As a seller: How to properly cancel an order to minimize potential trouble ??

[valkyriebiker]

Hi all, I was selling a heavy item (generator) as a Local Pickup Only. Naturally, the bidder did not sufficiently read the listing (even though I included "local pickup only" in bold, uppercase letters), bid and won the item. He lives 1,000 miles away. He wants to send a carrier to pick up the item. I don't want to do that. It's too heavy and it's not convenient for a carrier to come to my home. He has not yet paid.

When I bring up the menu to cancel the order, I'm presented with these options:

1. Out of stock or damaged

2. Buyer asked to cancel    (he didn't)

3. Issue with buyers shipping address.

I'm somewhat aware that each reason can affect what happens next. Which option puts me in the best position regarding:

1. Getting my seller fees back without cooperation of the buyer.

2. Not getting -FB

thanks.

[Anonymous]

I've done about a dozen or so local pickups.

in addition to what @house*of*paws  stated

In each one I do specify that I will accept pickup from people that will be in town to pickup for whatever  reason EVEN IF they DON'T live near me but to contact me first to let me know prior to purchasing.

[valkyriebiker]

Wow, thanks for that!  LPU has a proof of delivery mechanism now, cool.

[pburn]

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@valkyriebiker wrote:

Ninja'd!  OK, I'll wait the 96 hours.

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Just want to make sure you understand the correct time frame for cancellations for nonpayment:

• If you are cancelling your unpaid transactions MANUALY (cancelling each one separately yourself), the option to cancel for nonpayment will appear AFTER FOUR FULL CALENDAR DAYS; i.e., on day five.
• If you have your Buyer Preferences set to cancel unpaid transactions AUTOMATICALLY, the transaction will be cancelled after 96 hours have passed.

That's how eBay introduced it originally, anyway. They've been sneaking some changes into these processes lately without any kind of announcement or clarification. If anyone knows whether these are still the time frames, or whether they've changed that, too, please chime in.

HOWEVER--and there's always a "however"--see this caveat on this page:

Resolving unpaid items with buyers 

"You can only use Preferences for items awaiting payment when you use eBay checkout, which means that the buyer pays through the standard checkout flow, not cash on delivery or with a check.

If you accept cash on local pickup, checks, or money orders on your listings, you'll need to remove these payment methods if you want to use Preferences for items awaiting payment on those listings."

[soh.maryl]

How about issue with buyer's shipping address? 

Have you explained that you cannot honor his request?

Or, you can wait 4 days and on day #5 open an unpaid item case.

There is no way that you can be forced to do what he asks.

O

[cstpos]

@valkyriebikerAs others have suggested - Wait the 4 days. If they don't pay, cancel it as an Unpaid Item. If they do pay, but want to send a shipper to come pick it up, I would cancel with the Problem with a Buyer's address. The buyer will then be refunded. You may be out the $.30 ebay fee, but that will be all. I would add that buyer to my Blocked Buyer List, if you don't want to do business with them in the future. They can still communicate with you regarding your current transaction.

If the buyer doesn't pay, they can't leave FB. If they do pay, I would take a neg FB. You can always reply that the buyer wanted to ship a Local Pickup only item. Or just no comment at all. It sounds kind of scammy to me. Do they think they can open a return and put you on the hook for the return shipping? They might figure a seller would rather let them keep the item than pay for return shipping. It is a tricky situation. I would wait and see if they pay, but, like you, I would want to know my options now.

I had a buyer order 5 restaurant terminals as Local Pickup. He was in the Maldives! That's like 9,000 miles away. He kept arguing with me that my listing said Free and I was a scammer. I sent 4 messages explaining what Free Local Pickup meant. I told him I was sorry, but I would have to cancel and issue a refund. Which I did. He waited a week, them messaged asking if he could repurchase and would I get him some shipping costs.

If you do relist, do you have a note in your listing that the buyer should bring X amount of people to lift the generator? Unless you do want to help load it up. Good Luck!

[pburn]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

How about issue with buyer's shipping address? 

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I agree with you; however, let's confirm that cancelling using the "problem with buyer's address" would qualify as a legitimate reason when local pickup is the only option available. 

I see absolutely no reason to give the buyer a nonpayment strike in this situation. It's uncalled for, and, IMO, unduly harsh to the point of being vindictive.

devon@ebay 

velvet@ebay 

elizabeth@ebay 

Can someone confirm whether it would be appropriate to cancel using the "problem with buyer's address" option when local pickup was the only option available on the listing?

Thanks!

[bonjourami]

" I would message the buyer and let them know that 3rd party shipping companies are not allowed and give them the option to pick it up in person. If they decline, you can choose cancel because of shipping address."

Ebay always allowed for third party pick up with the buyer just giving the QR code to the seller when the item was picked up. Has that changed?

[elizabeth@ebay]

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@pburn wrote:

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@soh.maryl wrote:

How about issue with buyer's shipping address? 

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I agree with you; however, let's confirm that cancelling using the "problem with buyer's address" would qualify as a legitimate reason when local pickup is the only option available. 

I see absolutely no reason to give the buyer a nonpayment strike in this situation. It's uncalled for, and, IMO, unduly harsh to the point of being vindictive.

devon@ebay 

velvet@ebay 

elizabeth@ebay 

Can someone confirm whether it would be appropriate to cancel using the "problem with buyer's address" option when local pickup was the only option available on the listing?

Thanks!

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Hi, @pburn. You are correct, that in this type of scenario, cancelling as "problem with buyers address" would suffice, since essentially that is the issue here. While the option to cancel after 4 days for 'unpaid item' is still an option, we always encourage peaceful transactions when accidents like this occur.

[bonjourami]

 elizabeth@ebay

Are third party pick ups still allowed with the buyer just giving the seller the QR code when the item is picked up? I thought I read that on the shipping board awhile ago?

PREVIEW

[elizabeth@ebay]

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@bonjourami wrote:

 elizabeth@ebay

Are third party pick ups still allowed with the buyer just giving the seller the QR code when the item is picked up? I thought I read that on the shipping board awhile ago?

PREVIEW

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Hi @bonjourami. With local pickup that is allowed, as the QR code is what notifies us that the transaction is completed. 

[pburn]

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elizabeth@ebay wrote:

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@pburn wrote:

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I agree with you; however, let's confirm that cancelling using the "problem with buyer's address" would qualify as a legitimate reason when local pickup is the only option available. 

I see absolutely no reason to give the buyer a nonpayment strike in this situation. It's uncalled for, and, IMO, unduly harsh to the point of being vindictive.

devon@ebay 

velvet@ebay 

elizabeth@ebay 

Can someone confirm whether it would be appropriate to cancel using the "problem with buyer's address" option when local pickup was the only option available on the listing?

Thanks!

---

Hi, @pburn. You are correct, that in this type of scenario, cancelling as "problem with buyers address" would suffice, since essentially that is the issue here. While the option to cancel after 4 days for 'unpaid item' is still an option, we always encourage peaceful transactions when accidents like this occur.

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Thanks so much for your quick reply, elizabeth@ebay!

Just tagging the OP to make sure s/he sees this more reasonable, less punitive option:

@valkyriebiker 

You may cancel RIGHT NOW by selecting "problem with buyer's address." There's no reason to wait the extra time to cancel and give the buyer a nonpayment strike for what was most likely an oversight or error on his/her part.

I really have to question the advice to use that unpaid item transaction cancellation. 

[Anonymous]

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@bonjourami wrote:

 elizabeth@ebay

Are third party pick ups still allowed with the buyer just giving the seller the QR code when the item is picked up? I thought I read that on the shipping board awhile ago?

PREVIEW

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You can either scan the QR code or manually enter the 6 digit code provided by the buyer for those of us that have QR challenged phones (my phone WILL NOT scan QR codes for some reason).

@bonjourami 

[chevymontecarlo88]

I was not aware of any policy allowing that but i could be wrong. I have accepted these terms before (not on anything out of state or that heavy) and understood my risks. Grant it the items were inexpensive and i was not too worried about. 

Sure you could accept the terms and proceed with the sale but what if the item is delivered broken or not as described. Seems like it would open you up to many issues that might not be worth the hassle. If the buyer opens a NAD, how will you get the item back? Not saying this will be the case.

Sounds like the OP is doing a little research on how to protect themselves from any liability which is smart. Reaching out to the buyer would be my suggestion and to try to work it out. 

 I find that most of this could be handled through messaging with the buyer. 

[bonjourami]

Thank you!!

[chevymontecarlo88]

Good post @bonjourami , i stand corrected.