Cancellation Reasons

[islandtradepost]

I had a listing that was uploaded by my lister with a price wayyyy below what the item value is. Of course, a buyer jumped on it right away. When I went to cancel the order there is no longer a listing mistake or option, the only option I could use was out of stock which I know eBay does not like.

Island Trade Post

[slippinjimmy]

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@islandtradepost wrote:

I had a listing that was uploaded by my lister with a price wayyyy below what the item value is. Of course, a buyer jumped on it right away. When I went to cancel the order there is no longer a listing mistake or option, the only option I could use was out of stock which I know eBay does not like.

Island Trade Post

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A listing mistake is only available BEFORE someone buys it, after a purchase it's too late to claim you made a mistake.

The only reason eBay "does not like" out of stock cancellations is because BUYERS don't like it.

[mypostingid15]

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@islandtradepost wrote:

I had a listing that was uploaded by my lister with a price wayyyy below what the item value is. Of course, a buyer jumped on it right away. When I went to cancel the order there is no longer a listing mistake or option, the only option I could use was out of stock which I know eBay does not like.

Island Trade Post

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As a buyer, I wouldn't like any reason you come up with, but I will understand.

[eleanor*rigby]

As a buyer, I would not understand why you cancelled.

So you cancel using "Out of Stock" as a reason to cancel--which is not true--and then when you turn around and relist the exact item for $XX more, I'm supposed to understand that? And I'm supposed to think it's okay for a seller to do that? Sorry, but I don't.

An ethical seller, IMO, would take the hit and learn from this experience to double-check item listings.

And sellers wonder why sales are slow.

[fern*wood]

The out of stock reason is pretty much the catchall for any cancellation that is the seller's fault, and thus earns a defect.   Ebay could add other more specific reasons for problems but the end result would be the same --- seller fault equals seller defect.  It might be helpful to the buyer, though, to understand what happened. 

[eleanor*rigby]

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@fern*wood wrote:

 It might be helpful to the buyer, though, to understand what happened. 

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@fern*wood 

If the buyer receives notice of "Out of Stock" cancellation, s/he will assume the seller is indeed out of stock. If/when the buyer sees that the seller has relisted the item for a higher price, that buyer's going to be unhappy.

Or did you mean the OP should contact the buyer and explain that the item price was a mistake and ask if s/he now wants to pay more for the same item? (Not snark--just want to clarify.) I think that would make for an unhappy buyer as well.

Unfortunately, I just don't think there's a graceful (or ethical) way out of this without running off the buyer--and not just from the OP, but possibly from every other seller on eBay.

[bomar_97]

As a buyer ( maybe because I'm also a seller)  I would be more understanding if the seller did contact me explaining the item listed at the wrong price and did not get to change it quick enough.

[fern*wood]

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@eleanor*rigby wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

 It might be helpful to the buyer, though, to understand what happened. 

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@fern*wood 

If the buyer receives notice of "Out of Stock" cancellation, s/he will assume the seller is indeed out of stock. If/when the buyer sees that the seller has relisted the item for a higher price, that buyer's going to be unhappy.

Or did you mean the OP should contact the buyer and explain that the item price was a mistake and ask if s/he now wants to pay more for the same item? (Not snark--just want to clarify.) I think that would make for an unhappy buyer as well.

Unfortunately, I just don't think there's a graceful (or ethical) way out of this without running off the buyer--and not just from the OP, but possibly from every other seller on eBay.

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That's precisely why seller initiated cancellations are penalized by ebay--they run off buyers.  The generic out of stock sure doesn't make it clear to a buyer about what actually happened in many cases, and as you point out, could make things worse.

[mam98031 · Accepted solution]

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@islandtradepost wrote:

I had a listing that was uploaded by my lister with a price wayyyy below what the item value is. Of course, a buyer jumped on it right away. When I went to cancel the order there is no longer a listing mistake or option, the only option I could use was out of stock which I know eBay does not like.

Island Trade Post

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Depends.  How much is "way" under priced?  $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 etc.

The mistake wasn't caused by a whatever listing program you are using, it is just a simple error we sellers sometimes make.  Years ago I made a HUGE mistake, the listing was purchased right away.  After I picked my mouth up off the floor when I saw what I sold and for how much, I wrote my buyer immediately.  I was honest with her, I owned my mistake and I asked her PERMISSION to do a cancellation because I just could no way afford to sell her that product for that price.  She appreciated my honestly and she let me move forward with the cancellation.  She also never left FB at all, which of course is awesome.  She was very kind to me and I've always appreciated that.

These types of mistakes, that I'd venture a guess a good number of us have made the same mistake over the years, they cause real buyer distrust in Ebay as a whole if sellers are forthcoming with the buyer.  So surprising the buyer with a cancellation notice for OOS is really not a good idea.  It leaves everything to their imagination which can be very active.  And then if they see you relist it for a higher price, then anger sets in.

Hopefully you have contacted your buyer before doing anything.  Otherwise you may end up with some bad FB from them that you don't want.

[eleanor*rigby]

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@bomar_97 wrote:

( maybe because I'm also a seller)

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@bomar_97 

Yeah--I think that's the difference. But try to think of it from a buyer-only point of view. (I'm a buyer only, so it's easier for me.)

Would you think it was okay if any other online retailer from which you purchase would do anything like that? 

Several months ago, I found an item on eBay I'd been looking for at a good price. Shipping was quoted in the listing as being $1, and the seller had included language in the description that she'd compute shipping after the purchase (as I recall--something like that). I immediately contacted her via eBay messaging and told her she was going to find herself stuck with $1 shipping if she didn't revise or end that listing ASAP. She responded that it was her first listing (although she had been a buyer for some time) and wasn't sure how to calculate shipping. She thanked me and said she'd just bite the bullet and chalk it up to a lesson learned. I bought the item and gave her glowing feedback.

And, IMO, that's what the OP should do.

[mr_lincoln]

@islandtradepost   While rare, the ones I dislike are the previously SOLD or DELETED listings getting mysteriously Relisted by eBay and then Selling.  I've caught a few before they sold again but I've had a couple over the last year and a half sell which is how I found out about them ...

[islandtradepost]

I honored the sale, even though I had to eat $100.00 dollars, for a missing 1 on the number. I do try and honor every sale, for any mistakes or omissions like shipping an item to Hawaii which should have been excluded from my list and costing me 2 times the sale, as good sellers we do stuff like that all the time. I think however eBay allowing us to be able to at least have a way to cancel a sale because of an error seeing we all make mistakes. Even if they only allow you that option x number of times in a year or something. But to have to lie and say you're out of stock and be dinged in the process as the only option I think is not the best solution. 

[inthewoodspam]

Defects are bad, but if you only have one, it isn't fatal (ask me how I know).  So unless you have multiple issues, ebay does allow for an occasional screw up.   They just want them properly documented.

[myboardid]

I feel for you, been there done that.  You have my full sympathies.

I once listed 4 $300 items for 30 cents each. The 4 all sold within 5 minutes of the listing going live.  I sent abject apologies/explanations to all the buyers and did not send the items.  I got no complaints back at all, no bad feedback.  Fortunately this was quite a few years ago and eBay did not punish sellers for cancellations at that time. 

And to those of you who think I should have eaten a $1199 loss, please disagree with me silently.