penguins_dont_fly is a Volunteer Community Mentor
@soh.maryl wrote:Your message makes it sound like you are cancelling instead of opening unpaid item cases, but that can't be correct, can it? If so, that could be why your cancellation rate is so high.
Re-read what bigdeals wrote.
[Let's also include UPIs in here... doesn't matter to me since I don't have auctions.]
Big is not cancelling Unpaid Items. They are saying that UID's are not an issue for them because they don't run auctions (or list with BO).
I think the better way to think about this is "what is your average 90 day cancellation rate"
According to your visible solds, you sold 1816 items in the past 90 days
(I know that isn't a complete picture because of the way eBay shows sold multi-items and variation listings, but lets run with that for a minute)
55 Cancellations/1816 Solds
is a 3% Cancellation Rate
That is 3 out of every 100 sales.
My tiny little store sold 73 items (visible solds) in the past 90 days with 1 Cancellation in that period
Which comes to approximately a 1.5% Cancellation rate.
My actual # of individual items sold is 112 ... so in reality, my cancellation rate is less than 1%
I think that cancels, along with returns, are dependent on the category you sell in...and my theory is that the cancel/return ratio is probably about even. (I am probably wrong here)
For a larger clothing seller, that 3% sounds pretty good. What is your return rate in the same period?
I tend to think of cancels as "pre-shipment returns" ... it is an inventory restock event without the hassle of getting the item back, inspecting it and reshelving it like an actual return ... with the added benefit of not having to pay return shipping (Free Returns seller here).
@bigdeals.etc wrote:
@penguins_dont_fly wrote:<snip my big long post>
tl:dr Penguin's Theory of Returns/Cancellations Ratio
Wow, your theory is pretty spot on... I'm unclear as to why do you think returns and cancellations are about even. I'm curious, care to share your views?
It shows here that my 90 day period is about 6400 transactions. So simple math... Cancellation rate is 0.86%. My return rate for the same period is 0.83%... as with pretty much all clothing sellers and 90% of that is for "doesn't fit." Pretty darn close 0.86 ~ 0.83. I can't recall having this many cancellations pre-2020 and even less pre-2019.
I don't think items sold (vs transactions) should be used to determine cancellation rate. It's because a buyer will rarely (if ever) purchase multiple items in one transaction then ask for a partial cancellation. Is that even allowed within that 1 hr cancellation window? So if a multiple purchase (say 12 items) has a cancellation request filed, it will cause a misrepresentation since it was all caused by 1 buyer possibly hitting the purchase button nilly willy. Also if you notice, ebay calculates return rate using transactions too.
I should have worded that differently ... I really meant "Individual transactions", not "Individual Items", mea culpa 😉
My theory is based on the three different types of buyers out there in the wild:
#1 Pays attention to what they are putting in their cart. They probably have a list when they grocery shop and do not deviate (much). If they pick something up in the store to "think about it" and then change their mind, they put it back where they found it. They are the ones that take 3 sizes of the same outfit into the dressing room to make sure that it fits and put the 2 that don't onto the rack neatly. If they buy something that they don't like much when they get it home, they chalk it up to "now I know better". These buyers rarely return anything or cancel orders.
#2 Is a bit more adventurous. They try new things and if they use a list when shopping, it is flexible. They are sometimes impulse buyers, but they are paying attention to what they are buying. They are the folks that bring 20 wildly different things into the dressing room to try them on and end up buying only 1. They will (mostly) put things back where they found them. These are your 1-hour cancellations and Remorse Returners.
#3 Is the buyer that we all dread. They pay absolutely no attention to what they are doing and are distracted by shiny things. They shop by winging it. They throw things into their cart when grocery shopping. They see something they like better and leave the steaks in the detergent isle. They don't try anything on, or if they do, they leave everything on the dressing room floor. They get to the register and then start asking the cashier to remove things from their total. These are your "shipping too high" or "my cat did it" cancellations and "wardrober" returns. They are the ones most likely to file a fake NAD return case because they had no clue what they were buying.
So, basically ... the type of buyers who cancel are also the type of buyers who return things. It is just a difference of when they do so 🙂
