Buyers cancelling orders seems to become more frequent

[equinox-electronics]

Is it just me, since ebay have made changes to the cancellation process the number of buyer cancellations is increasing 

Always the same reasons "ordered  by mistake" etc 

This last few weeks I'm getting 2 or 3 a week!  Very frustrating 

[1934mgpa]

Yes that's the repercussion I'm on about, they send it back for no reason &
you lose the postage costs + the possibility of damage to the item.
As a buyer/seller with 100% feedback it's starting to look like too much
trouble bothering with eBay any more.

[dch2112011]

To avoid returns - simply accept the cancellation request - after all you still have the goods, it is just a paper excercise.  How would you feel if you made a mistake ordering and needed to cancel an order and the seller refused ?  What would your reaction be ?

In reality it is a very small percentage of overall orders, of course it is magnified for sellers who only receive a few orders if one is cancelled but for anyone with a reasonable volume it is relatively a very small amount and not worth worrying about.

Cancellations on ebay are very  much biased towards the seller - on comparable sites they are automatically accepted  or much more likely to be returned at the seller's cost 

[pulseofthedead]

Well I just asked for my first cancellation in 17 years. I saw a nice little lot, thought it looked ok and bought it. Went back a bit later to have another look and noticed missing parts which were not shown and not mentioned. I asked the seller about the missing part and said sorry she could not look as it would cost her money to open the parcel to look. Really….

I just asked to cancel…

[dch2112011]

And that's why sellers need to accept cancellations - you are within your rights to open a return as soon as it arrives - not as described 

Another reason why ebay should automatically accept cancellations and be done with it -  all this seller is doing is wasting everyones time and no doubt will be shouting foul as soon as the return is opened . 

[1934mgpa]

Rightly so if there's nothing wrong with it.

[dch2112011]

But there is something wrong with it and the seller !  

Who in their right mind would refuse to cancel and make up nonsense just to spite a buyer ? 

[pulseofthedead]

Exactly. What’s wrong with a bit of honesty and showing/ describing missing parts. Had she been forthcoming about condition when I asked her I possibly may have continued with the sale.

As it so happened. I saw she had relisted it with some further description of  damage  to other items but still not about the missing part. 
It’s only human to miss things when listing and selling. I in the past have noticed something wrong with an item after it’s sold. I will contact the buyer asking if they want to cancel, or proceed with a discount. So rather that than disappointment for the seller and cheaper than a return.

Although I do believe there should be a limit for serial cancellers

[1934mgpa]

Totally agree.

[dch2112011]

You can do no more, it would be a great move if everyone buyers and sellers tried to follow the maxim  'to try and treat people the way they want to be treated themselves'  unfortunately when people sell online it all gets a little bit too personal and quite often a person's mouth engages before they have given their brain a chance to engage.

Your seller seems to have engaged their brain and accepted the cancellation by relisting it - let's hope they are not of the mind to sell it again before refunding you which is another ploy some sellers feel they are entitled to do !

[1934mgpa]

Yes that's exactly the point I've been trying to make. Treat people the way
you want others to deal with you. That seemed to be the case with eBay
until recently but the last couple of months it has been considerably more
difficult to deal, mainly due, I think, to eBay's change of policy. Greed
overtaking again.

[acdc9]

Yes think I've made sale get home cancelled. What am I doing wrong eBay still get there fee. Also some buyers seem to buy use then return just costing seller. Seems they must be breaking them. I don't know. Can i get protection.

[a45heaven]

Personally i find myself cancelling more orders i would have placed.

A Seller states in their description that they combine shipping - i then proceed to select items i want into my basket.

Now comes the problem - i click the 'request total / Invoice' and also send a message to the Seller  requesting the same. Then nothing !!!! The times i get a reply or a combined invoice, then the deal can go ahead and be paid. No combined invoice, then orders get cancelled - Its not fair on the Seller, as i have limited confidence in messages actually  be forwarded.

The system used to be fine before it was Dimproved by ebay.

[tressygirl]

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@acdc9 wrote:

Yes think I've made sale get home cancelled. What am I doing wrong eBay still get there fee. Also some buyers seem to buy use then return just costing seller. Seems they must be breaking them. I don't know. Can i get protection.

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There are no seller fees, so eBay receive no fees from you if you cancel a sale, unless you used an optional listing upgrade or a Classified ad.  Those are listing fees and are non refundable payable sale or no sale.

Seeing the items you are selling doesn't seem you used either.

@acdc9 

[acdc9]

Thanks for your quick reply. I do pay shop fee if you looked at my site. You are correct buyers pay a protection fee, replaces the fee for private sellers the only problem there is pricing you look at an item sold then how much they got then copy that now it includes a protection fee you have to calculate how much the seller actually priced the item at. but the original statement was in agreement many sales recently 3 sales were cancelled. Not moaning about fee just i need the money sales are limited for private sellers. I have got a business account but my sales were limited by eBay following negative feedback to 5 each month. I need funds learnt long ago to live of it used to make lots with PayPal now lucky if I make 250.

[insidethe93]

Yes it's frustrating, and at the heart of it is that online buying is more impersonal than bricks & mortar, plus how easy it is, and free, to cancel.

But at least some cancellations could genuinely be "ordered by mistake". We all make mistakes. I've done it a couple of times in that I've accidentally ordered 2 of something and once failed to remove something from my Basket when I found the same but cheaper with another seller; I didn't find out until the items arrived; I didn't return them or mention it to the sellers as it was my fault.

Often buyers are in a hurry, distracted e.g. by demands for attention from children, or are tired, or are (unwisely) multi-tasking - that's been me at times and I could've done with a prod to remind me to pull myself together and concentrate.

Also, buying (at least, buying for pleasure) can run away with you. I learned early on I had to rein in my enthusiasm and triple-check my Basket. Have you noticed at check-out that the "confirm & buy" button feels like it's enormous and seems to read "BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY".

Better to allow cancellatios due to "ordered by mistake" than risk, especially for high-value items, a buyer turning crook by obliging them to accept the item then they damage it to obtain a refund.

[acdc9]

Yes buyers distracted perfect excuse but if you buy from a shop online then
its delivered you cant say fault with item to get them to pay the post fee.
Children often order they make an offer sometimes wise to make an offer to
them that is how some of my cancelations have happened or parents excuse.
Very misleading. Thanks for your reply. It does happen.