Selling advice
I sold an item I need to ship. While packaging it I noticed something that made me think I should notify the buyer about or just cancel the sale. Not because it does not match the description, but because it is not included in the description. I dont know how I should proceed. Any suggestions?
23 comments
inhawaii
·9 months agoWhatever the "discovery" is, it just seems a bit unfair that if it's enough for the buyer to change their mind about the sale that the seller uses "buyer asked to cancel" as the reason.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoBuyers can ask to cancel simply because they've changed their mind or found a better price. Buyers aren't penalized for asking to cancel unless it's "frequent" (whatever that means), but sellers are penalized for canceling their own transactions when an item is damaged or out of stock. Sellers are also penalized for INADs, which may or may not apply here, insofar as we don't know if the omission contradicts the description, e.g. item is described as "new" but seller sees that something on the item indicates it's used.
In theory, the best way to avoid an INAD would be to skip any description at all (as many sellers do) because you cannot inaccurately describe something you haven't described at all. That said, it appears the OP is trying to do the right thing, but it's not clear that whatever the discovery is matters enough to anyone at this point to take any kind of defect at all.
Again, I'm just waiting to see where it says that a seller who has given a buyer the option of a cancelation/refund OR shipment (or partial refund as mentioned by others) of their purchase is required to take a hit when the buyer says "thanks for letting me know, I'd like to cancel". The buyer is absolutely not going to report the seller for falsely stating buyer requested cancelation in this scenario. It will take CS a nanosecond to review the messages to determine that that is the buyer's choice.
inhawaii
·9 months ago"Hello buyer, sorry I just noticed the figurine is missing the left hand.
Would you still like the item or would you like me to cancel?"
Buyer asked to cancel!
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoThat's damage, so not applicable here.
soh.maryl
·9 months agoWell, so far we don't know exactly what the seller has discovered about the item he's sold and about to ship, so it's a little difficult to comment here. As mentioned, perhaps what he's discovered would not make any difference to the buyer, or perhaps the buyer would want to cancel, we have no way of knowing, but, again, the buyer needs to be informed so he can make his own decision, don't you think?
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months ago100%! That was the very first thing I said in my initial post. Communication is extremely important when we deal with stuff like this. I'm a strong believer in responding quickly and honestly, whenever anything questionable arises. The problem here is we don't know what was found. The OP is also a somewhat inexperienced seller with a single neg on the account used to post here so we don't know if this is paranoia or a genuine issue with the item.
My biggest concern in a situation like this is that the seller will ruin their own career as a result of ignorance. He/she may not know that choosing "out of stock" or "damaged" will result in a defect, that may not be deserved, and telling him/her to just take the hit when we don't know is just bad advice. The OP may be worrying about something as minor as a bit of torn cellophane or as major as a missing stone on a piece of jewelry.
It's a bit unfortunate, but there is a rather unpleasant element on this board that seems dead set on wrecking the selling experience for new and inexperienced users.
soh.maryl
·9 months agoWere you purposely vague about this?
Regardless, I think our general consensus here is that, of course, you need to contact the buyer and explain before shipping. Something that doesn't matter to me or maybe you might make a great deal of difference to the buyer. They have to be given the option of asking to cancel.
BTW, personally I think that a scenario where a seller informs the buyer about an issue and asks if the buyer wants to cancel is the same as the buyer requesting a cancellation. Your MMV.
babyers88
·9 months agothe pitch applies
yeswayrecords
·9 months agoThe best course of action might be to contact the buyer and inform them of the missing information.
This allows them to make the decision as to whether or not they still want the item.
You may also want to offer a discount on the price if there is an issue that was not described.
Give them the option. If they decide to cancel due to this, you should cancel the order.
bashort
·9 months agoMy opinion is that the time to check and correct listings is before the item is sold, if a error is found after the sale in most cases I would say ship it and deal with a return if needed, a not as described return does much less metric damage than a seller canceled sale, one of the most serious ebay infractions and is to be avoided, if you are going to contact the buyer I would call them, the average ebay buyer will likely not see the message until after when you should of shipped the item.
Edit: reread your post and you stated that the problem is "Not because it does not match the description".
Absolutely no reason to contact the buyer or cancel the sale.
kibble-net
·9 months agoNeed more details, but as others have said---- communicate with the buyer. We aren't the buyer. What makes us happy won't necessarily satisfy your customer. You need to work with them and let them know what is up.
krazzykats
·9 months agoAlways give the buyer the choice.
I listed an item that sold but later realized it was missing a piece I hadn’t noticed when listing it. I informed the buyer, who still wanted it, so I discounted it almost entirely—charged just $2.00 to cover fees. Sure, it was an easy piece to replace, but I didn’t want the hassle of repairing and relisting. She was happy to get nearly all her money back and still receive the item.
Another item had a small chip I hadn’t noticed, so I canceled that order since I’d listed it as having no cracks or chips and felt it wouldn’t make an acceptable gift.
I do my best to avoid selling defective, damaged, soiled, or ruined items, but sometimes small flaws can slip by. When that happens, I make sure to fix the issue to the customer’s satisfaction.
If it’s not something I’d keep in my own home, then I probably won’t try to sell it.
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bonanza125
·9 months agoI would contact the buyer and talk things out with them. Come to a mutual decision if they want to still follow through with the transaction or cancel. If they don't reply ship the item.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoDefinitely notify the buyer and give them the option to cancel. You can send a short message,
"While preparing your item for shipping, I noticed .... and wanted to let you know before I sent the item. I will be happy to cancel the order if you feel this flaw/observation (whatever it is) will interfere with your enjoyment of the item. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so that I can ship or refund as soon as possible".
Once you get a response, proceed accordingly.
P.S. This will give you the option to use "buyer asked to cancel". If this is what they choose, be sure to go back and get pics of the whatever the issue is and add it to the listing before you relist it.
kensgiftshop
·9 months agoI agree with contacting the buyer, but not using buyer requested as the reason to cancel the order.
It's the sellers mistake, not the buyers.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoIf the buyer requests the cancelation, it's a buyer requested cancelation. You don't even know what the issue is, so that's not correct. The seller may have noticed a watermark, or initials, or any other of a number of possibilities that are NOT damage or an error.
It is up to the buyer to determine whether this matters, and it is the buyer's choice whether or not to ship. The OP has the item in hand, it is as described according to the post, and the discovery may not be of any consequence. For example, if I sell a Loungefly backpack and discover something extra in the bag, or a floral lining that someone might not love, I would notify the buyer and let him/her decide whether this is a problem for them. I would not be taking an INAD or "out of stock" in a scenario like this.
kensgiftshop
·9 months agoWhy wouldn't you take a OOS if it was something you missed?
The buyer shouldn't have to ask to cancel if the seller made a mistake in the listing or missed something.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoThe OP has already told us it wasn't a mistake. The OP found something in/on the item that may or may not matter to the buyer. I'm not understanding why you are having so much trouble processing this. The item is neither OOS, nor damaged, so you let the buyer know and they can decide. The OP is NOT canceling the transaction. The OP is giving the buyer the option to cancel if the discovery will matter (in a negative way) to them. If the OP came here and said "I just realized the item I sold is broken" or "I dropped the item and broke it" or "I can't find the item", then the seller would have to use the OOS or damaged options. Again, you have no idea what the discovery was/is so telling the OP to just take a defect isn't helpful.
Canceling an order without consulting with the buyer and just marking it "damaged" is not good business. A good seller gives buyers options, communicates with them properly, and is as transparent as possible.
bashort
·9 months agoI did not know that it worked like that, that is great to know, next time I can not find the widget I sold
I will just ask the buyer if it would be all right if I shipped you some random piece of junk instead and if they say no then it is a buyer requested cancel.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoLOL nice to see you didn't read the OP's post. For all you know she found a price tag or "made in taiwan" sticker. Again, if a buyer says "I would like to cancel", the buyer is requesting the cancelation. If I tell the buyer "I, your seller, want/need to cancel", then it's a seller cancelation.
This isn't rocket science. You never just cancel a sale. What matters to you may not matter to your buyer.
jonathanbrightlight
·9 months agoIt's been stated before by eBay "blues" here on the boards (I can try to track it down if needed) that the seller asking the buyer if they would like to cancel, and the buyer confirming they would like to cancel, is NOT a valid "Buyer asked to cancel" situation, and if the buyer reports it, the seller will likely get a mark on their account (I don't know if we know exactly what happens when a buyer reports an inaccurate reason was used). That's what's being described here.
And even if they just found a sticker or something, if it doesn't match the item photos and description in the listing at the time of purchase, it's the seller's responsibility. It may be something the buyer doesn't care about, or they may care, but it's the seller's responsibility to catch everything before it sells.
tarotfindsandmore
·9 months agoPlease do. I'd like to see that. What is the reason the seller would use since the item is neither out of stock nor damaged? Are we now able to give ourselves INADs?
dhbookds
·9 months agoHard to say......since we don't know what the problem is. Canceling at this point is going to hurt you because it would be considered out of stock. I would probably mail with a note that explains the problem and offer free return shipping if the item isn't satisfactory.......