Sold item, not yet sent, buyer paid & has changed mind…

[NomenOmen]

I sold some e-tickets today on eBay. The buyer paid immediately at the conclusion of the auction, but has just messaged to say they can no longer attend the event. I have not yet sent them the tickets.

If I refund the buyer, will eBay automatically return the (hefty! £40) fees they deducted, or will I be left out of pocket?

How does one proceed when they’ve already paid and the item has not been sent (and so this isn’t a conventional return situation).

I’m hoping I can resolve this quickly as the event happens soon and if I’m to resell them, I need to move swiftly!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Refund via eBay and the fees will be cancelled

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/refunding-buyers?id=5182

Thank you, tommika. Apologies for asking further, but are you certain that I won’t be liable for the final value fee? I really don’t want to be £40 out of pocket because of the buyer’s error. The information in those links is not completely clear on this matter, I think. Thanks again for replying.

Yes, you’ll be clear from the final value fee

Its ‘better’ on your sellers profile for the buyer to formally ask to cancel through the eBay process (I can’t remember exactly how to do that, they may be able to request to cancel from the order or need to search eBay help which will then take them to their latest purchases)

If they can only message you then you can cancel the sale and refund

If ebay have already paid out to you then they reverse it, otherwise they remove it from your balance

The only fees that you would be liable for are any optional extras on the original listing. The final value fees etc are ‘credited’ back

The only thing just to be wary of is a dodgy buyer that asks you to send them a payment as their ‘refund’ instead of cancelling / refunding the eBay payment

Thank you, that’s very helpful.