Buyer sent cancel request after I shipped. Did I handle this correctly?

[vintagenorth]

Brand new buyer from US. She purchased at noon, and I was just about to make a post office run so I packed the item and took it with me to mail. When I got home later today I saw that she sent an email (not through eBay messages) and asked to cancel as it wouldn’t get to her in time.

I sent her a message directly and through eBay messages to tell her it was shipped and she was welcome to return it to me when she rec’d it and I would refund her item cost at that time. I also asked her to send any messages through eBay. She is new though so may not understand about eBay messaging yet but have to protect myself.

I hope I did this properly and hope she doesn’t just refuse the pkg (sent untracked) since then it could take ages (months even!) to be returned to me.

See, I tried to be a good seller and get it in the mail to the buyer fast and look what happens! You just can’t win.

[jt-libra]

I would send her another note asking her to kindly let you know when the package has arrived at which time you can discuss whether she wants to keep it or return it.  This will, hopefully, avoid a situation where she simply writes "return" on it, or declines it altogether, in which case when (and if) it finally reaches you, you will have to pay the return postage.

You say she is new to eBay, so she will likely think this is a reasonable request and work with you.  A seasoned buyer with a fraudulent bent may readily understand from your request that you have not shipped with tracking and might start playing games.

In the end, you will have to decide, based on the value of the item, whether it is worth the cost of return shipping.  Or, you may offer her a discount on the item and provide a partial refund.

Good luck!