canceling a bid while item still active

Question

I have an item that has received many bids and the auction is not over yet. The highest bidder has contacted me to cancel his bid. How can I do that?Thank you for your help.

woodland_gnome · Answer

It is almost always in the seller's best interest (not the best interest of the community as a whole though) to cancel the bid if the buyer requests it, and to do so ASAP (and block the bidder) so the drop in price will be reflected in searches by prospective buyers as early as possible. Exception might be if the bid raised the price significantly (vs. what it will go down to--remember the price is set by the SECOND highest bidder so the price will go down from the second highest bidder's maximum plus up to an increment to the third highest bidder's maximum plus up to an increment--even if the bidder requesting cancellation of one bid has multiple bids since when you cancel they all go away--or your minimum price, e.g. the Starting Price if there are only 2 bidders and no Reserve) for an extended period of time (relative to the time remaining).

Just remember: someone who doesn't pay is usually just an inconvenience that can be sorted out in 5 days. Someone who doesn't want to pay for the item but does because s/he feels forced to do so can really hurt you.

If you can't find a link to cancel bids specific to that auction in your Seller Hub or the Bid History for it, Go to the Site Map (link at the bottom of this and most ebay.com pages) Sell Section (use the shortcut at the top--it's a long scroll down) and you'll find the link to that and several other useful seller tools., especially to your Blocked Bidder/Buyer List to which I suggest you add such mind-changers.