"Order placed by mistake"

[nidsel]

I am selling some of my dolls and doll clothing from my personal collection, I don't make a lot of sales, so I don't know all the tricks and tips.

my last 2 sales were both cancelled for the same reason  "order placed by mistake". Both buyers are eBay sellers selling items similar to mine, one of them is a very experienced seller who has sold more than 24K items.

Did they really place the order by mistake, or did they do it for some other reason unknown to me? I would like to know if I missed some new trends, because eBay is a tricky place and I would like to keep myself informed.😝

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Could be any reason really.

I have doubts that your tooth fairy item should be listed as NEW.

This does not seem to be an item which was sold by the manufacturer in this form.

A buyer might have had second thoughts about that and decided they would cancel - order placed by mistake might be as good a reason as any.

[albertabrightalberta]

There's not a lot to go on but did either or both of the sellers have another of the same item and for a higher price? 

I tend to block buyers fairly freely and IMO, cancelling after "ordering by mistake" isn't something that happens by mistake, especially for seasoned ebayers. So I'd block both IDs. 

[nidsel]

by the way, I have not got cancellations before, so when I suddenly received 2, I became suspicious. Also, I'm a victim of Identity theft, so I'm ultrasensitive. 😒

[nidsel]

I should have listed it as "used", as I usually do, I think I clicked on "sell a similar item" after I listed a NRFB fairy and forgot to change the condition.

the buyer also listed  a similar set of deboxed doll ensemble  as "new" --it's taken out of the box but has never been unused. thousands of items like this listed as new. I do not think he has problem with the term "new", doll collectors understand it means "deboxed but unused".

here is the buyer 's listing:

Thanks for your inputs.

[nidsel]

no, they don't have same items, but they have similar items, indeed their prices are higher. but that's probably not the reason they bought mine, I was a bit concerned if they did this to dig personal info.

I didn't block them, though. perhaps I should.

[iamalwaysright]

As far as I know, completing a sale then cancelling it with a seller won’t give me no more information about that seller than if I never bought from them at all. So I think you’re good there. It’s only when the buyer receives the actual package that they’ll get some info about you. Typically from the postage label addresses.

[mam98031]

@nidsel 

None of us here can possibly know what was in the mind of your buyers, however this kind of thing happens all the time.  It doesn't mean they were trying to do anything nefarious.

You can refuse to cancel the transactions, it isn't what I'd advise, but you have every right to do it.  If the buyers had not paid, there is no way for you to force them to pay and because they asked for a cancellation, even though it was denied, the seller can't now file a cancellation for non payment, so you can't get an Unpaid strike on their account.

If the buyers have paid and you deny the cancellation requests, then of course you need to ship right away or within the terms of the listings.  Now you run the risk of once the buyers receive the items they will file for a return.  So then you will likely have to pay for the return shipping and keep your fingers crossed the items arrive back in your hands undamaged.

Those are just the options.  When a buyer requests a cancellation and you haven't shipped the item, it really is in the sellers best interest just to accept the cancellation and work on selling the items again.  I know it is annoying.  I've been frustrated myself a few times.  

I hope the rest of your Holiday Sales are better.

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

Honestly, best to just block the buyer from purchasing from your store again. To much of a headache to deal with people whom are uncertain with their purchases or won't honour their contracts once placed. Definitely recommend blocking them as if they do it once, they are bound to do it again.

That being said, I doubt anything was done for dasteredly reasons as well, nidsel. Most likely just regretting their purchase or they were trying to sell your item somewhere else and their sale fell through/wasn't the item they thought it was when originally purchasing it. My recommendation is just to cancel, block, and not worry to much about it. It's best you know before you send it that they don't really want your item anyways. Plenty more fish in the sea (will always be more buyers). Also double check your listings for accuracy just in case you aren't communicating condition/make/model/accurate media/ect to potential buyers. Being vague on that stuff can cause people to second guess their purchase as while there is a lot of good sellers on ebay there's also quite a few scammers as well.

[mam98031]

Maybe.  But I've had buyers that have cancelled orders before, that I did not block, and they became repeat buyers without issue for a long time.  Each case just needs to be considered on its own merits.  And then do what is best for you.

[tarotfindsandmore]

It's not you, eBay recently updated their cancelation policies to make it easier for buyers to cancel an order.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/order-cancellation-policy?id=5298#:~:tex...

It's annoying but easier than dealing with returns or dealing with a disgruntled customer later.  Like others have said, just block and move on.  The block feature is pretty much all you get to deal with customer shenanigans without having to get eBay involved so use it freely.

[soh.maryl]

May I respectfully suggest that, even if you don't make a lot of sales, you get acquainted with all the tricks and tips?  

[cambriachick]

Don't forget that when shoppers open your listings, eBay is kind enough to show them your competitors like items at the top and bottom of the page.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Heck they add them to the payment page.

So your buyer pays then ebay may as well throw up a banner saying hey! Here's the same thing but cheaper.

[josephb555]

It is possible that they got a better price or they found an item similar to yours from another seller. It is very unlikely that an experienced eBay buyer will make a mistake.