit to a purchase - it is possible that sellers will increasingly not want to deal with you as a buyer, as the dice are loaded very much in your favour as a buyer and sellers are going to want to mitigate their risks as much as possible. It is possible that you will find yourself unable to purchase from some sellers; sellers are able to add your name to a blocked buyer list, and they will do that if they feel you are a problem buyer.

 

Perhaps you have excellent reasons for changing your mind, but ... in all honesty, I am just not sure how it's possible to change your mind in the space of one second. The item description, seller's reputation, item cost and postage time won't have changed in that one second, so it can't be that the fault is due to the seller's listing. I don't know where you can possibly have been purchasing online which enables a prevention of a sale by closing the webpage; I know of no such site. Once the SEND or CONFIRM button is clicked, the command is already sent, and any delay in seeing the ORDER CONFIRMED or PAYMENT CONFIRMED page is due to processes at the server end, and to the rendering of the confirmation page from the server to you. In other words, the command's already gone out.

 

You have the option to reject the purchase before pressing what you have so correctly described as the "final confirmation button". After that, I think the words "final confirmation button" speak for themselves.  The time to decide not to go ahead is before you press the final button to confirm that you are entering into a binding agreement with the seller.

 

1 second has to rank as the fastest "buyer's remorse" I've ever encountered! If you've done this twice recently, perhaps you need to give yourself extra time before hitting the confirmation button...? If you allow yourself, say, a minimum of 20 seconds in which you think about the purchase, being aware that the click on the button means "Yes, by clicking this I am very definitely buying this item", you are more likely to avoid making an impulse buy that you regret within seconds. Perhaps you aren't aware that buyer's remorse is not covered by eBay's Money Back Guarantee? The seller might have explicitly decided to allow change of mind returns in their terms and conditions, but it's not required by either Australian consumer law or by eBay's User Agreement. From eBay's MBG policy:

 

If the buyer is requesting to return an item for "change of mind" (or "remorse") reasons, the seller's return policy as stated in the listing will apply – including which party is responsible for return postage costs. Sellers may exercise their discretion to accept or deny a remorse return request if it falls outside their return policy.

 

It isn't logical for you to blame sellers for what amounts to your mistakes. Of course, you can politely contact a seller post-sale and say something along the lines of "Dear [seller], I have made a foolish error. I made the purchase in a bit of a hurry and only realised after confirming that [insert reason for mistakenly purchasing]. I fully realise that this was my mistake. Can I request that you cancel this purchase? I will be more than happy to pay any relisting or transaction fee because of course you shouldn't be out any expense incurred to relist this item because of my error. I apologise for inconveniencing you, and if you send through a cancellation request with "Buyer requested cancellation", I will immediately click onto that. Again, my sincere apologies. Kindest regards, [your name]."

 

It's my bet that with a communication that frankly acknowledges your error and demonstrates your willingness to make it right, the seller is far more likely to accept your communication requesting a cancellation than if you went in with all guns blazing saying, "I want to cancel this order. Please do this immediately" - or words to that effect.

 

Too many cancellations may have eBay tracking your account and possibly issuing you with a policy violation or restricting your ability to buy.

 

For the record, it's never been the case (to my knowledge) that you could automatically cancel an order within 3 days. Sellers on here will have more information on that, though. (I may be wrong.)

 

I wish you the best of luck in future purchasing, and hope that perhaps giving yourself some extra time to think about the purchase before committing to it might see everything work out in a better way for you and your sellers.

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

And I've just written an essay basically saying the same thing... Darn it! I went upstairs for a cup of coffee before posting my reply!

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

(PS, rather than suspect something is breaking consumer laws and base a position on that, it's better to know for sure). 

I agree, and if eBay ever try it I will make sure. 🙂

 

No one is losing out by allowing buyers to opt-out seconds after a purchase.

If no one is being harmed by it, then what's the big deal?

 

It's not different to buying a jumper at a storefront, paying for it and then as you have handed over the cash saying "Oh, wait a sec,sorry I've changed my mind, can I have another look around?" No storefront owner would ever have an issue with that, yet so far 100% of sellers on eBay have serious issues with it.

It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to give sellers the option to refuse. (Unless of course they have posted the item.)

 

I've already got one piece of junk because of this rule, and i don't want anymore.

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@kaibacorp* wrote:

This has happened to me twice recently.

 

Note: What I mean buy accidentally buying an item is that a second after I press the final confirmation button I no longer want the item.

 

. . . . .

 

*If eBay ever refuse to cancel my orders for no good reason I will take it up with CBS.*

 


 

I have two questions before I offer any advice

 

- how is it that one second you want an item badly enough that you hit the final confirm button and then one second later you don't want the item?  My brain doesn't work that fast. 

 

- who or what is CBS? The only CBS I can think of is the USA TV network. ACA or ACCC I might understand . . . . . but CBS . . . . I got nuthin Smiley Frustrated

 

Spoiler
Spoiler
my brain hurts thinking about the first question . . . . . the only thing that makes sense to me is definitely JULY

 

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@kaibacorp* wrote:

(PS, rather than suspect something is breaking consumer laws and base a position on that, it's better to know for sure). 

I agree, and if eBay ever try it I will make sure. 🙂

 

No one is losing out by allowing buyers to opt-out seconds after a purchase.

If no one is being harmed by it, then what's the big deal?

 

It's not different to buying a jumper at a storefront, paying for it and then as you have handed over the cash saying "Oh, wait a sec,sorry I've changed my mind, can I have another look around?" No storefront owner would ever have an issue with that, yet so far 100% of sellers on eBay have serious issues with it.

It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to give sellers the option to refuse. (Unless of course they have posted the item.)

 

I've already got one piece of junk because of this rule, and i don't want anymore.


 

Please don't tell us that nobody is harmed when a buyer cancels a purchase, whether it's seconds later or days later.  If it's a one-off item the seller has to relist it and they may have to pay to relist it if they want it relisted straight away, so that's extra money down the drain.  If they choose to wait until they have a spare free listing they may have to wait a while, so that's extra stock sitting around that's not getting any market exposure.

 

If it's a listing with multiple items available, the seller has to waste time editing the listing to add the cancelled items back in.  You might think "it's only one item" but if ebay pandered to people who don't engage their brain before their fingers then lots of people would have great fun doing it constantly and sellers would end up wasting a lot of time.  I know I'd rather put my time into new listings (or having a life) than adjusting listings because of people who think buying is a game and have no respect for others.

 

I once had a stupid woman buy $600 worth of items from me and then just shrug it off.  "I can't think what came over me", she said.  She bought several items more than once and it took me a few hours to sort out the mess and I had to get some of the stock out and physically check I had the amounts right.  She wouldn't even admit how much she'd really bought and kept talking about $300 (which would have been bad enough).

 

If you keep taking things to the checkout and paying for them in a b&m shop and then asking for an immediate refund, you're causing a lot of unnecessary work and expense for the shop, and we're all paying extra because of it.  Someone has to be paid to process all the returns and then to put them back on the shelf, it doesn't happen all by itself.  I'm sure the shop would have issues, even if they do what you ask and don't say anything.  They'd just hope you never came back again.

 

Consumer law says you have a right to return goods that are faulty or not fit for purpose, it doesn't say you can change your mind and get a refund any time you feel like it.  The bigger chain stores usually allow change of mind returns but they don't have to, and not all shops offer it.

 

Then there's the time wasted on cancelling the listing and checking that the ebay fees have been credited, and the non-refundable paypal fees if you pay and then cancel.  There are other things too but I'm not going into them here.  You seem to think it's okay to waste other people's time but your own time is too precious to spend a few minutes thinking about whether you really want something before you buy it.

 

If you didn't want the piece of junk you shouldn't have agreed to buy it in the first place.  You need to learn to take responsibility for your own actions instead of expecting everyone else to clean up the mess you create.

 

If consumer law said that businesses have to offer change of mind returns, don't you think ebay would have forced all sellers to do this long ago?  They haven't done it because they know they can't do it legally.

 

 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items


@kaibacorp* wrote:

 

 

No one is losing out by allowing buyers to opt-out seconds after a purchase.

If no one is being harmed by it, then what's the big deal?

 

 



Actually, yes they are. 

 

Sellers are charged fees as soon as the sale is confirmed - ie. as soon as you press the "final confirmation button".  While most ot these fees will probably be refunded, that refund is not immediate.

 

Also, if you have paid through Paypal, the seller is charged a non-refundable fee for every transaction.

 

Again, as mentioned by other people, the seller will have to relist the item.  To do this, they have to wait for the buyer to confirm the cancellation and possibly lose the sale in the mean time.  They may also have been charged a fee to list the item, which is not refundable.  They may then have to pay another fee to relist the item.

 

There is also the inconvenience, and their time, which may not be important to you, but is to them.

 

As others have suggested, if you change your mind that quickly, either you should allow yourself more time to think before pressing the "final" button, or stay away from online shopping completely.

 

 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

Too slow - brerrabbit beat me to it 🙂
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