eBay Cancellations - now easier for buyers......

GadgetGuru

Just had an email from eBay.
Basically it makes cancellations easier for buyers a they no longer need to send any message or justification etc. Just press a cancellation button. 
As a seller you will always have to agree - otherwise you are going to get a return and suffer postage later anyways. 
So much for entering into a legally binding contract upon purchase. Now it's just as easy to end that contract too! eBay continues to favour the buyer then.......

What's new

Buyers now have the option to request an order cancellation using the Cancel orderbutton before the item is marked as dispatched.

What sellers should know

• You retain full control to either accept or decline cancellation requests • You’re protected from neutral or negative feedback for any cancellation requests made through our updated process, regardless of whether you accept or decline • You may notice a slight increase in cancellation requests, but should receive fewer direct messages from buyers inquiring about cancellations • In prior tests, this change resulted in a minimal increase in cancellation requests (maintaining an overall average cancellation rate of 1%, with an increase from .9 out of 100 transactions to 1.1 out of 100 transactions), and a notable 25% improvement in buyer satisfaction, which led to a higher likelihood of repeat purchases

soolin

This just popped up on my business account, and I checked and it also shows in the notifications in my private accounts as well. It doesn't address the issue though of sellers having to pay the 30p standing charge if item has already been paid.

We’re simplifying order cancellations - UK eBay Community

Basically it is exactly what is says it is, a simplification of buyers requesting cancellation on an order, apparently this is to stop false  INR claims (that's a bit of an admission from ebay!) it actually says :

You have the choice to accept or decline a cancellation. When feasible, it’s recommended to accept the request, especially if it’s sent within minutes or a few hours of when an order is placed. Doing so has shown to discourage return requests or “item not received” cases, and encourages the buyer to return to eBay for their next purchase.

The first paragraph under the protection tab is interesting:

Protections

 

What if a buyer leaves negative feedback for refusing their cancellation request?

eBay will protect you by removing negative or neutral feedback on these orders.

 

What protections are in place if I've already dispatched the item? 

Once you dispatch the item, be sure to promptly update the tracking information and order status to 'dispatched' on eBay. When an order is marked as dispatched, buyers will no longer be able to access the Cancel order request flow.

 

If a buyer has requested cancellation before you were able to update the status and you have already dispatched your item, you can decline the cancellation request.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fee-credits?id=4128

Implies full fee refund including 30p for any buyer cancellation, address issues or change of mind returns  

Simple answer to the above is to mark orders as dispatched asap, most of the time the "when are you going to post", "I need this urgently" "I've changed my mind" emails stop if you mark orders as dispatched straight away. 

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fee-credits?id=4128

Implies full fee refund including 30p for any buyer cancellation, address issues or change of mind returns  

Simple answer to the above is to mark orders as dispatched asap, most of the time the "when are you going to post", "I need this urgently" "I've changed my mind" emails stop if you mark orders as dispatched straight away. 

I hadn’t noticed that change and will check my last cancelled item , thank you for,pointing that out.

As for your last point, I do this quite a bit already as I often  find it easier to pack and label when orders come in so I can just pick up the bag of parcels and go to the mail centre early the next morning (it closes at 10am) . There is always a lot of arguments on here about sellers marking stuff despatched too early, but I don’t see why it is such a big issue for a buyer. Stuff sold this afternoon has already been packed and labelled, using eBay postage, but won’t go until tomorrow morning, but I’d be loath to cancel now as it takes over a week to get the label money back and I’m mean. 

vacheron

Yes, my colleague at work just noticed it pop up in his inbox and read out the title. Without even reading it I made the assumption that it would make things easier for buyers and harder for sellers. Because "eBay".   

moonpenny

Ebay email- under "what's new" buyers can press cancel button before item is marked as despatched.
I only mark despatched when it actually is to give me a bit longer for e bays ludicrous delivery times. 

What if i book a pickup for RM the following day and it is cancelled before then and I have already paid or, I take to the post office and in the meantime it is cancelled?

This will make me put despatched before I actually have and so give me a day less for delivery (as far as ebay predicted delivery times go)

prowla

According to the email, the cancel button is a request to cancel, not a cancellation. As for marking things despatched before they are, it's lying to you customers. "What's new Buyers now have the option to request an order cancellation using the Cancel order button before the item is marked as dispatched. What sellers should know • You retain full control to either accept or decline cancellation requests • You’re protected from neutral or negative feedback for any cancellation requests made through our updated process, regardless of whether you accept or decline • You may notice a slight increase in cancellation requests, but should receive fewer direct messages from buyers inquiring about cancellations • • In prior tests, this change resulted in a minimal increase in cancellation requests (maintaining an overall average cancellation rate of 1%, with an increase from .9 out of 100 transactions to 1.1 out of 100 transactions), and a notable 25% improvement in buyer satisfaction, which led to a higher likelihood of repeat purchases For a detailed overview of these changes, please visit our eBay Community page. "

soolin

I have merged two threads for clarity. 

GadgetGuru

I feel this has got more to do with "and encourages the buyer to return to eBay for their next purchase" then anything else

goodfella66

I despair with the wonks at Ebay head office. What brain-dead business "expert" came up with the idea to encourage customers to cancel their purchases? I have noticed in the past few weeks an increase in buyers cancelling.

soolin

It has occurred to me that this is another instance in which ebay appear to have noticed and approved of a Vinted idea. On Vinted at any point until a label is printed a buyer can cancel the sale and the seller can do nothing about it. The difference on Vinted though is that a buyer cancelling gives them an auto negative for every time after the 1st, although that doesn't seem to stop some buyers who, if you check their feedback, show lots of 1* 'buyer cancelled' reviews. 

Again exactly as ebay's new system if a label is downloaded then buyer can only cancel with sellers permission. The difference being though that seller loses nothing as all the couriers, apart from Royal Mail are integrated with Vinted supplying the label, so if seller cancels they have no issue with reclaiming the cost of postage.