Locked
Discussions in this board are limited to the original poster and Community Mentors
How to cancel an order due to damage?
Some of the (vintage) items in the auction stopped working from the time of posting to end of the auction. Buyer has paid already. I would like to cancel and have them get full refund. I don't want either them or I penalized for this understandable issue. I have already alerted them of the situation. Please advise...
4 comments
jstagg2
OP3 years agoWhile I understand the importance of maintaining a high standard of service for both buyers and sellers, I believe that any defect would be unfairly applied in this particular instance.
At time of posting items worked perfectly, those items were stored safely and securely. However these are ‘vintage electronics’ and were advertised as such. what happens after they are turned on/off is beyond my control. During the transaction, I made every effort to provide accurate product details.
Further, i notified all bidders of this issue the moment I learned there was problem - prior to auction end - and asked them to retract their bids - as specified by eBay. The winning bid was a last minute snipe-style bid so there was no way to notify someone who was not known to me. Lastly, the mobile app did not allow me to take any further actions o prevent this auction completing even tho an issue had arose.
I kindly request no defect be applied to my account, taking into consideration the extenuating circumstances surrounding this transaction. I have always valued my reputation as a seller on eBay and wish to continue providing excellent service to my customers.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I hope for a fair resolution.
Sincerely,
J Stagg
inceptions
Mentor3 years agoYou're not addressing eBay here, you are addressing the eBay community.
EVERY seller thinks they have a good reason for not receiving a defect on their account citing extenuating circumstances. The bottom line is, if you don't complete the transaction and cancel the order, it creates a bad experience for the buyer (whether the buyer is forgiving or not) and that costs buyers time and money and it costs eBay and other sellers damage to their reputations.
One defect won't hurt you, but more might, so it behooves you to make sure your items are in working order. The odds of an item working when you list it and then suddenly not working before you even ship it are slim, so this should be such a rare occurrence that it isn't worth thinking about. If an item is so fragile that it can become non-function, sitting on a shelf without being touched. It is too fragile to list on eBay...must less survive the shipping process.
You should also be aware that it's a policy violation for buyers to retract bids except under very specific circumstances (which don't include the one you mentioned), so please don't advise them to do that. Bid retractions are recorded on the buyer's record. You are the one who needs to cancel the bid. But again, this should be a rare occurrence.
kensgiftshop
·3 years agoEbay doesn't really care why you cancel an order, all they know is they'll have an upset buyer and they don't like that.
If the item is defective, you don't have any other option, then cancel as out of stock/damaged and earn the defect.
inceptions
Mentor3 years agoThough it can happen rarely, sellers are responsible for keeping their items safely stored so this doesn't occur. You will be penalized (i.e. receive a defect) for not completing the sale. If the item is not in working order, then you need to either refrain from listing or take the item down before it can be sold.
Cancel the transaction using the reason that the item is out of stock or damaged.