eBay has made a bold and brave change that allows shoppers to cancel their orders anytime, as long as the seller hasn’t shipped the item yet.
This could simplify the process of returning unwanted items for sellers and buyers.
It’s being reported that a new button has been added to help customers easily cancel their orders.
What’s the implication for a seller?
Sellers will now have to act quickly.
But what if the seller doesn’t respond? The seller is given three days; if there is no response, the request will automatically decline for paid orders.
Sellers will have to be accommodating, especially when requests to cancel an order are made shortly after it has been placed.
However, sellers can greatly benefit from accepting these requests. Accepting these requests can reduce the number of returned items, increase customer loyalty, and attract new customers.
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Refunds and credit
If a seller accepts the cancellation, eBay will automatically process a full refund for the buyer and issue fee credits to the seller.
Previously, buyers only had an hour to cancel an order after placing it. However, after conducting tests, eBay found that extending this window minimally impacts the number of cancellation requests.
Despite this, customer satisfaction saw a significant 25% boost. Therefore, allowing customers to cancel their orders until the very last point would make sense.
The question now is whether sellers will be happy with this. eBay has assured that it remains committed to protecting sellers who decline cancellation requests.
Another approach: Decathlon offers lifetime returns
Hong Kong’s sports goods retailer Decathlon recently announced an interesting approach to its refund model: It now offers lifetime returns.
Many retailers cap their returns at one year, but they are increasing the period to increase customer loyalty.
NOW READ: Understanding Product Returns to Minimize Impact on Delivery Services
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About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
