Cancel an Order on eBay
Buyers and sellers can cancel orders on eBay as long as both parties mutually agree to do so. A buyer can request a cancellation up to an hour after the transaction, as long as the seller has not shipped the item. A seller can cancel a transaction up to 30 days after the sale, but may receive negative feedback for later cancellations. Auction bidders can also retract bids in certain situations.
Contents
Steps
Canceling an Order as a Buyer
- Log into the eBay website within an hour of purchase. You are able to request a cancellation if it is within the first hour since the purchase and the buyer has not marked the item as "Shipped." It is up to the seller to approve the cancellation. The buyer is never obligated to a cancellation, as bidding or purchasing is considered intent to buy.
- You can still try to request a cancellation after the first hour has passed, eBay just makes it a little easier during the first hour.
- Open the "Purchase history" section of "My eBay." This will display a list of all of your recent eBay purchases.
- Find the order that you want to cancel. As long as it has been less than an hour and the seller hasn't shipped yet, you can request a cancellation.
- Click the "More actions" link. You'll find this underneath the "Leave feedback" button.
- Select "Ask to cancel order" or "Cancel item." The cancellation policy will be displayed.
- If you don't see this option, the order is either more than an hour old or has already shipped. If the order is more than an hour old but hasn't shipped yet, you can still send a cancellation request by selecting "Contact seller."
- Click "Contact seller." This will open a form for you to send a message to the seller.
- Tell the seller why you want to cancel. The seller is under no obligation to cancel your order. Giving a good reason for your cancellation will increase the chances that the seller may approve your request.
- Wait for the seller to approve your request. If the seller approves your cancellation, the order will be canceled and you won't have any negative marks on your account.
- If the seller does not approve your cancellation, your only options are to accept and pay for the item you purchased, or decide not to pay. If you decide to not pay for your order, your account will be marked with an "unpaid item" strike. Your account may be suspended if you receive too many of these.
Canceling an Order as a Seller
- Open the "Sold" page from the "My eBay" menu. If you've received a cancellation request from the buyer, you can process it through "My eBay" so that you don't get any negative marks on your account. You can also cancel any transaction up to 30 days later, but this may result in negative feedback.
- You have three days to approve or deny a buyer cancellation request. Buyers who request cancellation in the allotted time cannot leave you negative feedback or a low seller rating.
- You can cancel a transaction for up to 30 days after the buyer has paid if you haven't shipped, but this may be considered a defect and result in negative seller performance.
- Find the order that the buyer wanted to cancel. Find the order the the buyer requested a cancellation for in your recent transactions. Refer to the order number if necessary.
- You can only cancel entire orders, not individual items in a multi-item order.
- Click the "More actions" link. You'll find this beneath the "Leave feedback" button.
- Select "Cancel this order." This will start the order cancellation process.
- You cannot cancel the order if the buyer has started an "Item not received" case or you have started an "Unpaid item" case.
- Select "The buyer asked to cancel the order" from the "Select a reason" menu. This will ensure that you don't get a defect mark against your account.
- Refund the purchase if necessary. If the buyer has already paid, a PayPal window will appear allowing you to refund the money that they paid. You just need to click "Send Refund" and PayPal will handle the rest.
- If the buyer paid with a method other than PayPal, you have 10 days to refund them using the original payment method.
- Check that you've received your final value fee credit. If you've refunded a payment for a canceled order, eBay will credit you your final value fee. This should happen automatically once the buyer confirms receiving the refund. You can use this credit for future listings, but not for purchasing eBay items.
Retracting a Bid
- Determine if you're eligible to retract your bid. Under normal circumstances, eBay does not allow you to retract a bid on an auction. Placing a bid is considered a commitment to buy if you win the auction. There are a few cases where you may be able to get your bid retracted:
- You entered the wrong amount (e.g. $100 instead of $10) due to a mis-type. Changing your mind doesn't count.
- The item's description has undergone a significant change since you placed your bid.
- You are unable to contact the seller.
- Check how long the auction has left. The amount of time left in the auction determines your eligibility for a bid retraction, provided you meet one of the reasons above:
- More than 12 hours - You are allowed to retract your bid. All bids you've placed will be removed.
- Less than 12 hours - You can only retract bids made within the last hour. Only your most recent bid will be removed.
- Open the Bid Retraction form. Visit offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow to find the retraction form.
- Enter the item number for the auction. You can find this on the auction page.
- Select your explanation. You must select one of the three options outlined in the first step of this section.
- Click "Retract bid" and wait for a decision. Your retraction request will be reviewed by eBay, and you'll be informed as to whether or not it went through.
- Contact the seller if eBay denies your retraction request. You may still be able to retract your bid if you get in touch with the seller. This is up to the seller's discretion, and is not guaranteed.
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