How to Cancel an Order on eBay

Co-authored by Travis Boylls Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: September 3, 2020

Buyers and sellers can cancel orders on eBay as long as both parties mutually agree to do so. A buyer can request a cancellation up to an hour after the transaction, as long as the seller has not shipped the item. A seller can cancel a transaction up to 30 days after the sale, but may receive negative feedback for later cancellations. Auction bidders can also retract bids in certain situations.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Canceling an Order as a Buyer Within an Hour

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1
Navigate to https://www.ebay.com using a web browser and log in. If you need to cancel an eBay order, it's best to do it within an hour of placing the order. The seller must approve all cancellations.^{[1]
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- You can still try to request a cancellation after the first hour has passed, eBay just makes it a little easier during the first hour.
- If you are not logged in to eBay automatically, click Sign In in the upper-right corner and log in with the email address and password associated with your eBay account. You can also log in with your Facebook or Google account.
It's in the upper-right corner of the eBay website. This displays a drop-down menu.

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It's in the drop-down menu below "My eBay". This will display a list of all of your recent eBay purchases.
It's in the list of recent purchases in "Purchase history".
It's to the right of the order information box.
It's in the drop-down menu below "More actions".
7
Click Submit. eBay will send a cancelation request to the seller and confirm that they haven't sent the order. If the cancelation is approved, you will receive an email notification.
- If you are not able to cancel the sale, you can request a refund once the item is received.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Canceling an Order After An Hour

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1
Navigate to https://www.ebay.com using a web browser and log in. If more than an hour has passed since you placed an order, the seller will need to approve the cancelation.
- You cannot request to cancel an order if the order has already been shipped, or if opened an item not received case against the seller, or if the seller has opened an unpaid item case against you.
- If you are not logged in to eBay automatically, click Sign In in the upper-right corner and log in with the email address and password associated with your eBay account. You can also log in with your Facebook or Google account.
It's in the upper-right corner of the eBay website. This displays a drop-down menu.
It's in the drop-down menu below "My eBay". This will display a list of all of your recent eBay purchases.
It's in the list of recent purchases in "Purchase history".
It's to the right of the order information box.
It's in the drop-down menu below "More actions".
It's in the list of reasons to cancel the order. Click the radial button next to this option.
It's the button at the bottom of the list
Use the space provided to briefly explain why you need to cancel the order.
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Click Send. This sends the request to the seller. Bidding an item on eBay is a legally binding contract. The seller is not obligated to approve the cancelation of the sale.
- If you are not able to cancel the sale, you can request a refund once the item is received.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Requesting a Refund

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1
Navigate to https://www.ebay.com using a web browser and log in. You can request a refund for an item if the item is damaged, faulty, or the wrong item. If you changed your mind about an order, the seller will need to approve the refund.
- If you are not logged in to eBay automatically, click Sign In in the upper-right corner and log in with the email address and password associated with your eBay account. You can also log in with your Facebook or Google account.
It's in the upper-right corner of the eBay website. This displays a drop-down menu.
It's in the drop-down menu below "My eBay". This will display a list of all of your recent eBay purchases.
It's in the list of recent purchases in "Purchase history".
It's to the right of the order information box.
It's in the drop-down menu below "More actions" next to the item you want to return in your purchase history.
7
Select a reason for the return. Click the radial button next to the reason for the return. If you received the wrong item, or it arrived broken or faulty, you can select that option. If you changed your mind about an order, you can select that you changed your mind.
- If the item is faulty or damaged, you have the option to upload up to 10 photos with the return request.
This sends the return request to the seller. The seller has 3 days to respond to your request. If the seller does not respond, you can request that eBay step in and help resolve the situation.
9
Wait for the seller to respond. After requesting a refund, the seller has 3 business days to respond. If the seller does not respond to your request, you can ask eBay to step in and help resolve the situation.
- There are a number of ways a seller may respond to a refund request. A seller may offer a full or partial refund. They may also offer an exchange or replacement item. If you changed your mind about the item, or you missed the seller's deadline for returns, the seller may deny your refund request.
10
Return the item within 5 business days. If the seller accepts your refund request you will need to return the item within 5 business days. If the item is damaged or faulty, the seller is generally responsible for the return shipping cost. If you changed your mind about a purchase, you are responsible for the return shipping cost unless the seller's return policy states otherwise. Make sure you pack the item carefully. Use the following steps to print a return shipping label from eBay:^{[2]
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- Click My eBay.
- Click Purchase history.
- Locate the item in "Returns and canceled orders".
- Select View return details under "More actions".
- Click Print label.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Retracting a Bid

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1
Determine if you're eligible to retract your bid. Under normal circumstances, eBay does not allow you to retract a bid on an auction. Placing a bid is considered a commitment to buy if you win the auction. There are a few cases where you may be able to get your bid retracted:
- You entered the wrong amount (e.g. $100 instead of $10) due to a type-o.
- The item's description has undergone a significant change since you placed your bid.
- You are unable to contact the seller.
- You cannot retract a bid because you changed your mind.
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Check how long the auction has left. The amount of time left in the auction determines your eligibility for a bid retraction, provided you meet one of the reasons below:
- More than 12 hours - You are allowed to retract your bid. All the bids you've placed will be removed.
- Less than 12 hours - You can only retract bids made within the last hour. Only your most recent bid will be removed.
Click here to open the bid retraction form. You can use this form to request a bid cancellation.
You can find this on the auction page.
You must select one of the three options outlined in the first step of this section.
Your retraction request will be reviewed by eBay, and you'll be informed as to whether or not it went through.
You may still be able to retract your bid if you get in touch with the seller. This is up to the seller's discretion, and is not guaranteed.^{[3]
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Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Canceling an Order as a Seller

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1
Navigate to https://www.ebay.com using a web browser and log in. If more than an hour has passed since you placed an order, the seller will need to approve the cancelation.
- You cannot request to cancel an order if the order has already been shipped, or if opened an item not received case against the seller, or if the seller has opened an unpaid item case against you.
- If you are not logged in to eBay automatically, click Sign In in the upper-right corner and log in with the email address and password associated with your eBay account. You can also log in with your Facebook or Google account.
It's in the upper-right corner of the eBay website. This displays a drop-down menu.
3
Click Sold. It's in the drop-down menu below "My eBay".
- You have three days to approve or deny a buyer cancellation request. Buyers who request cancellation in the allotted time cannot leave you negative feedback or a low seller rating.
- You can cancel a transaction for up to 30 days after the buyer has paid if you haven't shipped, but this may be considered a defect and result in negative seller performance.
4
Find the order that the buyer wanted to cancel. Find the order the buyer requested a cancellation for in your recent transactions. Refer to the order number if necessary.
- You can only cancel entire orders, not individual items in a multi-item order.
You can find this to the right of the item in the list of recent transactions.
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Click Cancel this order. It's in the "More actions" drop-down menu. This will start the order cancellation process.
- You cannot cancel the order if the buyer has opened an Item not received case or you have opened an Unpaid Item case for the item in question.
7
Select a reason for canceling the order. Click the radial button next to the reason for the return.
- If the seller requested that you cancel the order, be sure to select that as a reason to avoid negative feedback against your account.
It's the blue button at the bottom of the list of reasons for cancelling.^{[4]
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Refund the purchase if necessary. If the buyer has already paid, a PayPal window will appear allowing you to refund the money that they paid. You just need to click Send Refund and PayPal will handle the rest.
- If the buyer paid with a method other than PayPal, you have 10 days to refund them using the original payment method.
If you've refunded a payment for a canceled order, eBay will credit you your final value fee. This should happen automatically once the buyer confirms receiving the refund. You can use this credit for future listings, but not for purchasing eBay items.^{[5]
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Question

How can I change the size of an item I ordered?

Community Answer

If you chose the wrong size during checkout, and the size you want is available, try messaging the seller ASAP if it hasn't shipped out your item yet. If they don't receive your message before they ship, there's nothing you can do until you receive the item to exchange it.

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Question

Can a seller cancel if a buyer is taking too long to pick up an item that was bought?

Community Answer

Yes, as long as there is no communication coming from the buyer after several reminders. The buyer should understand that the seller is waiting for the payment.

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Is it common for an order that I paid for to be cancelled, with the reason stating that the item has already been sold?

Community Answer

This is a very rare case, and either means the seller changed his mind or got a better offer and left you in the dirt. It also could mean the account is scammed.

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