Accidentally listed auction item as BIN
Summary: casadefuego accidentally listed an item as 'Buy It Now' instead of an auction and seeks advice on canceling the transaction without incurring a defect on eBay. ryry-jj emphasizes that cancellations for this reason can lead to negative marks and advises fulfilling the order. Others, like ten_o_nine and caldreamer, suggest shipping the item to avoid negative feedback. casadefuego explains the emotional significance of the sale and acknowledges the mistake, deciding ultimately to honor the transaction and learn from it. The discussion also delves into eBay's policies on transaction cancellations and potential abuse by vendors.
Today the item sold before I realized my error and no seller cancellation reason fits this scenario. I've I've asked the seller to request to cancel, but no response yet. Is there a way for ebay to cancel the transaction so I can relist as an auction? Can I avoid a transaction defect?
Many thanks...
dreamangel
·3 weeks agoNow clearly this is not allowed, right? I don't mean to butt into this discussion like this but I'm truly bothered by this and I can't get help here from eBay. Clearly, what you did was entirely by accident and nothing like what these other vendors I'm speaking of here are pulling! I'm actually a buyer not a seller but I've recently caught a vendor with several accounts under multiple usernames listing the SAME EXACT ITEMS for sale& auction at the same time, and if I have the item for sale on my watchlist they actually send me an offer for the item at a pathetically discounted price at the same time I'm bidding for it on a different page listing in their store! If that wasn't bad enough I'm also ALWAYS bidding against someone by the name of "private bidder identity protected" who seems to ALWAYS outbid me from 1-4 DAYS AGO right after I place my bid over and over as my bids change by the second this one never does. The "private bidder" bidder ALWAYS wins and I then see the EXACT SAME ITEM back up for auction the next day as it's STILL ALSO LISTED FOR SALE which tells me "private bidder identity protected" is the vendor trying to up the bidding price which I KNOW is highly illegal. I tried to report this to eBay and provided the 3 pictures of proof they allow and told them I had PLENTY more for them and was VERY SURPRISED when they came back and told me that these vendors AREN'T VIOLATING THEIR POLICIES! Can someone PLEASE tell me I'm not crazy here? 🤞
annadryl
·3 weeks agoWell, are you cuckoo for any particular type of puffs?
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoWhat you're seeing with the other bidder is just their highest bid being higher than yours. That's how eBay works. It's almost certainly not the seller, as that's not only illegal but much more difficult for them to achieve than it was decades ago (they would have to have an account not associated with their own in any way in order to do that).
dreamangel
·3 weeks agoNo, this isn't normal bidding on eBay, TRUST ME! Take a look and you tell me if this is normal.. when a bidder is ALWAYS listed as "private identity" and wins by outbidding me every time on every item in their stores(which are also listed "for sale" mind you) then AFTER having won each auction the item that was listed as "1 available" is suddenly up for auction AGAIN the next day, and still for sale. These are just 1 of the most recent but there's more than I can count that I've encountered. I've been using eBay for YEARS and even have a friend who is a vendor here and she couldn't even believe that eBay said this isn't br
eaking policy when they are CLEARLY "shill bidding", putting the EXACT SAME ITEM up for auction on multiple pages at the same time as well as listing it for sale on multiple pages at the exact same time!
byrd69er
·Sep 16, 2026 at 9:02 PMEveryone has the correct solution. Ship it.
But nobody has the correct punishment.
So....no ice cream for you tonight.
annadryl
·3 weeks agoThe punishment is the financial hit, so have some ice cream if you can still afford it...
dbmm-media
·Sep 16, 2026 at 8:56 PMship it
inhawaii
·Sep 16, 2026 at 4:13 AM · EditedI'm hoping one day ebay will add to the dropdown menu of reasons for voiding a shipping label to the most common reason I cancel a shipping label for ... "I screwed up." 😉
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 3:49 AMThank you all and I understand the outcome. Honor the sale and learn from my mistake.
inhawaii
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:47 AMThere is no cancellation reason "I screwed up" so I would go through with the sale. Learn from your mistake and be more careful next time.
simba6
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:26 AMNope you just have to make the sale and take better care next time. eBay is light on undo buttons, click with care.
albertabrightalberta
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:13 AM@casadefuego
You made a mistake. Own it, honor your sale and learn a lesson from the experience so it doesn't happen again.
ten_o_nine
·Sep 16, 2026 at 2:31 AMNo, eBay customer service will not step in to cancel a transaction for you. Did the buyer pay?
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 3:02 AMYes
ten_o_nine
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:49 AMIf your asking price is not too much off, I would ship and avoid potential issues,
sfau
·Sep 16, 2026 at 2:15 AMI am not sure what the issue is - if there was a single bid that would have been the price it sold for as well.... What would you have done then?
ten_o_nine
·Sep 16, 2026 at 2:39 AMPoster wanted auction listing but did a buy it now instead, an auction would have generated more interest and probably better price.
albertabrightalberta
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:17 AMSince you would have honored it if the only bid was the same as the buyer's purchase price, why aren't you willing to honor it now?
@ten_o_nine That's not necessarily the case. Most auctions don't get the bidding wars of days gone by and it's very possible (if not likely) that the item would have sold with just a single bid.
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 3:01 AMI would have honored it of course.
sin-n-dex
·Sep 16, 2026 at 1:26 AMWe all make mistakes. If you don't want a defect or neg FB, just ship the item. The money you lost is worth it to preserve your reputation with buyers and eBay.
luckythewinner
·Sep 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM"The seller backed out of sale because he did not like the price" is probably the #1 reason why buyers get fed up and leave the site. That hurts ALL sellers, not just you. Honor your sale.
The seller who fail to perform and disappoint buyer are exactly who eBay wants to punish, and they are why eBay has a defect system in the first place.
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 3:05 AMThe only reason I "did not like the price" is because this was an item of my late brother's and whatever $ I would get from it would go to his 82 year old widow. Not that ebay cares about that.
kensgiftshop
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:12 AMDon't see what the problem is?
The item sold, so you have some money to give her.
pickapaper
·Sep 16, 2026 at 11:13 AMIt isn't that no one cares about your personal life, it's that no one on eBay cares about your personal life. To eBay, you are just another one of their 18 million sellers and personal lives never enter into the picture. To buyers, you are a faceless seller who they don't know anything about and don't want to; they buy an item from you and they just want it shipped promptly and as described.
caldreamer
·Sep 16, 2026 at 1:14 AMYou can cancel this transaction but don't be surprised if your customer leaves you negative feedback.
ryry-jj
·Sep 16, 2026 at 1:09 AMYou mean you asked the "buyer" to cancel? Only sellers can cancel. Sound like you are looking for a way to not be held responsible for your own mistake.
But no, you listed it as a BIN, the buyer bought it so you need to ship it
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 1:27 AMThe option for the buyer is to request a cancellation.
ryry-jj
·Sep 16, 2026 at 2:19 AMBut the buyer has no reason to cancel. It sounds like you want to force them to cancel because you don't want to take the hit for "out of stock" or for whatever reason you are trying to create to get out of the error you made. Just ship the item so you don't provide any BBE
casadefuego
OPSep 16, 2026 at 3:00 AMI'm not forcing anything. Only simply asked if they would. And I won't lie about it being out of stock or damaged.
stephenmorgan
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:19 AM · EditedThat is a problem with eBay's choices for a cancellation. They don't allow a honest choice and unless the buyer ask to cancel your reason would be a lie.
Use to be you could talk to someone on the phone and they may allowed a one time cancellation and forgive your defect if they thought you had a good reason. The problem with doing this today is you can rarely get anyone on the phone.
christworks
·Sep 16, 2026 at 3:28 AM · Edited@casadefuego It is a violation of eBay policy to ask a buyer to cancel an order due to a mistake on your part. Should that buyer report you to eBay, they will make a note on your account.
You need to ship the order, and next time pay attention to what you are doing.
You can still give your brother's window the money you made, and add a little extra to make up for your mistake.
broto_64
·3 weeks agoSo why haven't you cancelled for reason "out of stock" already, you don't need the buyer's permission to do that!