Do not choose the wrong reason for cancel, eBay is monitoring

[sin-n-dex]

Just wanted to share this since people ask about cancelling orders here quite frequently (and I'm doubting most regular posters have seen the verbiage in this email unless maybe they cancelled and eBay decided it wasn't for the right reason).

Shared with me... It was my sale that got cancelled (just passing this along).

***

Activity on your account isn’t following policy: Listing cancellation policy

Activity on your account didn’t follow our Listing cancellation policy. 

What happened

Canceling a transaction and selecting a false reason to avoid a defect isn’t allowed.

More specific details are provided below.

What this means for you

Because you may not have been aware of this policy, we're letting you know about it and ask that you follow this policy in the future.

No other actions have been taken on your account
 
Not following this policy in the future will result in a temporary 3-day restriction placed on your account, and your listings will be hidden from search during this period.  All fees paid or payable for listings that are ended and/or hidden from search will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.

This determination was made using automation or artificial intelligence.  

Cancel transactions only for valid and accurate reasons.

More about this policy

- Canceling a transaction and selecting a false reason to avoid a defect isn’t allowed
- To cancel a transaction, sellers must:
-- Notify the buyer of the cancellation reason
-- Cancel the transaction within 30 days of the sale
-- Use the correct process in My eBay or Seller Hub:
--- Go to My eBay > Sold and locate the item. From the More actions dropdown menu, select Cancel this order. Or;
--- Go to Seller Hub and locate the item. From the Actions dropdown menu, select End.
-- Choose a reason for the cancellation and follow the on-screen instructions

This policy helps sellers avoid problems with buyers, and prevents sellers from avoiding defects by falsely selecting a reason to end a transaction.

Learn more: Listing cancellation policy

If you have any questions or concerns, or think we’ve made a mistake, please get in touch. We're here to help.

We appreciate your understanding.

Thanks,
eBay

Please don't reply to this message. It was sent from an address that doesn't accept incoming email.

[12345jamesstamps]

Partial refunds are not dangerous without tracking. I do combine shipping refunds every week without tracking.

I made a mistake refunding the total amount I think...if I refunded all but .01 cent I wonder if artificial intelligence would understand that situation as saying out of stock...LOL

[fern*wood]

Did you just issue a refund after marking it shipped or refund by cancelling the transaction?

It seems something in your process caused the defect.

[12345jamesstamps]

It was a 'ding' only on my metrics.

I listed the reason 'item not as described' but got it as 'out of stock' by eBay.

I always gave refunds for combined shipping without problem and thought it was the right reason.

Oh well...

[12345jamesstamps]

It was shipped out about 2 days and then...gave a refund after noticing photos where an item had a small tear .

Clinked on 'item not as described'...and got that 'out of stock' instead.

Now I wonder if I refunded all but .01 cent would it be the same thing...LOL

[12345jamesstamps]

This creates a problem afterwards if there is a problem after it's shipped.

If buyer speaks no English and emails me in Korean I have to do this and that to try to solve a situation.

Quite a bit of my time.

I have solved problems in the past with google with French and Spanish buyers who use no English and send me emails. That is easy.

I decided to block China...for similar reasons...everything in Chinese from the address to emails.

I had a buyer who I contested her photos were not the same as my photos of items send...in Chinese.

I had a buyer who I contested I was not the sender of photos of items I sent them...in Chinese.

A problem can occur after it's been shipped.

I am just a one-kid operation here...not a group of employees like others here who have help.

[sin-n-dex]

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@gurlcat wrote:

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So all in all, VERY interesting and possibly helpful share!  But can you say anything more about the circumstances where you found that eBay message posted?  Like did the OP say what kind of cancellation reason they chose?   Were they admitting they were dishonest and eBay busted them, or did they think they chose an honest reason and eBay falsely flagged them?  Any details you can give might be huge, because if they're automating this now, it could be glitchy like everything else eBay tries (at least in the beginning).  

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It's in the Canadian seller's forum and recent (I posted this the same day I read the thread), but I don't want to doxx the poster by naming them (they are using a posting ID anyway). They explained what happened in their thread, but to not quote them wrong or misunderstand the post I think it's better to just go there and read it.

C.

[sin-n-dex]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I shipped the items.

After items shipped...I notice in my photos there was a tiny tear.

I decided to refund the buyer, and notified buyer, buyers got items, said it was OK and gave positive feedback because buyer was happy with freebies and getting a refund without asking.

I in essence gave free items to buyer who didn't care about a small tear in one item.

To me, this was a Mr. Nice Guy in my books.

I could have waited for buyer to email me...could have waited for buyer to maybe want to return for a refund.

I could have given buyer a hassle like some sellers here on this platform for a return and such.

Did I give the buyer a hassle like some here do? No...

It's called solving a problem before one arrives...Business 101

---

There's something I call the "disappointment factor" which is how a buyer feels after purchasing something and getting excited about it, and then finding major or minor fault with it when it arrives. If you notify the buyer of the problem right away, they don't have a lot of energy invested in looking forward to their item, but after waiting a week or two and getting the package, there is a certain level of excitement as they check out their item(s) and a big let down to see it wasn't what they expected.

The disappointment factor runs very high when someone is buying something with a sentimental attachment. I get very nervous about sales when I get a message from the buyer telling me how much they were looking forward to receiving the item (for whatever sentimental reason... I've gotten "my grandfather is the guy on this token" to "I had one when i was a kid", and "my family member did the design for this coin/token"). It makes me nervous because I know if something goes wrong with the sale the disappointment factor can go through the roof and the disappointment factor is one of the leading causes for negative FB.

So that being said, the one and only neutral I got that stuck was from someone experiencing a high case of the disappointment factor for winning an item at a much lower price than similar items on eBay, and then having it get lost in the mail. The refund did not cut the mustard for fixing the problem. The buyer also waited a month before telling me the thing still hadn't arrived and I discovered it got lost. I tried my best to track it down, but something strange happened and my shipper lost it.

C.

[gurlcat]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I shipped the items.

After items shipped...I notice in my photos there was a tiny tear.

I decided to refund the buyer

---

Wait, what??  You mean the photos in your listing ... that the buyer could see before deciding to buy?   Why did you think you needed to refund at all?      

[mam98031]

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@jonathanbrightlight wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

SELLER:  Dear customer, Sorry. the pink widget you purchased is out of stock. I can send you a black one instead or do you want to cancel the order?

BUYER: Cancel the order.

SELLER CANCELS ORDER.

REASON:  BUYER REQUESTED TO CANCEL.

Violation or not?

---

I very much doubt I could track it down, but I seem to remember one of the Blues answering that question a long time ago, and the answer I remember was that it is not a valid buyer-initiated cancellation if the seller asked first. That would be considered abuse of the cancellation process, like @slippinjimmy said.

---

That is a violation because the Seller asked the buyer if they wanted to cancel.  Your memory is correct.

[mam98031]

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@keraz-0 wrote:

I just had to cancel an order last week. My first. I could not find all the pieces to the lot in the order. One was missing. I looked everywhere!

I contacted the buyer, told them what was going on, and gave them the option of me cancelling the order, or sending the order and refunding a percentage due to the missing piece.

I waited all weekend for their response, but never got it. I had to have the item shipped on Monday, so I cancelled and refunded.

My thinking was, that cancelling was the least potentially damaging to my seller rating. Had I shipped, the buyer could have started a inad, and left a negative on top of it. Then I get 2 dings instead of 1.

Funnily enough, the buyer sent a response a couple of hours later, saying that sending the order minus the missing piece was ok. Too late however, since he was refunded and the order was cancelled.

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What reason did you select when you filed the cancellation?

[babyers88]

well it's a solution I have used without having to cancel, I just worked around the language barrier by converting the address, figured putting it in english would get it going there and the native language address on the packaging would get it to the buyer. easy-peasy.

even the ones I get where the address is all doubled up or tripled up, I correct it and send it. and technically it is going to the address on file, just not a messed up one.

as for messages the ones that drive me batty are these foreigners that have to send 20 messages to ask one question

like

hello
friend
good morning
i wanted to ask a question
could you help me
i hope you can help me
i want to buy this item
this item 434676565856
can you tell me
is it working

gaahhhhhhhh!!!!! 

[keraz-0]

The reason was out of stock. It technically was, as one piece was missing. And, it was my fault. Should have kept track of my inventory better.

[mam98031]

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@keraz-0 wrote:

The reason was out of stock. It technically was, as one piece was missing. And, it was my fault. Should have kept track of my inventory better.

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Thank you for your honesty.  That is exactly what you needed to do.  We all make inventory mistakes from time to time.  It is how you resolve the issue that tells that you are a very good seller with great customer service.