Buyer Asks Me to Cancel Sale Because He Found a Better Deal
I'm not sure what to do here so I would appreciate any advice. I sold an expensive book yesterday with Buy It Now and the buyer paid. A day later, he wrote me asking me to cancel the sale because he found the same book for a much better price.
I'm torn here. I rarely get any good sale prices anymore and if I give him what he wants, I risk not being able to sale the book again at this price. It **bleep** me off that he committed to the sale and wants me to go to the hassle of having to relist because he found a better deal. I haven't shipped the item yet.
OTOH, it may not be worth the risk and hassle as he might come up with some **bleep** excuse to get a refund from Ebay and give me bad feedback. What would you do?
31 comments
theteamsetguy
·1 year ago@lrdave35 ,
I would just cancel as buyer requested and move on. Nothing good ever happens when you force a buyer to do something they don’t want to do.
Before I would list again, I would do a search to see if there are others available on eBay and lower your price to undercut your competition. This will prevent another buyer from cancelling in the future due to finding a lower price because they won’t.
If you were the buyer why would you pay more than you have too? I would not blame the buyer if they wanted to cancel because they found a better deal than what I was offering.
meme6253
·1 year agoYou really answered your own question in your last sentence, It is not worth the hassle or risk forcing the sale, If they don't want it & you force the issue, You stand a 99.9% chance of bad feedback, You still have the item, so cancel, refund, relist, All Good.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoShipping a book the buyer does not want does not end your pain.
The buyer can always claim INAD and win a claim, and you will need to provide a prepaid shipping label and refund in full or see Ebay allow him to keep the book, refund, and not return your fees.
Your desire to make money will cost you money if you do not accede to the buyer's request.
That's what happens when one sells at retail
tinsoldierunderground
·1 year ago@lrdave35
I'm strictly a buyer on here, and I was raised better than to go back and 'crawfish' a transaction.
Whether completing a transaction in cyberspace or sealing the deal in person with a handshake, you've given your word and should stick to it. As others have stated, accept the cancellation request. By doing so, you're holding all the cards, yes the sale went south, but you still have the book intact and in your possession.
If you ship, the nightmare begins. No telling where it ends when you've got a weasel buyer on the other end.
You don't need a buyer who can't exercise due diligence before hitting the pay button.
squinkercat59
·1 year agoI'd cancel as well; I get these occasionally. I even had to cancel a sale myself once, when my husband told me he wanted me to buy him something, then said a few minutes later, "oh, I have that one already". Mistakes happen, although your buyer should've done his research better, first.
Perhaps he bought from one of those mega book sellers that have very low prices, but awful feedback. If so, when he gets it it might have pages missing, scribbling everywhere, water damage. Thinking that might help you feel better.
legalbeagle52
·1 year ago@lrdave35
It happens to all of us at one time or another. Sure it's disappointing (and annoying) but no good can come from forcing the buyer to go through with the sale if he wants out. A disgruntled buyer can be nothing but trouble. Just be glad that he let you know BEFORE you shipped. Cancel, relist and move on ...
mtgraves7984
·1 year ago@lrdave35
I'm also on Team Cancel. Think long, think wrong...
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoI would cancel the order like the buyer ask and save you some problems later.
simba6
·1 year agoIf the buyer wants to cancel, by all means do so. The quicker the better. Be sure to select the buyer requested it for the reason. Going through with the sale is unwise, you will never make them happy. Just invites a false not as described case to return it. Worse they might "help" it get that way.
gator08041971
·1 year agoYep, agree with the others, cancel while its under your control to do so.
I have bought items on here, only to get an ad for the exact item I bought for less, despite searching for and listing by price... Very annoying. I however didn't cancel, as I knew how annoying that is as a seller, and the difference was small enough to not bother with.
But I have had to cancel transactions before too, it sucks when it happens.
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoSince you haven't shipped it yet, cancel the order as the customer requested.
I have had one instance where the customer contacted me and said they found it cheaper, so I met the price of the other competitor, but, the buyer provided me with the info on the other listing so I could see that they weren't lying. She went away a happy customer. She didn't ask to cancel though, so we negotiated.
toysaver
·1 year agoIt pays to offer competitive pricing and to promote. Chances are the buyer found the 'cheaper price' at the bottom of your listing page and missed it at first.
kandf_vintage_finds
·1 year agoRefund, Relist, Block & Move on
monica-sells
·1 year agoRefund with the buyer requested option (for sure)
Just had this happen to me. Canadian buyer 19.00 + 17.00 for shipping to CA
5 minutes later cancel requested by buyer citing "changed my mind".......
Of course I granted it.....waited an hour or so, checked "Sold Items" for similar and sure as sam, there was the same book (19.00) but from a canadian seller with 9.00 shipping...
draw your own conclusions how they found it so quick
rschissler
·1 year agoAfter cancelling, put them on your blocked buyer list.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·1 year agoRelisting takes like 2 minutes or less
I'd cancel as they asked and move on
cottagehillvanilla
·1 year agoCancel the sale, refund the funds, move on. You didn't ship your product, so you aren't out anything.
jerseyboymusic
·1 year ago@lrdave35
This isn't rocket science. You cancel the transaction.
varebelrose
·1 year agoWhat would I do? I would cancel promptly as the buyer requested. Why? Because I know that if I force the sale, the buyer is just going to create a huge headache by initiating a return and costing me fees and shipping, or more, if they they are not honest and return an empty box. At a minimum, even if they do not initiate a return, the negative feedback they will leave will drive away other buyers. Best to just be a decent seller and accept the request.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoNever mind
cambriachick
·1 year agoPersonally, I agree with the other sellers and would cancel, but you always have the option of asking him how much is the other seller asking for it, and you can make a counter offer. Even if you can't match the other price, if you can come down some, it might be worth it to the buyer to stick with you.
hikeepebike
·1 year agoIf it is another brand but similar product, you can tell the buyer the advantages of your own product.
If the buyer is only interested in the price, respecting the buyer's wishes and arranging a refund will leave a better impression on your buyer.
fern*wood
·1 year agoThere really isn't anything to be torn about, because there is only one logical choice. I woke up to one myself this morning which I immediately accepted. My buyer was unhappy about the shipping, which she asked me about a couple days ago. She then bought last night anyway & immediately submitted the cancellation.
slati_2013
·1 year agoLet me add to what everyone else has said; cancel as requested and refund. If you refuse to cancel and ship, it will just be the start of a nightmare. Your money, your book, gone. Negative feedback and a very bitter you.
krazzykats
·1 year agoJust cancel the sale as buyer requested and move on. Not worth any more of your time than that.
á“šá˜á—¢
quicksilverdiecast
·1 year agoI have had a number of these as well, the best key is to stay on top of sales and process asap with tracking, then it is on the way...I have found that the "found a better deal" was initiated by ebay posting up your competitors items and prices, causing the issue on your page and in a cart...so the only way to get around this is to process it asap.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoI'm torn here.
It sounds like you are "torn" because you really want to risk
in the hope that a buyer will keep an item that he has clearly stated that he does not want to buy.
Good luck with that. The buyer will get what he wants.
It's simply a matter of how much you want to lose when he does.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year ago@lrdave35
Why force a buyer who doesn't want something to take it?
Since you don't have a return policy, the risk in completing the sale is that the buyer receives the book and claims it's not as described and wants to return it.
Then you'll not only be issuing a full refund upon receipt of the return but you will have to supply and pay for the return shipping label.
Just block, cancel (as buyer requested) and relist. All you'll have lost is a bit of time. If it sold once, it'll sell again.
mozartbach1971
·1 year agoIf you block the buyer because of this can they leave you a negative?
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoAbsolutely, blocking a buyer does not affect their ability to leave feedback, positive, neutral or negative.
dryophelia
·1 year ago@lrdave35
Refund, relist, move on.
Be glad they told you before you sent it.