Buyer made an offer and paid, but asks to cancel

[iramil-7]

A buyer made an offer for my iphone, which I accepted and they paid autimatically. I requested a postage lable and paid myself (I posted the item with postage covered by seller). Now they are saying that the did not notice that the screen was damaged as well as the back glass. I clearly stated this in the description and posted pictures. The front screen is slightly cracked, almost unnoticeable, but the descriptions says: "with damaged screen and back glass as displayed on the pictures". So what do I do now? Apart from lost sale and relisting - how do I reimburse the postage costs? If I cancel the order - the payment will go back, and I have to bear postage? Extremelly annoying as I was very clear in description and tried to show the state of the phone in many various pictures from various sides.

[the_repair_man]

if you purchased the label through ebay postage you are still able to cancel it, provided it hasnt been scanned at drop of point.Under orders select postage, then under actions against the item you can request cancellation.Will take around 2 weeks for your refund.If you purchased from royal mail site, then you have to cancel direct with them, via there site.Hopefully you purchased on ebay which is much easier to cancel.

[m25jet]

If you haven't already done so by the time you read this response add the buyer's User ID to your Blocked Bidders List so that he or she cannot purchase anything else from you in the future and waste any more of your time.

[buffster1963]

You say you posted it? Has the buyer received it? It is not clear from your post and would change the advice already given. 

[rjwilmsi]

Look at it this way: at least the buyer realized in time for you to cancel, rather than only when the phone arrived - then you would probably have had to pay two lots of postage.

If it's the iPhone 13 Pro Max listing then I agree you have tried to make it clear with photos and description. But eBay app doesn't show description by default, your photos showing damage are not in the first few. I would make the damage as obvious as possible, so would make these amendments to the listing:

• change the condition to "for parts or not working". With visible scratches on screen and smashed back I don't think I would be selling the phone as "used"
• write something in the condition description field - that should be visible on eBay app even if buyer doesn't open description.
• the most important photos to highlight condition are of front and back, but they are photo 6 and 16/17. I would move those up to 2, 3, 4. I wouldn't rely on the buyer scrolling through other photos to get that far.

[signs_and_vintage]

Yep - expect issues if you try and frill up the listing - be clear about issues in headline terms. This means (I know its a cliché) putting *READ DESCRIPTION* in the title.

And as has been said, if they cancelled after you sent it, it would cost you two lots of postage. This version means you get a refund on the cancelled postage, assuming you didn't send it which is a the vibe I get.

[m25jet]

You said that the buyer has stated that he or she did not notice that the screen and the back glass of the phone was damaged.  If you have already posted the phone to the buyer and it has been received then the best option would be to issue an eBay Returns Label and ask the buyer to return the phone to you for a full refund.  Once you get the phone back refund the buyer's money in full.  The case will then be closed and you can then re-advertise the phone for sale again should you wish to do so.  Alternatively if you've already posted the phone to the buyer and you're not bothered about having the phone returned to you then you could just refund the buyer's money and tell him or her not to bother returning the phone.

If the buyer has paid but you have not yet despatched the phone then if your buyer has asked to cancel the transaction on the basis that the phone is damaged accept the cancellation request and refund the buyer's payment.  The transaction will then be voided and your Final Value Fees will be refunded.

Should you choose to relist the phone for sale again at any point in the future make sure that you include the word "Damaged" in the title of the listing when you describe what type of phone you are selling, as well as including a clear and concise description of the extent of the damage to the phone, both aesthetically and in terms of functionality, in the item description.  In addition to that make sure that you put the photos that give the clearest and most obvious view of the damage to the phone right at the start of the listing, rather than burying them in the middle of, or at the back of, the sequence of photos.  By doing that then if somebody decides to buy the phone from you, despite the fact that you gave several indications that the phone is damaged and is only really suitable for parts then the buyer can't justifiably come back to you and say "I didn't realise the phone was damaged - there was nothing that made it obvious in the listing!"

In addition to the above, should you decide to relist the phone for sale don't advertise it as Used, as that could potentially mislead the buyer into thinking that he or she is going to get a fully functional phone that's in an acceptable condition.  You need to be completely honest with any potential buyers about the phone's actual condition in order to avoid a recurrence of the situation that prompted you to start this thread, so instead say something like "Not working - for parts only" in the item description.  It may also be worthwhile putting that line in bold type in a larger font, and in a colour that sticks out like a sore thumb, such as blood red, so as to draw a potential buyer's attention to it before they even make the decision to purchase it in the first place.