cancel sold item: should conscience be my guide?

[keziak]

I was distracted when listing and listed at fixed price not auction.  I only realized it when it sold before the end date. I did price at the minimum I wanted, but I did want an auction. If I cancel to relist is that obnoxious, against ebay policy or can they neg me? Should I just honor the sale if I think that is the right thing to do? It hasn't been paid for.

[katzrul15]

Alice or Emily Dickinson?  How much under-sold?

I would honor the sale.  Maybe you'll get lucky and it will be a NPB. 

If not, I would honor it.  If you were the Buyer, that is what you'd want, correct?

Good luck!

[dbfolks166mt]

     I have made some errors in listings before but have always honored the sale unless I discovered something in packing that did not line up with the description. Even in those cases before I shipped I contacted the buyer and let them know what I had discovered to make sure they were still good with purchasing the item. Honoring the sale would be the right thing to do. 

     Canceling could not only get you negative feedback from the buyer but eBay may also ding you for the cancelation. 

[ed8108]

If you & your buyer entered into a contract, shouldn't you both complete the transaction.

[femmefan1946]

If it sold, and the customer paid, then you ship.

If the listing were still active you could close it with no repercussions.

If the listing were active and someone made a Best Offer you could refuse, accept, counter-offer or ignore. And then close the Fixed Price listing and relist as an auction.

Since you got the minimum you wanted, you ship.

[chapeau-noir]

I hope your conscience tells you to honour the sale (I'm certain it does).  The mistake is not the buyer's fault (IF they pay - if not, then you're home free).

[wastingtime101]

You're getting the minimum you wanted so I'm not sure why you would even consider cancelling. The only reason you can choose when cancelling in this situation is out of stock and you'll get a defect. Yes, it's obnoxious when the item is cancelled then relisted with an effort to get more money for it.

If this was a mistake where you listed for $1 and meant to list it for $100 then I can see a good reason to cancel. But you're getting the min you wanted. You know what to do here.

[chapeau-noir]

Once I accidentally listed a coat for 99 cents - ugh.   A seller I used to shop with regularly accidentally listed a length of 18th century cloth for $70 instead of starting it on auction at $70 - her note to me had a distinct note of teeth grinding in it when she told me what happened.   Yeah, it happens.

[lamber9347]

@keziak You know what you SHOULD do. Here are some things to consider.

Yes the buyer can, and most likely will, leave you a negative. 

Yes this is against eBay policy, but you already know that.

If you cancel to relist and this buyer sees that, you will most assuredly receive a negative.

Even if you had listed this for auction there is no guarantee that you would not have only received the one bid and sold it at this amount. 

We all make mistakes that cost us a bit, but we learn from them.

In the end you really got the price at the minimum you wanted, so really you are ahead. 

Best of luck to you....

[keziak]

You're right though part of me says "gosh darn it". At least I did follow the advice to price for what I'd like to get, it's just that there was bidding up potential. When listing here it all comes down to attention to detail.

[fashunu4eeuh]

If I make a mistake in a listing, then it's on me to honor the sale.

[downunder-61]

As a buyer I would not neg you if you were a newbie, but given your experience, I would. Sorry.

I sell as well and know how easily errors can be made but integrity is part of being a succesful seller, which you appear to be 😊

[onc88]

Honor the golden rule.  Accept the sale.  Then feel good about yourself.

[oneblindcat]

"Hello, I made a mistake in the listing. That price was supposed to be the starting price of an auction, not a buy-it-now price. I will ship it to you at that price, of course, since it was my error, unless you will agree to let me cancel the sale and relist it as an auction. Thank you."

You never know, there are a  lot of good people in the world. Give them a chance.

[dhbookds]

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@oneblindcat wrote:

"Hello, I made a mistake in the listing. That price was supposed to be the starting price of an auction, not a buy-it-now price. I will ship it to you at that price, of course, since it was my error, unless you will agree to let me cancel the sale and relist it as an auction. Thank you."

You never know, there are a  lot of good people in the world. Give them a chance.

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I would NOT send that........it's your mistake, putting the onus on the buyer is just not fair to them.