Buzz
Both buyers and sellers can cancel orders on eBay as long as mutual agreement is achieved. Buyers may request a cancellation within one hour after the transaction, provided the seller hasn’t shipped the item. Sellers can cancel orders up to 30 days post-transaction, but they might receive negative feedback for doing so. Auction participants can also retract their bids under certain specific conditions.
Steps
Buyer Cancels an Order
Log in to the eBay website within one hour of purchase. You can request to cancel your order within the first hour after buying and if the seller hasn’t marked the item as 'Shipped.' Whether the cancellation is approved depends on the seller. Buyers cannot force sellers to cancel orders, as bidding and purchasing imply your intent to buy.
- You can attempt to submit a cancellation request after one hour, but eBay processes requests made within the first hour more smoothly.
Open the "Purchase history" section in "My eBay." This page will display a list of items you’ve recently purchased on eBay.
Locate the order you wish to cancel. As long as it’s within the first hour and the seller hasn’t shipped the item, you can request a cancellation.
Click on the "More actions" link. You’ll find this link below the "Leave feedback" button.
Select "Ask to cancel order" or "Cancel item." The cancellation terms will appear.
- If you don’t see this option, the order may have exceeded the first hour or the seller has already shipped the item. If the order is past the first hour but hasn’t been shipped, you can still request cancellation by choosing "Contact seller."
Click on "Contact seller." You’ll see a message form to communicate with the seller.
Explain your reason for canceling the order to the seller. Sellers are not obligated to cancel your order. Providing a valid reason increases the likelihood of them approving your request.
Wait for the seller’s response. If they agree to cancel the order, it will be canceled, and your account won’t receive negative feedback.
- If the seller declines your cancellation request, your options are to accept and pay for the item or refuse to pay. Non-payment will result in an "unpaid item" strike on your account. Repeated strikes may lead to account suspension.
Seller Cancels an Order
Open the "Sold" section in the "My eBay" menu. If you receive a cancellation request from a buyer, you can access it through "My eBay" without receiving negative feedback. You can cancel an order up to 30 days after the sale, but this may result in negative feedback.
- You have 3 days to accept or decline the buyer’s cancellation request. During this period, the requester cannot leave negative feedback or rate you poorly.
- You can cancel an order 30 days after the buyer pays for an item you haven’t shipped, but this may be seen as a failure and result in poor ratings.
Locate the order the buyer wants to cancel. Find the order in your recent transactions that the buyer has requested to cancel. Look up the order ID if needed.
- You can only cancel the entire order, not individual items within a multi-item order.
Click on the "More actions" link. You’ll find this link below the "Leave feedback" button.
Select "Cancel this order." This action initiates the order cancellation process.
- You cannot cancel the order if the buyer marks it as "Item not received" or if you mark it as "Unpaid item."
Choose "The buyer asked to cancel the order" from the "Select a reason" menu. This reason ensures your account won’t be flagged for any deficiencies.
Issue a refund if necessary. If the buyer has already paid, a PayPal window will appear, allowing you to refund the buyer. Simply click "Send Refund," and PayPal will handle the rest.
- If the buyer used another payment method, you have 10 days to refund them using the same method.
Check if you’ve received the final value fee credit. If you refund a canceled order, eBay will credit this fee back to you. This process happens automatically once the buyer confirms the refund. You can use this credit for future listings but not for purchasing items on eBay.
Retracting a Bid
Determine if you’re eligible to retract your bid. Under normal circumstances, eBay does not allow you to retract a bid once placed. Bidding implies a commitment to purchase the item if you win. However, there are specific situations where retraction is permitted:
- You entered an incorrect amount (e.g., $100 instead of $10) due to a typo. Changing your mind is not a valid reason.
- The item description was significantly altered after you placed your bid.
- You are unable to contact the seller.
Check how much time is left in the auction. The remaining time determines your ability to retract a bid, and you must meet one of the following conditions:
- More than 12 hours remaining - You can retract all bids placed.
- Less than 12 hours remaining - You can only retract your most recent bid.
Open the Bid Retraction form. Visit offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow to access the form.
Enter the auction item number. You can find this information on the auction page.
Select an explanation. You must choose one of the three options provided in the first step of this section.
Click on "Retract bid" and await the decision. Your retraction request will be reviewed by eBay, and you’ll be notified once they determine whether the request is approved or denied.
Contact the seller if eBay denies your bid retraction request. You may still retract your bid if you can communicate with the seller. However, there’s no guarantee your request will be accepted, as this entirely depends on the seller’s decision.
