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:

 

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.)

 


Yes it is. People need to stop trying to come up with an equivalent scenario in B&M retail because the scenarios are not the same in every respect. 

 

Once you commit to purchase an item on eBay, you are creating a contract - this is mentioned on-site, even when you just place a bid on an item and may not have the eventual winning bid. Some types of contracts have cooling-off periods, specifically, the kind of ones where someone is right there with you, giving you the hard-sell on it, like when door-knockers go around and try to manipulate you into signing up with an energy company.

 

If you, as a consumer, deliberately seek out to enter into a contract, and then do so of your own free will, completely independent of anyone trying to talk you into it, you have no legal right to the same kind of cooling off period -  period. 

 

And by the way, 100% of sellers you have dealt with might have issues with it (that's their perogative, and if someone else has rights that conflict with your own desires, you have no basis to not respect that) but 100% of all sellers don't share those issues. I admit I can get a little annoyed when I receive a message seconds after purchase that asks me to cancel the transaction, especially if the buyer has paid, because people have all the time in the world to mull over their purchase decisions (my items aren't going anywhere), and I don't see why I should have to pay money due to other people's fickle tendencies. But I do the same thing every single time - "sure, no problem". 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

If you wish to continue impulse-buying on eBay with a quick change of mind seconds later, you can now continue in the awareness that you're possibly coming onto eBay's Trust and Safety radar as a problem buyer, and with the awareness also that sellers are not obliged to cancel a confirmed purchase.

 

If you want to avoid buying pieces of junk that you only realise are pieces of junk after you've hit the confirmation button, that's another matter. Taking time to think about your possible purchase before you buy is the optimal way to avoid that bad result - so why not do that? Think before clicking the final button.

 

If you want to be right in your own view, then there's no need to read the User Agreement, the Policy pages, or any seller's terms and conditions. Indeed, you won't need to read any Australian Consumer legislation.

 

If you want to be blocked by sellers from ever being able to purchase from them (including many that never ever post on these boards, but regularly read them), then again, you don't need to change your buying behaviour.

 

But if you want to think about what's been said here, and perhaps modify the way in which you purchase online, it will help you to buy effectively... It will also help you to avoid impulse buys that you realise aren't what you really want, and it will do so in a way that enables you (and your sellers) to avoid hassle.

 

One final comment... The Oxford Dictionary defines the word "final" in a way that makes it very clear that it doesn't mean the same thing as "penultimate" or "subject to a change of mind afterwards". That's why it's worth while taking the time before hitting the final button to consider your purchase before it is, indeed, final.

 

Spoiler

 

Perhaps Mr Trump could push his ‘bigger’ red button that says, ‘Missile launch - FINAL CONFIRMATION’... and then 1 second later say, ‘Oops. I want to cancel.’

 

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items


 

 

- 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. 

 



I really don't mean in an offensive way to the OP, but there is a real disorder I have heard of called Compulsive Buying Disorder, you know, that need to click on Buy or buying stuff you don't even need.

Message 13 of 76
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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

I doubt OP has any use for dictionaries. After all, the definition of accident is unintentional, but they're saying a deliberate action on their part (clicking on the buy button) is accidental. No, it's sheer carelessness and thoughtlessness.
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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items


One final comment... The Oxford Dictionary defines the word "final" in a way that makes it very clear that it doesn't mean the same thing as "penultimate" or "subject to a change of mind afterwards". That's why it's worth while taking the time before hitting the final button to consider your purchase before it is, indeed, final.

 

Spoiler

 

erhaps Mr Trump could push his ‘bigger’ red button that says, ‘Missile launch - FINAL CONFIRMATION’... and then 1 second later say, ‘Oops. I want to cancel.’

 


I usually add items to my cart rather than hitting the BIN button, but on the rare occasions I did use the BIN button AFTER that quite often there was a Commit to Buy button. I am not sure it happened for all puchases off the top of my head because I don't use the BIN button much in the first place, but it does give you some time to reflect if you have to hit the button twice.

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

I think the Opening Poster should also make better use of his Watch List

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items


@kaibacorp* wrote:

 

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.

 


 

Spoiler
did you purchase a time machine?

"It happenened to me a second time just then . . . . . . and days later, posts the item."
Spoiler
So, the seller ignores your request to cancel . . . . sends the item days later . . . . . it arrives and you travel back in time to the seconds after hitting the final confirm button . . . . . and come here to complain about it?

So, now I have just one more question . . . .
Spoiler
Why not travel back to the second before hitting the final confirm button?
Spoiler
The answer can be JULY

 

Message 17 of 76
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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

I wonder how many party lists have grown by 1 this morning, I would bet quite a few.  WOW

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

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.

 

This is the bit which shocked my socks off.

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Re: eBay not allowing buyers to cancel items

Not the bit about refusing to explain themselves [obviously].

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