Bid Retractions
I have been bidding more as of late on Ebay. There is an item that has gone up rather quickly in the bidding process. The winning bidder, whose outbid me again, has 67 bid retractions in the last 30 days. As a buyer only, I try to check out if shilling might be happening. I can never be sure, but I can suspect in some cases and am turned off immediately. How does a bidder continue to make purchases and/or bid with that kind of bid retraction history? Aren't their penalties for something like that? It leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth because I'm not sure who or what I am up against---if it's the seller, a rogue buyer, etcetera. Who it hurts is me, a potential and honest buyer. It makes me not want to participate in that auction because I value my hard-earned money. It hurts the seller if the MO of this bidder falls back on always retracting their bid/s. I just want some feedback on this matter. How is someone able to continue bidding and participating on Ebay with that retraction bid history?
mudshark61369
·3 years ago@almsale-9,
eBay does have an invalid bid retraction policy, but does not seem to enforce it even when reported by sellers. The thing is, not all the people with high numbers of retractions are shills. Some will bid many times on the very low start price auctions hoping an item will not go over a certain price, because they are buying to resell the items. Once their price is reached the only way they can back out of the auction and not have to worry about someone else retracting later on, leaving them the winner, is to retract their bids. Others may get into a bidding war and get in too deep so they retract. No matter what the reason for their retractions, when they retract, if they have bid 5 times each of those counts as a retraction on their record. If they place one automatic bid that gets run up, it only counts as 1 retraction. The unfortunate thing is those with higher numbers of bid retractions lead others to think shill bidding is rampant. If you are looking at another bidder's bid history look at when they bid. Often they start bidding early and drop out or retract.
If you take the advice given by nobody*s_perfect, and wait until near the end of an auction before bidding you don't have to worry about shills. If you bid late enough a shill will not have time to retract, and shills do not want to win. If the price is too high near the end then don't bid. If it is still within your price range, bid your max amount, then you only have to worry about snipers who may bid more than you.
almsale-9
OP3 years agoThank you so much. I am not a reseller and purchase for pure use and enjoyment. I realize this is the bread and butter of many who buy and sell on ebay. I just value my money but take faith in an honest auction. It can be fun sometimes, but I have realized in my less than 40 purchases all together on Ebay, there are unsavory practices and people. I am awaiting the end of an auction now to bid as much as I care to for a particular piece, but we'll just have to see. I know now that bidders may not all represent shills. I will keep this advice in mind.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoNo matter what the reason for their retractions, when they retract, if they have bid 5 times each of those counts as a retraction on their record. If they place one automatic bid that gets run up, it only counts as 1 retraction.
I did not realize that.
Thank you for the information.
ed8108
·3 years agoEbay does have policies & rules but enforcement or selective enforcement of those rules is another matter.
nobody*s_perfect
·3 years agoNo, there are no penalties for bidders who make an excessive number of bid retractions. Some bid retractions are valid, so eBay doesn't bother to investigate any of them.
The best way to avoid shill bidders and other aggravations is to decide how much you're willing to pay for the item, then place one single bid very late in the auction, like in the final minute. Reactive, multiple bids are generally not a good strategy.