Buyer chooses RETURN instead of CANCEL the transaction - item has not been shipped!

[278stuff]

Before shipping an item, the buyer contacts me and wants to cancel his transaction. I copy and paste the exact instructions from eBay help to no avail. Instead, the buyer clicks he wants to return an item. I explain he can't return something he hasn't received. He apologizes and I ask him to go back and click Cancel, but of course, he can't do that since he's already started a return.

I have eBay customer support call me and the CSR tells me the buyer needs to contact them so they can close the transaction (?). Then he says after the item is received, the guy needs to return it. I reminded the CSR four different times that the item is still in my house and has not been shipped so therefore there is no return. "Oh yes I forgot."

I've searched for how a buyer asks eBay to contact them and so far all I see is how I (seller) got eBay to contact me. Does anyone know how I can direct my buyer to talk to eBay?

Then the CSR says if I wait until Thursday, 12/10, I can contact them and have eBay "close the transaction."

He alleges I will not receive a bad mark against my account but I am totally wary of his words.

Any advice?

[nobody*s_perfect]

I'm not sure what instructions you sent him, but buyers only have an option to request cancelation up to one hour after the transaction. After getting that request, or getting a cancellation request message like you got, then the seller just cancels the transaction citing "Buyer requested." But maybe that can't be done while the buyer has a return pending.

[caldreamer]

SELLER supposed to CANCEL TRANSACTION (using reason "buyer wants to cancel").   And then BUYER must confirm they requested cancellation.

Easier way to solve problem...go to OPEN RETURN REQUEST and issue FULL REFUND (including any postage if shipping label printed).    All your Sellers fees are returned and customer gets his money back.   You must issue FULL REFUND to get Seller fees back.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

you should be able to select "cancel order / purchase" and then select "requested by buyer".  You state you have the e-mail from them which eBay will see.

Should not be that difficult!

If you really dealing with a CSR, they are reading a script. They have no idea!

DO NOT SHIP!

[mam98031]

As @nobody*s_perfect stated, buyers can only formally REQUEST a cancellation within an hour of purchase.  Beyond that their only ability to REQUEST a cancellation would be via email to the seller.  Buyers can NOT ever actually start a cancellation process.  They have no ability to do that.  ONLY sellers can actually create a cancellation.

If this happened to me, I would do the following.

Send the buyer an email and ask them to cancel the Return Request they opened.  Let them know that once they do that, you will go and file for a proper cancellation of the transaction.  And apologize for the confusion and extra work.  Send this email from the communication button inside the Claim they opened.  Keep any communication there is best for you and the buyer.

Once the cancel the Return Request, which they can do easily by going into the claim they filed.  Then I'd go and process the cancellation of the transaction.

If the buyer does not respond to the email today, send it again tomorrow.  If they still don't respond to that one, then go into the claim and accept it for return so that you are protected against getting a defect.  You only have a certain amount of time to reply to a claim.  After that Ebay may step in and you don't want that to happen.

[mtnbrodon]

This very thing just happened to us too, the buyer opened a return on an item that I hadn't even shipped out yet, but here was the kicker, I got a tracking number that showed that he had "shipped" something back to me as well, mind you I NEVER sent anything to him.  A few days pass and I receive the power supply that he sent to me, he apparently opened a return for the wrong part.  I tried 3 times to get a hold of the buyer and explain that he must have made a mistake somewhere and I would gladly send this board he sent me back if he would provide me with a label, as this product did not belong to me.  I got absolutely no response from him, finally I got a hold of an Ebay rep and was told that there was literally nothing that I could do but refund his purchase price because he had opened the return.  There was absolutely no help from them.  I finally received an email from the buyer stating that he did indeed return the wrong board to the wrong person and that they would send me a label to return it but he stated that he really needed my product still and would I please ship.  I explained that I couldn't do that because I could not cancel the return request, but that I was willing to re-list the board and he would just have to purchase it again.  I suppose that answer wasn't acceptable because that was 4 days ago and he has not bought again nor sent me a label for this board that does not belong to me.  It sure seemed like an awful lot of aggravation and time wasted trying to do the right thing but Ebay is absolutely no help at all for sellers and this returns process.  

Good luck fellow sellers and Merry Christmas!!!!!😀

[pjcdn2005]

If they still don't respond to that one, then go into the claim and accept it for return so that you are protected against getting a defect. You only have a certain amount of time to reply to a claim. After that Ebay may step in and you don't want that to happen.

@mam98031 

Why bother having them cancel the return request....why not just click on 'refund'. That would be the fastest.

Perhaps I'm missing something as I don't see the benefit to prolonging the process.

[lac358232]

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@278stuff wrote:

Then the CSR says if I wait until Thursday, 12/10, I can contact them and have eBay "close the transaction."

He alleges I will not receive a bad mark against my account but I am totally wary of his words.

Any advice?

---

Just click Refund, No Return to

- close the return request,

- get your Fair Value Fees back, and

- avoid a case closed without seller resolution defect.

It is very unlikely that your buyer will close the return request, as they chose the RETURN as the way to get their refund AFTER NOT FINDING A WAY TO CANCEL.

And yes @278stuff you will get a defect and no FVF credit if eBay storms in to "close the transaction" after 3 business days.

[mam98031]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

If they still don't respond to that one, then go into the claim and accept it for return so that you are protected against getting a defect. You only have a certain amount of time to reply to a claim. After that Ebay may step in and you don't want that to happen.

@mam98031 

Why bother having them cancel the return request....why not just click on 'refund'. That would be the fastest.

Perhaps I'm missing something as I don't see the benefit to prolonging the process.

---

That is really a VERY valid point.  Can't argue with that advice.

[sin-n-dex]

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@278stuff wrote:

Before shipping an item, the buyer contacts me and wants to cancel his transaction. I copy and paste the exact instructions from eBay help to no avail. Instead, the buyer clicks he wants to return an item. I explain he can't return something he hasn't received. He apologizes and I ask him to go back and click Cancel, but of course, he can't do that since he's already started a return.

I have eBay customer support call me and the CSR tells me the buyer needs to contact them so they can close the transaction (?). Then he says after the item is received, the guy needs to return it. I reminded the CSR four different times that the item is still in my house and has not been shipped so therefore there is no return. "Oh yes I forgot."

I've searched for how a buyer asks eBay to contact them and so far all I see is how I (seller) got eBay to contact me. Does anyone know how I can direct my buyer to talk to eBay?

Then the CSR says if I wait until Thursday, 12/10, I can contact them and have eBay "close the transaction."

He alleges I will not receive a bad mark against my account but I am totally wary of his words.

Any advice?

---

This is a no-brainer. In the return request you have the option to refund the buyer in full (without having an item returned). Just do that and be done with it.

C.

[portkoop-0]

If I understand correctly...

You could just issue the refund from within the case, I do believe that would be the easiest answer.

Otherwise...

The buyer should be able to access the return from within their purchase history, once there it should present the buyer with an option to 'close this return,' meaning they no longer want to return it. That however may not cancel the purchase and you may be stuck having to ship it and then the buyer can't return it since they have a closed case to that effect.

You may have to accept it from your end if it gets near that deadline so it doesn't time out.

Were you unable to cancel?

Anyhow I would try a refund from within the return

lol dang hahaha

[278stuff]

I don't have an option to refund the buyer. Apparently, there is a setting for automatic returns and when I looked into it, the amount was $750 or less. There is no way I would have ever given automatic approval for returns of $750 or less, so I don't know how that happened or even set up.

I gave the buyer explicit instructions on how to proceed as follows, straight from eBay:

"Cancel an order you made more than an hour ago
If it’s been more than an hour since your purchase, you need to contact the seller and ask them to cancel it for you. Here’s how:

Go to Purchase history and find the order you want to cancel.
Select Contact seller.
Choose Request to cancel this order, then Contact the seller.
Explain to the seller why you need to cancel and select Send."

Instead, he chose return item because "he got confused."

See the attached image showing my only option. Any further ideas? 

Thanks to all of you who have responded to me.

[kensgiftshop]

@278stuff 

Accept the return and refund without returning.

[divwido]

So they have to return the item you never shipped, back to you to get a refund.  I"d give them a date it must be returned by and then wait for the item you already have.

[lac358232 · Accepted solution]

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@278stuff wrote:

I don't have an option to refund the buyer. Apparently, there is a setting for automatic returns

See the attached image showing my only option. Any further ideas? 

Thanks to all of you who have responded to me.

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After you confirm your return address, @278stuff 

You can immediately refund the buyer, close the return request, avoid the deadly defect, and get your Family Values Fee credit back.