Buyer wants to cancel 4 days after winning the bid

kalsha

Buyer won the bid 4 days ago but did not pay or get in touch. When I sent him a msg asking if there was a problem, he asked me to cancel the sale (in broken English).

What is the best was to go about this? Do I initiate the cancellation or does he? I don't want to lose the FVF (item including P&P was only £7).
Or do I open a PNR case?

sportsarb

I'd open a case against him, personally. Would have done after the minimum time expired. You'll get your fees back.

theonlywayisup

It's up to you. You can open a non payment case and close it 4 days later. The buyer gets a strike, you get your final value fees back and the sale is cancelled and neither party can leave feedback. Or of course, the buyer could pay and you would have to send the item.

Alternatively, you can cancel using the resolution centre with the reason 'buyer wants to cancel or there is a problem with the address' or similar such wording. This cancels the sale, fees are refunded. You are both free to leave feedback.

kalsha

theonlywayisup wrote: »

It's up to you. You can open a non payment case and close it 4 days later. The buyer gets a strike, you get your final value fees back and the sale is cancelled and neither party can leave feedback. Or of course, the buyer could pay and you would have to send the item.

Alternatively, you can cancel using the resolution centre with the reason 'buyer wants to cancel or there is a problem with the address' or similar such wording. This cancels the sale, fees are refunded. You are both free to leave feedback.

With the second option, does the feedback that I leave have to be positive? I thought sellers could not leave anything other than positive feedback.

theonlywayisup

Sellers can only leave positive.

mrcol1000

If you open a case for no payment received, they can still pay for the item and leave you feedback. It is annoying but forcing someone to pay for something they do not want rarely ends well. Remember to block them so you do not have to deal with them again.

bxboards

You should always go down the Unpaid Item case route.

Most sellers block buyers who have two or more, so they are soon prevented from messing other sellers around. Doing a cancellation simply lets them get away with it, and kicks the can down the road for the next unfortunate seller.

Ebay gives you the Unpaid Item tool for a reason - use it!

Art_Vandelay_2

Agreed.

I posted this in another thread, but I'll repeat for the benefit of the OP - as a seller NEVER EVER issue a cancellation request.

Last one I had buyer played nicey nicey when I said I could not sell to them (basically the item was pricey, extremely heavy, & the buyer was in a country I don't ship to, but still purchased my BIN).
As soon as the cancellation request was sent, they sent stroppy and rude messages, and left me negative feedback.

My previous 100% perfect account record was trashed, and I was also stuck with the fees. Spoke to ebay 4x who won't remove the feedback; this is despite the fact that a non-paying bidder is against ebay policy. (one CS rep said they would remove it, it didn't happen). Further follow-up has been fruitless, ebay claiming that buyers are OK to leave feedback whenever they purchase. The fact that they haven't actually purchased, is kind of irrelevant.

kalsha

Thank you bxboards and artvandelay. I see the point of unpaid item case.

My main worry is if I open the case and he pays to avoid a strike, and bearing in mind that now he doesn't want my item, he will probably say that he never received it. Being a cheap item, I was not going to send it fully tracked - I had only factored in ordinary postage cost.

glentoran99

Art_Vandelay wrote: »

Agreed.

I posted this in another thread, but I'll repeat for the benefit of the OP - as a seller NEVER EVER issue a cancellation request.

Last one I had buyer played nicey nicey when I said I could not sell to them (basically the item was pricey, extremely heavy, & the buyer was in a country I don't ship to, but still purchased my BIN).
As soon as the cancellation request was sent, they sent stroppy and rude messages, and left me negative feedback.

My previous 100% perfect account record was trashed, and I was also stuck with the fees. Spoke to ebay 4x who won't remove the feedback; this is despite the fact that a non-paying bidder is against ebay policy. (one CS rep said they would remove it, it didn't happen). Further follow-up has been fruitless, ebay claiming that buyers are OK to leave feedback whenever they purchase. The fact that they haven't actually purchased, is kind of irrelevant.

He wasn't a non paying bidder though, you refused to send

theonlywayisup

kalsha wrote: »

Thank you bxboards and artvandelay. I see the point of unpaid item case.

My main worry is if I open the case and he pays to avoid a strike, and bearing in mind that now he doesn't want my item, he will probably say that he never received it. Being a cheap item, I was not going to send it fully tracked - I had only factored in ordinary postage cost.

And there is the problem.

I don't personally have a problem with cancelling sales, purely because I remain polite and professional and the buyer (even when remorseful) doesn't have anything to react to. Proving some sort of 'point' by opening an NPB when a buyer requests a cancellation is (in my book) petty. But I run a business, I can understand sellers and buyers 'taking it personally'.

You really are the only person that can gauge the correct way to do it.