Why are some sellers not ok with cancelling orders?

[robbicouc-0]

I've recently made two purchases that I regretted and tried to cancel. The first one was really easy. I sent a cancellation request and within 15 minutes I was notified that the order had been cancelled, no questions asked. The other one didn't go so well. First, I sent the cancellation request and it was declined. Next, I explained my situation th the seller in the most heart-rending, tear-jerking way possible but she was unphased. Eventually I told her I could even pay her for the trouble of cancelling my order but she continued to shut me down.

My question is why are some sellers totally fine with cancelling while others are so adamant about going through with the sale? I've never sold on eBay, but how hard is it for a seller to cancel an order?

Thanks,

Rob

[odditiesandantiquities1]

Well Rob. When  you win an auction or take advantage of a Buy It Now, you are entering into a contract with that seller that you will complete the sale by paying. It is very hard for sellers who change their mind after purchases.

As a seller, I can tell you how much work goes into each and every item I list for a customer.  It is a complete let down when a customer cancels. I understand that we all make mistakes sometimes, but it shouldn't happen with any frequency. In all my time on eBay, I have only cancelled 1 sale and that is since 2006. 

The second issue you face,  is that repeated cancelling can result in your buying priviledges being suspended, so it's very important that when you push that button, you are committed to what you are buying. 

I hope that helps explain a little bit.

Ann

[luckythewinner]

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@robbicouc-0wrote:

My question is why are some sellers totally fine with cancelling while others are so adamant about going through with the sale? I've never sold on eBay, but how hard is it for a seller to cancel an order?

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It's easy to cancel an order.  It's also easy to not buy an item unless you are sure you want it.  

Why does it tick sellers off? 

1) Many sellers on eBay gets a small number of free listing insertions per month. Each one after that costs 30 cents. Others pay for every single listings they create.  Your cancellations could be costing that seller money. 

2) If you pay for an item with PayPal and require a refund, there is a non-refundable fee that payPal charges the seller.  Your cancellations could be costing that seller money. 

3) eBay has listing limits for some sellers. They are only allowed to list a certain number of items or a certain dollar amount (or both) per month. Your cancellations could be costing that seller  the ability to list more items. 

4) Cancellations take time, and so does re-listing an item. Your cancellations are wasting that seller's time. 

5) Fast shipping is important on eBay. Sellers are evaluated on it. In many cases the seller has already packagd that item up to ship to you, and has wasted time and perhaps packing materials, tape, paper, and printer ink.  Your cancellations may be wasting that seller's time and resources. 

[mistwomandancing · Accepted solution]

It can be from different reasons, Rob.   Your actions are a little bit different than if you were to step into a store, pick up something and take it to the checkout counter, and then decide to not purchase after all.   That item is just set back on the shelf, and no real trouble was caused.

Here, you've used up one of the seller's listings, causing the seller to have to relist the item over again.   If you won an auction over another bidder, you cost the seller that sale entirely, as that second bidder may (likely) would have completed the purchase.   So now the seller is having to use another listing to run his auction again.  

Even when you don't pay, eBay has charged the seller the Final Value FEES for that sale, so the cancellation has to be handled in a way that the seller can get eBay to refund those fees that have already been charged on... nothing.

You're buying something here takes it off the market during the interim.   That's never good business for a seller.   He want his merchandise showing for sale, or sold... NOT off the market during this period to deal with you.

Another fact here is that some sellers are absolutely desperate!   They want to force the sale once it's started, and it doesn't matter to them if the buyer no longer wants the merchandise.. they want to make that sale endure so they get their $$$.   Their customer becomes their adversary, and it becomes an issue of power where they don't want to let the buyer off the hook.  

I suppose there is the occasional anger issue involved, where a seller wants to dominate the buyer over this issue and make the buyer *pay* in one way or another for the trouble he's caused.   It sometimes comes back to bite sellers of that mindset though.

[fern*wood]

I've never heard of buying privileges being suspended for cancellations.  Is this new?

To the OP--were your purchases from auctions?  If so, other bidders may move on. The seller has to relist and start over.   Relisting may make other buyers suspicious as to why it is being relisted and move on.  Sellers lose all their watchers which might have included interested buyers. 

I've never canceled a purchase and have to wonder why your situation would change so quickly.  Are you bidding on several of the same item and only paying for the cheapest?

[chrysylys]

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@robbicouc-0wrote:

I've never sold on eBay,

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Well, here's your big chance.  When the widget you no longer want arrives, list it for sale.  Then you can find out how the other side works.

[robbicouc-0]

That's probably what I'll end up doing.

[ag47silver-us]

Some large sellers use some sort of drop shipping services or even amazon, where there is little to no communication between them, and they just have no mechanism to cancle the order. 

I ordered kids shoe size by mistake from a big shoe company and immediatly asked to cancle, it didn't matter how they felt, they just couldn't cancle it.  I ate the return shipping and got a few bucks back.  Because it was my fault.

[dhbookds]

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@luckythewinnerwrote:

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@robbicouc-0wrote:

My question is why are some sellers totally fine with cancelling while others are so adamant about going through with the sale? I've never sold on eBay, but how hard is it for a seller to cancel an order?

---

It's easy to cancel an order.  It's also easy to not buy an item unless you are sure you want it.  

Why does it tick sellers off? 

1) Many sellers on eBay gets a small number of free listing insertions per month. Each one after that costs 30 cents. Others pay for every single listings they create.  Your cancellations could be costing that seller money. 

2) If you pay for an item with PayPal and require a refund, there is a non-refundable fee that payPal charges the seller.  Your cancellations could be costing that seller money. 

3) eBay has listing limits for some sellers. They are only allowed to list a certain number of items or a certain dollar amount (or both) per month. Your cancellations could be costing that seller  the ability to list more items. 

4) Cancellations take time, and so does re-listing an item. Your cancellations are wasting that seller's time. 

5) Fast shipping is important on eBay. Sellers are evaluated on it. In many cases the seller has already packagd that item up to ship to you, and has wasted time and perhaps packing materials, tape, paper, and printer ink.  Your cancellations may be wasting that seller's time and resources. 

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And, in addition.......all of us believe that once a buyer hits "agreement to buy", it is just that....an agreement to buy and by not honoring it, you are reneging on your word.  If you haven't paid, by not agreeing to the cancel, the seller has the chance to tag you with an Unpaid Item Strike........and a few of those may get your buying restricted.  To alot of us, this isn't a game....it's a business and many depend on it for at portion of our income.....

[lookng2015]

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@robbicouc-0

How would you feel if those 2 items you purchased were items you REAlLLY REALLY wanted and were excited to have bought and the sellers just cancelled your orders?

[chrysylys]

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@robbicouc-0wrote:
That's probably what I'll end up doing.

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[missjen831]

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@odditiesandantiquities1wrote:

The second issue you face,  is that repeated cancelling can result in your buying priviledges being suspended, so it's very important that when you push that button, you are committed to what you are buying. 

I hope that helps explain a little bit.

Ann

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Rob this is completely false information. Repeated cancellations do not Get your buying privileges suspended. Why? Because a buyer can’t cancel. Only a seller can actually cancel a transaction and it is the seller who will have his selling privileges revoked if he has too many out of stock cancellations.

[divwido]

Your actions, lack of concern and 7 feedbacks will concern most sellers.  

[kensgiftshop]

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@robbicouc-0

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If a buyer has already paid and want to cancel, I'll cancel the order, but hate loosing $0.30 that Pay Pal doesn't give back. $0.30 doesn't sound like much, but for us small sellers, it adds up after awhile.

I think if a buyer wants to cancel, there should be a $1.00 cancellation fee paid to the seller, paid by the buyer for the time and trouble of canceling the order and relisting the item.

That might stop buyers from buying something, then turn around 5 minutes later and want to cancel the order.

[robbicouc-0]

That would actually be a good idea. Really helpful for us indecisive people lol.