Buyer asked to cancel then changed mind - can I just ship?
Person bought something overnight, then minutes later sent request to cancel, then an hour later changed mind and sent 'don't cancel, ship'
Do we have to decline the cancel before shipping or can we disregard the cancel and just ship?
19 comments
steve_stuff
OP10 months agoTo anyone who cares -
Sold 10/17
Shipped 10/17
Delivered 10/21 (one state away}
Positive feedback - "We messed up / seller straightened it out / great item / great seller" - received 10/30
ryry-jj
·10 months agoSo you have a buyer first buy, then cancel, then cancel the cancel...then message you, "oops, I sent wrong cancel" to wrong seller? I cant imagine if you ship, this is the end of it...but based on the $ amount, its up to you. I'd cancel/refund whatever, but I'm not taking a trip with this buyer driving the car
hartungcards
·10 months agoI'd cancel the sale and block the buyer. This one smells like trouble.
bonanza125
·10 months agoI would just go ahead and agree to the cancellation. Relist the item and sell to someone else.
christworks
·10 months agoThis is a problem buyer. Period. Unless you enjoy headaches, cancel the sale. Let the buyer know that you had to cancel since they formally asked it to be cancelled by opening up a request. Emphasize you do not want there to be confusion down the line with eBay if there is an issue later on. Let them know they will be able to rebuy it once it is relisted. Leave it at that. Don't give a timeframe on when you will relist it. If they message asking, it is the weekend and you are "off." Come Monday block them, then relist. That will give them a couple of days to move on to someone OR something else. Finally, get on your knees and thank God the person asked to cancel before you shipped it.
Bonus advice: I'd ditch that no return policy except on the things are selling for parts/not working.
kr_sales
·10 months agoDepending on the "feel" I got from the message. Was there some sort of extenuating circumstances? Go with your gut. What's the guys feedback? How long has he been with eBay? Lots a factors make it not so cut and dry. If I did ship, I'd confirm one more time.
inhawaii
·10 months agoI would ship ... but that's just me.
I seem to be in the minority.
rugerskick
·10 months agoI would send a reply asking them to clearly confirm again that they want to continue with the order and want to have it shipped to them. Then once replied, thank them for confirming and that the order will proceed and item will be sent out .
kabilab
·10 months agoSteve, I am 83, completely averse to aggravation and only use e-Bay to liquidate unsold store product. I agree with the other posters: Cancel and block.
leaderco_97
·10 months agoIf the buyer sent a cancel request and then quickly messaged saying “don’t cancel, please ship,†you’re fine to ship the order normally. You don’t have to decline the cancellation request first — you can just ship it, and once tracking is uploaded, the cancellation request will automatically expire.
Best way to handle it:
Reply to the buyer confirming:
“Got your message. No problem, I’ll go ahead and ship your order.â€
Ship the item as usual.
Upload tracking right away.
The cancellation request will close on its own once tracking shows movement.
You’re protected as long as you ship within your handling time and follow eBay’s normal process.
simba6
·10 months agoAlways cancel when a buyer requests it. You can decline the request but that can lead to a false not as described case being filed . A wally mart shopper that keeps picking up and putting down an item.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoSounds like a 'drama buyer'.
I would cancel the sale per the buyer request...and block them from future purchases.
Ship it and buyer will probably complain about this and that and return item.
There are always returns under the eBay MBG whether you take returns or not.
Plus a return might mean you pay for shipping return.
duffy4444
·10 months agoSince this is most likely a wishy-washy buyer, the chances of having a problem down the road just increased.
If this happened to me, I'd cancel the order using "buyer requested to cancel", and flip a coin to see if I should block the buyer or not - then relist. If the item is very popular or valuable, I'd probably block such a wishy-washy buyer and instead deal with a customer who doesn't put a big question mark in my head. Seeing the feedback the buyer has left for other sellers also has a bearing as to whether I should go ahead and ship or not.
Sounds to me like a time to flip a coin. But then that's just me, and I'd probably just cancel and block...
Cheers, Duffy
hartungcards
·10 months ago"If this happened to me, I'd cancel the order using "buyer requested to cancel", and flip a coin to see if I should block the buyer or not."
Heads you block the buyer, tails you block the buyer.
broto_64
·10 months agoHere is what I would do, cancel the order, relist, and reply to (or send) the buyer's message indicating you had to cancel the order but it's been relisted and they can purchase it again if they still want it.
meme6253
·10 months agoNot a bad idea.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months agoEDIT: @steve_stuff I misread the message you said the buyer sent. Yes, if they told you to go ahead and ship, it's ok to do so.
Technically you are allowed to decline their request to cancel, but it's unwise. The option to decline a cancellation is mostly for when you've already shipped, so it's too late.
If you ship it anyway, they will likely open a return request, and since your most recent sales says the seller does not accept returns, they will likely choose a reason covered by the MBG and force the return to be not only accepted but paid for by you. They shouldn't, assuming what they get is what was in the listing, but we all know that they could and often do.
There's no real impact on your seller account if you cancel, your fees are returned, and the only thing you have to do is list the item again (which can almost always be done automatically in the cancellation process).
There's significant risk if you deny the cancellation and ship it anyways. They also likely will leave negative feedback, where if they actually used the formal cancellation process and didn't just message you asking to cancel, they won't be able to leave feedback.
I think the choice is easy.
steve_stuff
OP10 months agoOK, maybe I should have been more detailed regarding the third - don't cancel, ship - message.
They wanted to cancel "the broken one for more money" they bought first from other seller, and not cancel our cheaper working one.
It was sent to us by mistake. There will be no return request.
Have printed the label and ebay has sent both us and buyer a 'can't cancel, already shipped' message.
EDIT - noticed your edit after posting this.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months ago@steve_stuff
Yeah, as per my edit (sorry for that), I think you're in good shape now. I left the rest of that response up in case someone else finds themselves in the opposite situation in the future and gets to this discussion via a search.