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Seller is requesting I submit order cancellation for product that is not available/out of stock.
Summary: heatherandwhin discusses a situation where a seller asked them to cancel an order due to a supplier issue, contrary to platform policies. rfmtm clarifies that while sellers are supposed to cancel unavailable orders, they sometimes ask buyers to do it to avoid penalties. heatherandwhin acknowledges this and adds that the seller has a history of similar requests, emphasizing the desire not to have such cancellations on their own record.
I made a purchase Wednesday, August 19, 2026 7:37am Pacific time. 12 hours later I received a (ai-generated?) message from the seller stating,
"We wanted to let you know that we’ve encountered an unexpected issue with our supplier, and unfortunately, we’re unable to fulfill your order at this time. To help speed up your refund, please submit a cancellation request through your purchase history. As soon as we receive it, we’ll process it right away.We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.Thank you."
I replied, "eBay's policy requires that the Seller initiates the cancellation of a sale if a product is out of stock and the Seller is unable to fulfill an order. Please cancel my order immediately and issue me a refund."
Is this correct? The seller is responsible for cancelling an order and issuing a refund if the product they sold is not available, correct?
Thanks for your input.
Shirley
rfmtm
Mentor3 weeks agoYes, that is exactly what the seller was doing. While the seller is the only one that can actually cancel the order, there is no penalty to you, if you want to ask for one.
rfmtm
Mentor3 weeks agoYes and no. While the seller is the one that cancels, you do not have to agree to it. By asking to cancel, the seller avoids any penalties for doing so.
heatherandwhin
OP3 weeks agoThank you. Yes, I figured they were trying to avoid penalties. In their reviews they've had other similar transactions where they asked the buyer to cancel an order. I've never cancelled an order and I didn't want that on my record.