ebay bid cancellation makes me the winning bidder on an item I no longer want
Hello,
So I made a few bids on an item and then was outbid.
I found a good deal on the same item at a retail outlet which I purchased.
Then a few days later I receive an 'ebay bid cancellation notice' that the bidder who outbid me has retracted their bid and I am again the winning bidder.
But I was no longer interested in the item when I got outbid and purchased it elsewhere.
I no longer want the item as when my maximum bid was beaten, I went elsewhere.
What are my options?
Thanks,
74 comments
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoIn an auction a bidder can retract their bid on the last day where you became the top bidder. AND you will get a bid notification in your inbox in "emails" you "are" now the highest bidder. Most people read their emails everyday so I don't know why you didn't see it. Its not like a surprise.
It might be easier to return the purchased item at a retail outlet since you have a receipt and pay for the winning auction so as not to get a "ding".
simba6
·2 years agoeBay does warn you about that can happen. Bidders should always use their watch list and place the bid near the ending of the listing. Then you know right away if you got it or not.
If you bid early, that bid hangs over your head like the sword of Damocles until the listing has ended.
gurlcat
·2 years agoWhen you say "I am the winning bidder" -do you mean present tense, like the auction hasn't closed yet? If that's the case, just retract your bid before it closes, just like the other guy did!
kalyoth
·2 years agoJust to clarify - was this done prior to end of an active auction - or after one closed? The two processes look similar.
house*of*paws
·2 years agoHi @kalyoth
A 'bid' can only be cancelled while the auction is in progress. [Otherwise, it is the transaction that is being cancelled.] AND the only way the OP could have become the winner of the auction is if it were cancelled while the auction was still active.
Hi @markie1976
We are told (on the screen where we confirm our bid) that our bid will be in play until the end of the auction ... and to NOT to bid on a similar item unless we're willing to pay for both should we end up winning two.
That said, you can request a cancellation from the seller ... but it will be up to the seller whether to give you a nonpayment strike when they cancel.
markie1976
OP2 years agoSo what?
In an auction house when you place a bid and then other people bid more than you - the auctioneer doesn't say "You're now the winning bidder as the other two people who bid HIGHER amounts than you have changed their minds".
Ebay needs to see how auctions work in the real world...
worldcoinauctions
·2 years agoEbay needs to see how auctions work in the real world...
Um yeah, if you bid in a major auction through the internet there is no cancelling your bid, if you end up the winner, you are the winner. If a higher bidder were somehow disqualified you could get stuck as the under bidder.
eburtonlab
·2 years agoIn an auction house when you place a bid and then other people bid more than you - the auctioneer doesn't say "You're now the winning bidder as the other two people who bid HIGHER amounts than you have changed their minds".
Auction houses have rules about how their auctions work. And so does eBay.
If you try to use eBay rules in an auction house, you will have problems. And vice versa.
Follow the rules of whichever site you are dealing with.
markie1976
OP2 years agoIf I try to use 'ebay rules' in a real auction house I will clearly be laughed at and escorted off the premises...
Yes, real auction houses have their own rules which you agree to when placing your deposit/signing the paperwork to get a bidders number.
BUT real auction houses rules tend to follow the most basic principle of a higher bid, cancels your bid out...
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoEbay needs to see how auctions work in the real world...
--------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately no, not how it works.
this is not the real world. It is eBay world, and the rules of the eBay sandbox apply here
house*of*paws
·2 years ago@markie1976
You make it sound like there is only one set of rules for auctions. That is not the case.
The rules are what the auction place says they are … and what the bidders agree to follow when they participate in that auction.
eBay has its own rules … which actually are patented (copyright?). Expecting eBay to adhere to your idea of what the rules should be is … let’s just say ‘unrealistic’.
markie1976
OP2 years agoI wonder if ebay might perhaps swing to our 'unrealistic' rules if enough of us 'unrealistic' thinkers, stop using the platform and spend our bucks elsewhere.....
kalyoth
·2 years agoI have seen auctions be dropped in my lap past closure due to reasons occurring. ebay works in mysterious ways. It's a "Second chance" I believe it's called where you have non-binding opportunity to win. Was why I did inquire.
evry1nositswindy
·2 years ago@kalyoth
A second chance offer is sent by the seller, not eBay. Sellers can send them out to underbidders if the winning bidder doesn't pay. It is non-binding, meaning you can say no thanks. This is totally different than the situation described here.
markie1976
OP2 years agoJust wait for ebay's next big idea 'auto second-chance offers'.... no doubt entirely for the sellers benefit...
markie1976
OP2 years agoPrior, the auction is still open.
woodland_gnome
·2 years agoWhether or not the other bidder had a valid reason to retract his/her bid, you don't. You can request the seller to cancel your bid but s/he is under no obligation to do so nor to acknowledge the request, and cannot give you permission to retract ("Seller says OK" is not a valid reason). You are under an obligation to pay if you are the winner at the end.
gurlcat
·2 years agoHe said the auction is still LIVE. So he doesn't need and excuse or permission from the seller, he just needs to unstick himself from the petty arguments here, get to the auction, and RETRACT his bid. EASY BUTTON!
woodland_gnome
·2 years agoIllegal button. S/he doesn't have a valid reason to retract. So s/he can't do so except fraudulently .
gurlcat
·2 years agoIllegal. 🤣
"Tonight, on COPS ....."
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoStoryboard: Retracting a bid | eBay
markie1976
OP2 years agoLIKE IT!!! Best thing anyone has said on this thread! 😂
stephenmorgan
·2 years ago"illegal Button"? Maybe, but Policy states a bid is a contract until you are outbid.
The moment I am outbid, the contract is over for me and like the OP, I have moved on to something else. I would consider it auction interference if someone retracted their Bid and did not Bid again or if they bid just below my Max Bid.
There are no apparent actions taken against people who have hundreds of Bid Retractions and allowed to continue to Bid on items. I think the policy is more of a suggested guideline and not a Hard Policy that will affect your status with eBay.
If it were one of my auctions and you asked, I would cancel your bid or if you won, I would cancel the order. I certainly do not want someone to purchase something they do not want and then find a reason to return it to me.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/invalid-bid-retraction-policy?id=4227
Invalid bid retraction policy
If someone makes a bid on an auction-style listing, and then retracts that bid, they could gain an unfair advantage – maybe by discovering a reserve price, or where another bidder's maximum bid stands.
We want to ensure a fair marketplace for all our users, so we only allow bids to be retracted under certain circumstances. Read our full Invalid bid retraction policy below for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I retract a bid?
A bid is a binding contract that's active until an auction-style listing ends or you're outbid. You can only retract a bid if the seller significantly changed the description of the item, or if you accidentally bid the wrong amount. Retracting a bid for any other reason is considered an invalid bid retraction. If you're retracting a bid for a valid reason, you'll also need to make sure you do so within the bid retraction timeframe.
What should I do if I think someone's manipulating the bidding process?
If you think another member is violating our bid retraction guidelines, you should contact us to let us know.
gurlcat
·2 years agoHoly smoke. Yet another example of a policy stated differently on two different pages. The one @mtgraves7984 posted does not have the "or you're outbid" line, unless I'm just blind.
markie1976
OP2 years agoThank you for posting this.
Another good example of how broken ebay clearly is since they became a profit hungry beast...
markie1976
OP2 years agoThe fact I was OUTBID means I will no longer win the auction.
So if the bidder who bid more than me retracts their bid after some time (not like immediately after placing it due to a keying error) I should not have to accept becoming the winning bidder again if I don't want to.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoso retract your bid, and move on
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoIn addition to what campanaelia stated, you can take the hit as a non-paying bidder. But I would consider that carefully, as 2 of those in a year will come with sanctions from ebay.
markie1976
OP2 years agoBut I'm NOT a non-paying bidder as my max bid was outbid by another bidder?
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoYou stated that you were the "winning bidder" , because the high bidder retracted, NO? Ebay can't force you to pay, but as I said, 2 in a year is bad news.
markie1976
OP2 years agoNo ebay can't force me to pay BUT they will give me a strike through NO fault of my own.
1. If I have been outbid and do not place another bid - I am NO LONGER interested in the item.
2. Why should I take a strike (use a bid retraction/cancellation or non-payment strike) due to the actions of another bidder?
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years agoeBay warns you that at anytime you could become the high bidder if someone cancels a bid and also not to bid on multiple items of the same type for this reason.
house*of*paws
·2 years ago@momtoabeautifuldaughter
The OP consistently has ignored that fact. They don’t appear open to receiving that bit of information they were given way back at the start of this thread.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoand here we are on page 4 when all the OP had to do was to retract the bid for an item that they no longer want 🤣
campanaelia
·2 years agoYou can ask the seller to cancel and in the future try to bid as close to the end of the auction as possible. I usually bid in the last 6 seconds or less.
markie1976
OP2 years agoThanks for your reply.
Yes but too much hassle and if everyone did this it clogs up the server.
What if your connection goes down 10 seconds before the end?
You have to set a reminder for the end of the auction?
You have to stay up late or get up early?
If it's a nice exam of an item you want, why not bid your maximum straight away?
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoYou can employ a sniping service to bid for you in the last split seconds of the auction if you don't want to do it manually... The reasoning is quite simple, by throwing in a power bid at the very end, as opposed to bidding your max early, it doesn't give the nibble / sport bidders time to react. Many, many of us on here win auctions this way. Ebay's server is MORE than capable of handling the load. I've never lost an internet connection while bidding on here, not saying it can't happen.
markie1976
OP2 years agoDidn't ebay stamp out the lowlife practice of using a 'snipping service' some time ago as it is quite low-life and still doesn't guarantee you anything if there is an outage somewhere in the chain...
dryophelia
·2 years agoI think some bid that way because there are no guarantees. It’s like that rush we get at live auctions as we wait to hear the auctioneer say SOLD before someone one else bids.
Once, I was outbid by a penny.
Love the game - hate the player.
markie1976
OP2 years agoI guess there were no hard feelings if she told you her name...
gurlcat
·2 years agoMarry me, darling.
gurlcat
·2 years agoNo they didn't stamp out anything, lol. I just won two auctions using Just Snipe dot com, night before last. You can call it lowlife all you want, but if you really want to win something, you should sign up. It's FREE and easier to operate than a Fisher Price toy.
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoI don't know where you get your ideas from, but NO, EBAY DID NOT STAMP OUT USING A SNIPING SERVICE. And I DO NOT APPRECIATE YOUR INSINUATION!!!!!,
gurlcat
·2 years agoThing is, no Markie was not correct about eBay doing anything at any time to block sniper bots from entering bids (not sure if that's even possible), but ever since this auto-pay thing began rolling out, I've wondered how it would be possible to snipe at all, manually or via bot, once everyone is rolled-in. So 2 days ago I wrote this to Just Snipe, the company I use (paid member, for the premium service). But I haven't heard back from them yet. Seems like they better figure out something or they could be completely out of business.
Hello, I'm a happy member of at least a couple years now, also a seller on eBay. I assume you are aware of the change eBay is making to auction format sales, where buyers must pre-authorize a payment form before placing a bid. It's a gradual roll-out, so some buyers are already being affected, but in a matter of months(?) it will be everybody. Obviously this will cause a problem for anyone trying to snipe, as they'll have to quickly agree to the popup message (assuming they already have a payment method loaded, if not, then much more than a few seconds). And I can't even guess how it could work with a sniper service attempting to enter the bid only a few seconds before auction closing.
Is Just Snipe working on a solution, or is there even one possible?
P..S. If I can be of any assistance simply ask, I am at your service
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years ago@gurlcat
My own experience manually sniping has been unhampered in that regard, since I added a second bankcard to my paypal account. This after I couldn't pay for a transaction through my normal paypal mastercard. Not sure if I'm just lucky or under the radar here.