How to Resolve an Unpaid Sale When Buyer Has Asked to Cancel after Case is Closed

[crimsonwavesurfer]

Had to file an unpaid purchase case.  After 10 days was finally contacted by the buyer who offered to pay but did not want the merchandise.  (I did not feel that this was wise, so I offered to cancel the order.)  I tried to cancel the order and was told by ebay (robots) that the case had to be closed first.  So, I closed the case.  Got an email from ebay saying the case was closed and they put a strike against buyer.  But now, I cannot close the order because ebay (robot) says there is still an open case against this purchase.  

The buyer is aware that they have a mark against their record as a buyer and asked me to try to get that removed.  The whole deal is that I can't get ebay to cooperate.  The buyer has a perfect record and I did send 2 emails and an invoice to resolve the issue BEFORE I filed an unpaid purchase case.

Seems that I should have saved us both the trouble and canceled the order anyway and FORGOT ABOUT DOING EBAY'S WAY????

In the meantime, I have relisted the items.