Cancelling an Order

[silverstar-burst]

Recently a family member made an accidental purchase by buying something that was incorrectly listed and she thought it was something that it wasn't. She realized the mistake before the seller shipped and requested that the seller cancel the order because the purchase was an accident. The seller ignored her completely and shipped anyway. Will she be required to pay return shipping to send it back? It was listed in the wrong category with only stock photos for reference, so I'm not sure how this will work out.

Please advise if there's anyway for her to fix this order without getting burned since it was an accident that she tried to correct and the seller ignored her.

[flyerfandan999]

Standard policies apply:

1.  If the item is not as described, submit a SNAD claim thru eBay.  If true, Seller will have to issue refund of item price and initial shipping, and pay for return shipping.

2.  If the item is as described, and if Seller has a no-return policy, she eats it.  If no need for item, she can unload it by selling it on eBay 🙂

3.  If the item is as described, and the seller has a return policy, then returns are per the policy which most likely will require Buyer to pay return shipping and maybe a restocking fee.

[7606dennis]

I agree with the options listed in the first response.

It should be mentioned that sellers are not required to cancel a transaction merely because you request it.

If she had read and understood the complete listing, as she should have done before making the purchase, the situation would not have come about.  There is no way to accidentally purchase something.  In most cases those that say they accidentally bought something are actually saying that they didn't completely read the listing before hitting the buy now button. 

Since the item was shipped, it appears that she also paid for the item which throws further doubt on the purchase being a legitimate mistake.  It would appear that this is a case of buyer's remorse and thus she will have to pay the return shipping if the seller accepts returns.

[silverstar-burst]

Please be aware that you don't know the whole story or the whole situation before you accuse someone of something. Misunderstandings do occure when SELLERS are stupid or greedy enough to list items in the wrong place or wrong way. Honest mistakes do happen. I am aware that a seller is not required to cancel an order, but they should at least make an attempt to communicate with the buyer if there is any kind of issue on either end. That said, as a SELLER you have as much of a responsibility to do what is right by your buyer as they do. Not every listing is clear or complete no matter how you read it, scan the pics, etc. Think before you assume that only the buyer can be in the wrong. I've been here long enough to know it DEFINITELY works BOTH WAYS.

[takikawa4]

If a listing is not clear or complete, I would move on or ask questions. If the seller doesn't answer, I don't buy. Regardless, see flyerfan's answers above.

[silverstar-burst]

Thank you for your kind response. I just wanted to know if there was anything more that could be done, but I kind of figured there wasn't. Maybe it's time that eBay adds a way for a buyer to request an order be cancelled before the item is shipped. I understand this is hastle for the seller and sellers on here have a problem seeing things from a buyers prospective sometimes, but it would immensely save everyone grief if there was a way to stop something from being shipped if the buyer has any reason to doubt their purchase was a good idea. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens in this case. Thanks again.

[janet9988]

Buyers can request an order be cancelled 1 hour after the sale. Sellers are not required to answer or agree to do so.

[phcd1]

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@silverstar-burst wrote:

Recently a family member made an accidental purchase by buying something that was incorrectly listed and she thought it was something that it wasn't. She realized the mistake before the seller shipped and requested that the seller cancel the order because the purchase was an accident. The seller ignored her completely and shipped anyway. Will she be required to pay return shipping to send it back? It was listed in the wrong category with only stock photos for reference, so I'm not sure how this will work out.

Please advise if there's anyway for her to fix this order without getting burned since it was an accident that she tried to correct and the seller ignored her.

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It depends if you opened a return case or not. If the item is "not as described", then you need to open a SNAD return. With that return, the seller is responsible for return shipping and must refund, no matter what his return policy is.

If the item was "as described" and you just don't like it, then that falls under buyers remorse and falls under the sellers return policy terms.

The wrong category may not be enough to win a SNAD case (unless its EGREGIOUS). For example, something listed in Bath & Body - Beauty but really should be in Skin Care - Beauty may not be enough to to win a case, but something in Skin Care - Beauty that really should be in Fashion Jewelry - Jewelry might be. More to the point is the title and description that is taken into consideration and more importantly how much of a fight the seller puts up and whether or not he had a return policy.

BTW, sellers are under no obligation to accept a cancellation of a completed sale. You also have to consider that seller may times never see the cancellation request from the buyer because they are under time pressure from eBay to ship that item out.

Since YOU made the mistake, I would ask the seller (politely) if you can return it and pay return shipping, but that's me. We all make mistakes, it just depends if you make your mistake somebody else's problem that matters.

[phcd1]

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@silverstar-burst wrote:

...as a SELLER you have as much of a responsibility to do what is right by your buyer as they do. Not every listing is clear or complete no matter how you read it, scan the pics, etc....

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Then you shouldn't click "Buy it now" until you have cleared up YOUR questions.

I see where this is going.  ;(

[phcd1]

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@silverstar-burst wrote:

Thank you for your kind response. I just wanted to know if there was anything more that could be done, but I kind of figured there wasn't. Maybe it's time that eBay adds a way for a buyer to request an order be cancelled before the item is shipped.....

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There is already a eBay process in place for up to 1 hour after the purchase. Your issue is with eBay, NOT the seller. EBay does not require seller to accept a cancellation request.

[7606dennis]

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@silverstar-burst wrote:

Please be aware that you don't know the whole story or the whole situation before you accuse someone of something. Misunderstandings do occure when SELLERS are stupid or greedy enough to list items in the wrong place or wrong way. Honest mistakes do happen. I am aware that a seller is not required to cancel an order, but they should at least make an attempt to communicate with the buyer if there is any kind of issue on either end. That said, as a SELLER you have as much of a responsibility to do what is right by your buyer as they do. Not every listing is clear or complete no matter how you read it, scan the pics, etc. Think before you assume that only the buyer can be in the wrong. I've been here long enough to know it DEFINITELY works BOTH WAYS.

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My point is that the buyer had to initiate the purchase, confirm the purchase and then pay for the purchase.  While it is possible that the buyer did all these things, it isn't reasonable that the buyer did them all accidently.  While it is a seller's responsibility to give the most accurate description they can, it is the buyer's responsibility to make sure that they fully understand what they are buying before committing to do so.  If the seller's listing was unclear, it is the buyer's responsibility ask for clarification or pass on buying.  It is not by accident that someone makes a mistake when purchasing, but rather a moment of carelessness.

Should a seller communicate with a buyer?  While I'm of the opinion that such communication is a good thing, eBay has for some time been pushing for less and less buyer/seller communications on the site.  There is also a matter of the unreliability of eBay's message system to consider.  However, as others have mentioned, under eBay's rules buyer's may request a cancellation, but the seller is not required to honor such a request.

At this point, the options are:

1)  If the seller's return policy permits it, make a request to return and get a refund.  This would require the buyer to pay for the return shipping.

2)  If the seller's return policy doesn't permit remorse returns, the item belongs to the buyer so she can dispose of it as she sees fit, by reselling it, giving it away or simply throwing it away.  The choice is hers, but she can't expect to get a refund from the seller.

3)  If the item should arrive and be not as described, the buyer could file a SNAD dispute and the seller would be forced to send a return shipping label for her to return the item.  The seller would then be compelled to refund the full purchase price including the original shipping.  However, if the item turns out to be as described, even though it is not as the buyer had expected it to be, a SNAD would be unjustified and to file one would, in my opinion, reflect badly upon the character of the buyer.

You state that I do not know the whole story.  This is true.  Under the payment and shipping tab of the listing, what is listed for the seller's return policy?  Since you mentioned that the buyer was a family member, is she a minor or an adult?  Why did she decide after buying and paying for the item decide that it didn't meet her needs and wish to cancel before even receiving the item?  It is the answers to questions like these that would give myself and other readers of this thread more insight into the situation and perhaps persuade some of us to be more lenient in our judgement.

Of course, calling sellers "...stupid or greedy..." probably isn't going to weigh favorably on your argument.