How to best cancel an order?

[jinedo58]

How would I best handle this issue? I have recently been relisting after 30 days as sell as similar. The problem is I notice is listings with variables, list as originally listed with all the options still available. I sold a jersey this am that I do not have in stock. How do I best handle this issue? I know cancelling an order by seller is frowned upon. I will be reviewing all my variable listings.

[Ryanne]

you could eliminate that issue by just doing Good Til Canceled listings and not worry about relisting after 30 days. list it and forget it!

[jinedo58]

Yes, we used to use GTC. Thought we would do better relisting every thirty days, but I don’t think it has really made a big difference

[T-Satt]

We use the 30 listings rather than GTC, as we like to see what hasn’t sold, freshen up listings, look at prices, etc. We stopped using Sell Similar for the same reason, to avoid duplicate listings and just use the Relist button.

There is talk about “stale” listings after 60 days, and we see that when we relist. Items that are over 60 days old will have less views each time if we don’t freshen up the listings. So to avoid having duplicate listings but keep them “fresh”, we Relist (no Sell Similar) and on listing that had very few views in the month, we change the gallery picture, check our pricing, change title/item specifics/item description, etc.

[T-Satt]

Welcome to the biggest question in the eBay universe, GTC or 30 Day…

We moved from 30 Day to GTC once, and within 8 weeks, moved back. We saw our sales plummet. When we went back to GTC, our sales increased. I think a lot has to do with what you sell. For our clothes, being more a commodity, we have to stay high on the Best Match, and new listings get a boost in the first and last 24 hours. And we have years of experience that when we relist items, we always seem to sell something within 24 hours. All anecdotal, but our own personal experience is what we trust the best.

If you have more rare collectibles (like most of Jay and Ryanne’s items), GTC can be beneficial as I think you get more O/S ebay traffic, and I think GTC works best for multiple quantity listings that are selling, as I know listings that sell get moved up in Best Match.

Relisting can be a time suck, but we prefer it since it forces us to relook at pricing, freshen the pics, change keywords that may not be working, etc.

I think all discussion on which is better is all anecdotal, as no one can show definitive proof. I know eBay considers listings over 30 days to be stale. I know that when we freshen our listings (change pictures, change keywords, change pricing), we improve our sales. Other people have other experiences. So I would say experiment and see what works for you.

[jinedo58]

Thanks for all the insight into GTC or relist as sell as similar. My main concern is how to best cancel an order for something I am out of stock. I am concerned about the defects . I have 3 defects due to canceling because out of stock in the last year (because of the sell as similar listed with items already sold). I am still Top rated. Just concerned about losing Top Rated or worse yet being suspended.

[T-Satt]

I think the problem is, if you don’t have the item, you’re going to have to cancel. If you do lose your top rated seller status, you could always regain it pretty quickly. Just work hard and do the right things, and you will get it back pretty quickly.

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