eBay auction winner doesn't want to buy; open dispute or cancel?

[Prixton]

I'm more than a little irritated so please excuse the excessive ranting. I bought a Kate spade bag on eBay a few months ago. The seller hadn't mentioned the detachable cross body strap, and it wasn't pictured, but she had said she bought it new direct from Kate spade, and I've bought the same style bag on eBay before when the cross body strap wasn't pictured and was still included, and it was a good buy it now so I went for it.

The bag arrived not only without the strap but also with stains and other previously unmentioned issues. I contacted the seller who refused to do a refund, and I just didn't want to deal with it so the bag stayed in my closet until last week.

I decided to sell on eBay; I took many pictures,  and described it thoroughly. In both the "item condition" section and the main description I very clearly stated "the cross body strap is not included. " The auction was up for seven days and ended two days ago. I sent the winning bidder an invoice yesterday. This morning I got an email from her saying "I didn't notice the cross body strap wasn't included, please cancel the sale. "  Obviously I'm furious; not only did I clearly state it in the auction twice but it wasn't pictured and I myself went through almost the same situation as a buyer (where it wasn't clearly stated in the auction) and I had to suck it up and buy it. In my auction I also stated all sales were final and it was the buyers responsibility to ask questions before bidding.

What can I do? I sent the other bidder a second chance offer this morning but she already told me that she has since bought a different one and no longer wants this one. Will this EBay buyer get a strike against her if I go through the resolution center process? I'm so so so frustrated, I feel this buyer is being irresponsible; who bids on an item without reading either the description or item condition thoroughly?  I don't want to wait another seven days just to sell this stupid bag that's brought me nothing but trouble

[ponylady]

What can I do? I sent the other bidder a second chance offer this morning but she already told me that she has since bought a different one and no longer wants this one. Will this EBay buyer get a strike against her if I go through the resolution center process? I'm so so so frustrated, I feel this buyer is being irresponsible; who bids on an item without reading either the description or item condition thoroughly?  I don't want to wait another seven days just to sell this stupid bag that's brought me nothing but trouble

I am beginning to think this purse is cursed 

If you open a case she will most definitely receive a strike on her account if she does not go through with the sale. The thing is whatever the reason maybe that a buyer comes up with to get out of a sale, its much easier to cancel it and move on with life, than it is to argue it with someone who has already decided they don't want the item.  If they go on and pay there is nothing stopping them from filing an item not as described case and winning, not to mention forcing someone to buy something they decided they don't want can be very bad for your seller rating.  I have had several of these remorse buyers who wanted to cancel , reasons like my paypal is messed up, my kid hacked my account, the dog hacked my account etc. etc.  I personally feel it's just easier and less stress to cancel and move on.

[Prixton]

I guess one question I have is: are you (or is anyone) certain that I will not be charged the final value fee for the sale if I cancel? Ebays help page did not answer this question and I called customer service and the agent kept stressing it was best to go through the resolution process instead of canceling. When I asked if I'd get the final value fee back  if I cancelled he sort of said yes but sounded unsure and kept pushing for me to open a dispute through the resolution center.

[ponylady]

I am sure eBay wants you to go through the UPI process for the fact they feel that they can then weed these types of buyers out. The thing is I am yet to see a habitual non-payer get kicked off eBay.

Anyways your buyer is the one who is going to have to send the request, below is quoted right from eBay.

Respond to a cancellation request from a buyer

A buyer can request to cancel a transaction within 1 hour of purchasing the item, even if they've already paid for the item.

When a buyer asks to cancel a transaction, you have 3 business days to approve or decline the request.

If you approve the cancellation request and the buyer has already paid for the item, you have 10 business days to refund the buyer.

If your buyer cancels a purchase, they can't leave you negative or neutral Feedback or low detailed seller ratings about the transaction.

This is also directly from eBay concerning your FVF's.

Receive a final value fee credit

The cancellation must be complete in order for you to receive a final value fee credit. To receive a final value fee credit, the cancellation request is complete when:
The buyer's PayPal account is refunded in full, if the buyer paid with PayPal.
The buyer confirms they received their refund, if they paid with a method other than PayPal.
When the cancellation is complete, we credit the final value fee to your account 7 to 10 days after the cancellation request is complete. Learn more about requesting a final value fee credit.
If you'd like your credit refunded to you, you can request a refund of your eBay credit balance.
If you refunded the buyer and they haven't approved the cancellation, you can submit an Unpaid Item request in order to get your final value fees back.

[bluerose9978]

My advice to you is when you relist the purse to actually state the strap is missing in the listing title that will be displayed in the eBay search engine so your future buyers can't miss it. Say something like Kate spade purse without cross strap. Some buyers don't read past the title. I found that out with a recent buyer who only looked at the title and pics and not at the description at all.

[Prixton]

Pony lady that quote says the buyer can only request a cancellation within an hour; she didn't say she wanted to back out until 2 days later. Does that mean it's too late to cancel?

[ponylady]

Actually what it means is that a buyer is allowed to cancel the transaction but it has to be at least an hour later, not sooner. So no it is not to late.

[Prixton]

I emailed the bidder and told her to cancel the auction/sale. I told her she should be able to do it through my ebay and if she was having trouble to use ebays help pages. She responded with this helpful gem:
"I talked to ebay and they said you have to cancel it, I cant do it."

So...what now??

[bluerose9978]

You can do it but she has to OK the cancellation. Your reason would be the buyer decided they didn't want it. Don't worry, I've done this before. Go into your eBay support/help and search cancel sale. It'll ask if you want to cancel your auction or something you bid on. Then it'll pull up your sales and just select the one that you want to cancel and the reason and it will send a message to your buyer. Viola!