eBay

gamester2004 · ‎11-02-2026

HI All,

I sold an item. I listed the item using the buyer pays for postage option with a QR code. Ebay then emails you the postage label when the buyer pays. So here is the scenario:
1. Buyer wins highest bid. Changes their mind, submits cancellation 'request'
2. The buyer doesn't pay for the item, so i never get the postage label.

So at this point I call ebay and ask "what happens if i decline the request?" Over the phone , they told me its just a request and i could send it to them, i infomrm them that i cant becasue you dont get the postage label or the buyers address until they pay. They then tell me that if they don't pay with 4 days, the sale is off anyway....

So... it's not a request is it really? I have no option to decline and still get the money that that the buyer agreed to pay. And now i have to relist. My listing was free, but it wouldn't have been if I had used certain features. Does this kind of policy seem odd to anybody?

jefftopman · ‎11-02-2026

You won't get any money which you state.

" I have no option to decline and still get the money that that the buyer agreed to pay"

Just relist your item and hope for better luck next time.

1956glyn · ‎11-02-2026

Hi

If a buyer asks you to cancel a sale (and you agree) then the sale is basically cancelled. You can then relist if you want to/or if there were other bids send a second chance offer to the next highest bidder.

If a buyer asks you to cancel and you refuse and the buyer then pays chances are they will open a not as described case.......return the items and get refunded. This does go on your records.

If the buyer just does not pay then after 4/5 days the sale can be cancelled for non payment.. This will have a detrimental effect on the buyers account. This gives the buyer one unpaid strike. Most sellers block bids from anyone who has 2 unpaid strikes in the previous 12 months so they may have difficulty making future bids on items.

Any buyer who does not pay or is a pain is just added to my blocked bidders list which means they will not be allowed to bid on any of my listings or contact me.

lucy_farmer · ‎11-02-2026

If you don't agree to cancel and the sale were forced to go through, the 'buyer' can simply open an 'Item not as described' returns case.

You then have to provide a label, get the item back and refund. Whole load of aggro just to put you back at square one.

And if you're unlucky, you now have and item that is damaged (in order that it actually *is* not as described!) which you can't even sell again.........

You've really got no choice.

1956glyn · ‎11-02-2026

Today i had a cancellation request for a genuine reason.

I just accepted......relisted it this evening. Within minutes someone made me an offer over what it originally sold for so i accepted.

Peoples circumstances change for genuine reasons sometimes so i do not get upset about it. Saying that i very rarely get a non payer.

1956glyn · ‎11-02-2026

Just to add i am 90% sure from memory that i did have the option to decline the request. I didnt take that much notice as i was always going to accept the request.

gamester2004 · ‎14-02-2026

My point is that it doesn't matter. Accept or decline changes nothing for anybody. You the seller still have to relist.

gamester2004 · ‎14-02-2026

Can I add the previous buyer to a block list?

gamester2004 · ‎14-02-2026

Yes. The purpose of the post is trying and understand what the point of the 'request' is when the outcomes for the seller are the same. That they unfairly have to relist in my opinion.

gamester2004 · ‎14-02-2026

Exactly. Which is why the policy is a stupid one, and the 'request' is just a facade. It's not a request. Ebay simply allows the buyer to cancel.

lucy_farmer · ‎14-02-2026

'Can I add the previous buyer to a block list?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, you can.

Go to ; 'account'.

From there choose 'selling preferences', and from that choose 'your buyers'.

From there choose 'blocked buyer list' and add it on!

tressygirl · ‎14-02-2026

@gamester2004 wrote:

Can I add the previous buyer to a block list?

Yep, here you go, add their ID here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/bmgt/BuyerBlock?

@gamester2004

kyanyama · ‎14-02-2026

Not much you can do really. Can't force a buyer to pay. Could be they ran out of money, got similar cheaper from another seller or was selling a similar item and wanted yours off the site. No way of knowing.

You have no control over the situation - it's something buyer's can do whether sellers like it or not.

Action is simple. Add buyer to your blocked list so they can't do it to you again. Wait for the 4 days or until the sale is cancelled. Relist when convenient and report them for abusive buyer policy. Most can't be bovvered but it may stop them doing it to someone else.