Buyer cancelled order but I have been charged for postage. What can I do?

[simookan-0]

Someone bought my item by mistake and immediately cancelled. I found another buyer very quickly and posted, but I was charged for postage for the first order despite the label not even having been printed. Several threads on the same subject suggested going to Selling -> Postage Labels and cancelling it from there, but only the second postage label is there, there is no sign of the first. What can I do? I'm surprised eBay hasn't issued official guidance because a quick Google tells me this happens a lot.

[kidmore_kats]

Buyers can't cancel 

[simookan-0]

They requested a cancellation and I agreed. I didn't realize I would be charged postage for something I didn't post!

[kidmore_kats]

Did you actually close the case saying buyer asked to cancel?

If you did, you should get your seller fees refunded 

[marco@ebay]

Hi simookan-0, thanks for your post.

If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used. If it wasn't placed with Simple Delivery and you did purchase the shipping label through eBay, you can click here and you will see how to void it in order to get a refund, please note that if the latest is your scenario, you have 14 days to do it.

Thank you,

Marco

[department28]

'If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used.'

That seems a long time for a seller to have to wait for a postage refund, if a buyer asks to cancel a purchase.

[raspli-0]

“If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used.”

Is this explained elsewhere in the Simple Delivery docs? I tried reading the T&Cs but didn’t find any mention of voiding/refunding postage labels. 

[papso22]

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@department28 wrote:

'If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used.'

That seems a long time for a seller to have to wait for a postage refund, if a buyer asks to cancel a purchase.

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The seller won't get the refund the buyer will.

[papso22]

If the buyer immediately asked to cancel, presumably before you did anything about getting postage, how have you been charged for it?

Can you post a screenshot of where you are seeing the charge?

[moldosgifts]

If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used. 

I can't see buyers being happy waiting up to 30 days for a refund of postage and i can see sellers getting very angry messages regarding this from the buyer expecting a full refund.

Item refunded within minuets the postage 30 days later. Come on ebay you need to be better.

[4_bathrooms]

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@papso22 wrote:

If the buyer immediately asked to cancel, presumably before you did anything about getting postage, how have you been charged for it?

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It looks like the OP offered "free postage" under "Simple" Delivery; i.e. the "Seller pays" option was selected:

[papso22]

It is odd that they have to wait the same length of time for a cancellation as they would have for a parcel where the seller simply chose to pay for the postage separately.  With the latter you can see there needing to be a process where ebay waits to see if the label is used, with the former they would know at the time of cancellation that it wasn't going to be used.

[wintersdawn1]

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@papso22 wrote:

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@department28 wrote:

'If the transaction was placed with Simple Delivery, the label will be automatically void and refunded within 30 days if it wasn't used.'

That seems a long time for a seller to have to wait for a postage refund, if a buyer asks to cancel a purchase.

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The seller won't get the refund the buyer will.

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In a scenario where the seller offered free delivery and so had to buy the postage label from ebay but then, for whatever reason, didn't use it and purchased their own, would the seller get the unused sd postage label refunded?  Thanks.

[papso22]

I think that the 'free postage Simple Delivery' process needs to be considered, and identified, separately to 'straight forward Simple Delivery). 

SFSD where the buyer pays the postage (which is what I thought we had here but apparently not), would result in a refund of unused postage to the buyer.

FPSD, where the seller pays the postage, must result in a refund of unused postage to the seller. 

[wintersdawn1]

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

[lucy_farmer]

'It is odd that they have to wait the same length of time for a cancellation as they would have for a parcel where the seller simply chose to pay for the postage separately. '

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Odd? yes, but not without reason.... ebay can still squeeze a few 0.1% of a pence in the interest they make sitting on it for that bit longer!

[knit-in-styles]

marco@ebay

ON my other private account I have a label (not simple delivery) that I cancelled on 1st April as the label which cost me £3.25 had zero as the weight. I therefore had to purchase another label and cancelled the incorrect one which is showing as cancelled when I look at all my labels. The confirmation email I got from eBay re this said I would receive a refund within 15 days. As of today 16 days later I have not received any refund.

Please can you advise.

[tressygirl]

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@knit-in-styles wrote:

marco@ebay

ON my other private account I have a label (not simple delivery) that I cancelled on 1st April as the label which cost me £3.25 had zero as the weight. I therefore had to purchase another label and cancelled the incorrect one which is showing as cancelled when I look at all my labels. The confirmation email I got from eBay re this said I would receive a refund within 15 days. As of today 16 days later I have not received any refund.

Please can you advise.

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I think 15 days is a little optimistic and misleading of CS to say this,  as it can take up to 21 days to be refunded,  and we hear if SD is used, it can take up to 30 days for a refund of an unused label.

Seems an extraordinary long time, in my humble opinion !🤔

@knit-in-styles 

[knit-in-styles]

Hi tressygirl

It wasn't CS who told me that. It was the email I received from eBay which I have copied below

You submitted a request to cancel a postage label. Royal Mail is processing your request now. If your request is approved, the label cost, along with any additional options purchased, will be credited to your original payment method within 15 days

[papso22]

I read that as 15 days from approval.