difference of cancelling or letting it ride out and ebay steps in and refunds

[dobo5250]

is there a difference when the seller wants to cancel a sale the same day as it comes in-- when he before shipping finds product defective  and won't ship it telling the customer so by ebay email --- or  just letting it ride out till ebay steps in and refunds the customer with item delivered  -- both ways come with the same  defect charge against the seller - but one  is that money is not taken out till the ebay step in happens and the refund then is automatically sent back to the buyer usually many days later  the first one is the money is refunded same day 

any comments wondering why we get the sellers that is -- the same defect when we do the right thing on the first one  for the customers and refund immediately and get ahold of them sell them so why  and are scum bags sellers  on the second way when we do nothing and let ebay step in days later -- why the same penalty-- does anyone have an answer I am curious --  

[femmefan1946]

If eBay has to step in and refund, the Seller gets a Defect for not cooperating in the cancellation of the transaction. The buyer can leave feedback.

Defects can lead to higher fees, loss of fee discounts, restrictions on number and value of listings, lower visibility in Search, and if things get really bad, permanent closing of the selling account.

Best would be to Message the customer, explain the problem (with photos if possible) and ask if he wants to cancel the sale. This has no punishment for the seller. The buyer can leave feedback.

The buyer can also demand the (defective) item and the seller really has no choice but to ship. Then when the buyer finds the problem is exactly what the seller said, he can demand a refund. It's up to the seller whether he wants the defective item returned, but if he does want it back, he pays for return shipping.

Whether the seller is honest or scamming has no effect on the buyer. So all sellers are treated the same.

[byto253]

In that scenario I would also evaluate the value of the item with the defect and see if they want it at the lower price. If so you refund the difference to them. That builds goodwill and you are in the same place financially.

[kawartha-ephemera]

Of course you were correct to have immediately informed the buyer of the problem and cancel the transaction rather than shipping it and hoping the buyer would not demand their money back.

Both courses of action result in an unsatisfactory buyer experience, different reasons for it in eBay's rule book though. Having to cancel a sale due to defective product is an "out of stock" situation, the reasons why or how the situation came about does not improve the buyer's experience, at the end of the day the product promised could not be delivered. Alternatively, shipping defective product usually results in the buyer opening a product not as described case. One could argue this is a far more serious infraction than simply being "out of stock" but ebay makes no such distinction.