Seller insists they cannot cancel order?

[fletcher999]

Hello all, sorry a bit lenghy, but I'm in a bind...

I purchased (buyer-offer-accepted) and immediately paid for a furnace controller board 4.5 days ago to replace the damaged but deprecated version in my furnace+A/C; however, within minutes of the purchase I was closing down other "pre-sale" browser tabs I had open which listed the SAME MODEL of the board, and I noticed a very slight difference in the REVISION stamps on those boards versus the one the seller had (the one I purchased was the same revision with an extra letter attached). I looked deeper and discovered the board I purchased had 5 jumper wires missing, so 38 minutes after the purchase, I contacted the seller, and asked if they could confirm the board I purchased would work as a replacement for my furnace (I provided all the necessary information about my furnace and control board, and for the record, I could find NO INFORMATION regarding the control board's revision like I could with the others). Yeah, hindsight tells me I should have cancelled the purchase, but at the time I didn't know a buyer had an hour to do so. Didn't hear from seller for 11 hours, so I wrote again, reiterated my concerns and requested a cancellation (item hadn't shipped). Seller responded shortly thereafter asking if I wanted the board shipped the next day, and also asked me if I would tell him/her how to send my money back to me. I informed seller NOT TO SHIP the item. I was a bit disconcerted the seller didn't know how to do a refund (turns out seller is new), so I told seller they had seller tools, and the refund should be an automatic thing (I'm exclusively an eBay buyer, so I'm not familiar with seller things). Nevertheless, as a courtesy, I researched cancellations and refunds for the seller, and provided that information in back-and-forth fashion for the next 2 days. Seller was finally able to access my purchase, but said there was no submit button for the cancellation request. I pointed her to the 2 other seller-related links that were in the last message I sent, and suggested to seller they might want to contact eBay for assistance if those links didn't resolve her issue. Seller eventually - last night after I wrote following a long silent spell - told me he/she had tried one more time, had submitted the cancellation, but was met with a message (seller's words) "that is too late to cancel the order and that I have to ship it", then informed me it would be shipped "tomorrow" (which is today). I noticed seller had actually printed a shipping label 2 hours before I was informed of same. I wrote seller, expressed again my desire he/she NOT SHIP the item, that the printing label would be refunded if shipper never receives it, to contact eBay for help, and informed seller I would return the item if it's shipped. I wish I could just receive and install the board in my furnace and test it (just in case it does work), but that wouldn't be ethical.

Anyway, is there any reason why a seller would be told by eBay that he/she cannot cancel and order, and subsequently instruct a seller to ship the item despite my cancellation request? Also, what is my best course of action if the seller does ship it, and which option/reason would I choose for returning it unopened? I'm not even sure this seller will be able to affect a refund if I do return it for whatever reason might be

And for the record, I'm not trying to get a better deal elsewhere as the seller's price was lower than all the others I was considering (on eBay and Amazon). I simply discovered post-sale that the board I purchased might not be the correct board. It might be, but again, I can't be sure, and I can't ethically 'test' the board and return it as the "new" board advertised.

Thanks.

[fab_finds4u]

Now you know you must request a cancellation within 1 hr. 

But be aware the seller is not in any way obligated to cancel.

However, had you made your request through eBay in a timely manner and the seller did not respond within 3 days then eBay would automatically accept the cancellation.

Aside from this you needed to do your research before buying.

If you receive what is pictured then the seller did their job, and the part is as described. It would be wrong to return it unless the seller accepts returns. Then you should return it at your expense choosing changed mind/ no longer want as the reason.

[fletcher999]

Granted on both points you made; however, I did research the board I needed for 2 days prior to the purchase as the model number had changed (mine is deprecated) of which there were different revisions, all of which explicitly claimed to be compatible.  I searched for another day after the sale looking for ANY information confirming the seller's very slightly different revision number would work (nearly ubiquitous revision xxxx-xx-958A versus the seller's xxxx-xx-9584A), but there is NO INFORMATION WHATSOEVER. I mean none, and again, the boards are identical except for some nearly indiscernible 'deleted' jumper wires.

That said, the seller had no objections to cancelling the order.  The seller simply didn't know how, and it appears only after my efforts alone was the seller even able to figure out how, but the time period to do so had expired when everything I've read suggests sellers have up to 30 days?  (again, not a seller so I can't be sure)  If the seller had known how to cancel an order, this would have been resolved within 2 days, but now that the seller has figured out the process, he/she has given up without contacting eBay when perhaps eBay may be able to resolve the submission issue on her end.  That's what I'm finding frustrating.

Still, my question was, is there any situation inside of 5 days of a sale whereupon eBay will refuse to allow a seller to cancel an order?

Thanks again.

Edit:  omitted comment

[kensgiftshop]

It's up to the seller if they want to cancel an order, no matter how soon you ask.

As far as refunds, for newer sellers, it's not automatic.

New sellers will have their funds held and sometimes up to 30 days.

They have to provide a funding source to pay for the refund while their funds are being held.

When they find out they have to pay the refund if they cancel an order, some don't want to do it.

If the seller has bought a shipping label, they might get that message.

[luckythewinner]

I did research the board I needed for 2 days prior to the purchase as the model number had changed (mine is deprecated) of which there were different revisions, all of which explicitly claimed to be compatible

You used the passive voice ... "all of which claimed to be compatible", but furnace controller boards do not talk. The seller is not responsible for other people's claims about the compatibility of a controller board, the quality of your compatibility research, or the availability of information about a controller board on the internet. So unless the SELLER or the LISTING told you they were compatible, then it is still on you.

All that aside ...

Seller was finally able to access my purchase

A seller should have no problem "accessing your purchase". It is always in his seller hub. If your seller says he could not "access" a transaction, IMHO he is either incompetent or he is gaslighting you.

Still, my question was, is there any situation inside of 5 days of a sale whereupon eBay will refuse to allow a seller to cancel an order?

I have never heard of a time limit for canceling a sale before an item is marked as shipped. Perhaps the seller  had already bought a label or marked it as shipped.

Others have said it is the seller's decision whether to cancel a transaction if requested. That may be true, but IMHO it is foolish and counter-productive for a seller to not cancel an order that a buyer clearly does not want.

[fletcher999]

Kensgiftshop...yeah, I know cancelling is optional for the seller, but the seller had no issues with doing so; however, it turned into a dance of sorts. 

Interesting.  I didn't know that about new sellers.  While I learned quite a bit about selling on eBay by researching the subject for the seller, he/she had mentioned being asked for bank information which I thought was weird (again, I am clueless about selling on eBay, but I hadn't read anything in that regard), so now her comment make perfect sense.  Regarding the shipping label, the seller claimed she was refused the cancellation before printing a label, but it's hard to say. 

Regardless, the seller finally decided to try and cancel the order again since I originally posted herein, and whatever it is he/she did differently this time, the cancellation went through.

Thanks!

Edit:  replaced misused pronouns.

[kensgiftshop]

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@fletcher999 wrote:

 he/she had mentioned being asked for bank information which I thought was weird (again, I am clueless about selling on eBay, but I hadn't read anything in that regard),

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Sounds like they didn't have their account set up to sell yet and that could have been part of the problem.

To sell and get paid, sellers have to provide a checking account and their SSN, and for some reason, Ebay doesn't require them to do it before they start listing items.

When they do sell, it causes a lot of problems if they don't want to provide that information

[mam98031]

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@fab_finds4u wrote:

Now you know you must request a cancellation within 1 hr. 

But be aware the seller is not in any way obligated to cancel.

However, had you made your request through eBay in a timely manner and the seller did not respond within 3 days then eBay would automatically accept the cancellation.

Aside from this you needed to do your research before buying.

If you receive what is pictured then the seller did their job, and the part is as described. It would be wrong to return it unless the seller accepts returns. Then you should return it at your expense choosing changed mind/ no longer want as the reason.

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A buyer can request a cancellation any time they want.  The Request for Cancellation within an hour of the purchase has a formal form the buyer fills out.  After that one hour, they just simply send an email to the seller requesting the cancellation.

[mam98031]

If I were the buyer, I'd stop messing with the seller.  Just file an INR [item not received] claim so you can protect your money before it is too late.  The seller will be able to see or should be able to see how to refund from the claim you file.

[fletcher999]

You used the passive voice ... "all of which claimed to be compatible", but furnace controller boards do not talk.

LOL, as a grammar Nazi myself, I can appreciate you highlighting my grammatical error!  I tend to relax grammatically at least somewhat whenever I'm constructing sentences in forums and other informal settings.  Nine-nine percent of the population would never have caught that, but I have been known to write in the passive voice from time to time!  I should have written, "The boards listed by other sellers which are stamped with the different revision number are OEM-verified to be compatible with the board in my furnace, and the content of those ads explicitly aligned with OEM claims."

The seller is not responsible for other people's claims about the compatibility of a controller board, the quality of your compatibility research, or the availability of information about a controller board on the internet. So unless the SELLER or the LISTING told you they were compatible, then it is still on you.

Understood.  I wasn't attempting to argue whether or not I was culpable for a (possible) error I made in determining compatibility.  It's still not a certainty the board I purchased isn't compatible, and I've looked every day since I purchased it hoping I could settle the cancellation matter by telling the seller the board is good to go; however, there simply isn't a single bit of information about the revision number on the seller's board (it might help too if all the web search engines weren't driven to list sources they think I want versus what I explicitly tell them I was using operators, etc.).  Anyway, it's a nuance within the same model group, and to date, every seller I've encountered advertise only the model number (i.e. I've never seen a revision number mentioned in any ad for this model).  It's merely something I gleaned from looking more closely at all the ads.  The physical differences, while subtle, were only observed after I'd made the purchase, so there's no getting around the fact that my oversight was an error; however, I'm not sure too many people would necessarily have spotted what I did.  Is every revision within the model group universally compatible?  I'd like to know!

Regarding your last few points, I wasn't sure why the seller could neither access my purchase order nor was able to affect a cancellation, but if his/her responses to my messages were any indication, it was ignorance or incompetence, maybe both given I provided him/her sufficient information to cancel the order at least 3 days ago.  At this juncture it's a moot point as the seller decided to try again this morning after one more request  (actually more like a behest) by me to cancel the order and/or ask eBay for help, and the seller was successful doing so this time.  Perhaps some issue resolved itself, eBay was finally asked to step in to resolve the situation, or the seller was peddling since I requested a cancellation.

[fletcher999]

If I were the buyer, I'd stop messing with the seller. Just file an INR [item not received] claim so you can protect your money before it is too late. The seller will be able to see or should be able to see how to refund from the claim you file.

Despite the seller not objecting to cancelling the order even though I didn't do it in a timely manner myself, I had begun to get frustrated with the seller after several days, because he/she didn't 'appear' to grasp that a cancellation is a simple process; however, as has been pointed out, if a new seller - which applied to my situation - hasn't properly setup the financial end of their account, it can interfere with the process, particularly cancellations. I'm pretty certain that's at least part of what took place with my cancellation, because the seller had stated eBay wanted banking information.  I guess the seller balked at that, because the problems on the seller end persisted. 

That said, I could have taken a different tack, but I wanted to help a new eBay seller/user if I could...community support like these forums. Had I known what the seller was dealing with and how it could interfere, our situation would have been resolved much more quickly...never mind if I'd known I could have cancelled with the hour it would have been a very clean process. As it is, I persisted and got my cancellation (after I started this thread), and the seller managed to get his/her seller account more properly setup if there's a next time. It's a win-win if you ask me as we both learned something. This was my first-ever major glitch/cancellation request, and I hope it's my last, but if by some far off chance it happens again, and with a new user, at least I'll be able to offer up some solid advice.