Protecting auction integrity on eBay
Summary: The discussion revolves around the changes in auction and Buy It Now (BIN) formats on eBay. gurlcat and jonathanbrightlight discuss the differences in buyer cancellation options, noting that BIN still allows cancellation requests before shipping, while auction listings require contacting the seller directly. kirkscardsshack expresses frustration with the lack of consequences for non-paying buyers, highlighting the ongoing issue of seller integrity not being protected. Participants express concerns about balance and fairness in the transaction process.
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FAQs |
What should I say if a buyer is confused about why they can’t cancel? |
You can let them know that this is an eBay policy. Once an auction ends and they’ve won, cancellations are disabled and the order is considered final. If they have concerns or questions about the policy itself, they should contact eBay directly. Learn more about eBay’s policies. |
What if the buyer sends me a message to request cancellation? |
Per eBay’s User Agreement, auctions are considered binding and buyers aren’t allowed to cancel an order themselves after winning an auction. If a buyer messages you to cancel an auction order on their behalf, you will not be required to do so, however you can choose to if you prefer. |
Which of my orders are covered by the new cancellation policy? |
All orders resulting from auctions where the transaction takes place on the US site are covered by the new policy. |
Does this cancellation policy change apply to eBay Live? |
No, currently this updated cancellation policy only applies to transactions resulting from auctions on our core US marketplace. |
kirkscardsshack
·Jul 16, 2026 at 8:37 PM · Editednothing is stopping phony bidders from not paying for the item.
Auto pay doesn’t work all the time so when I send a message or when eBay sends a message to the buyer it just gets ignored forcing me to cancel.
There is still no integrity from non payers this solved absolutely nothing and sellers can’t leave negative feedback back to warn other sellers of these phony bidders.
These phony bidders are wasting time and listing posts for sellers that some sellers pay for the listing.
If anything eBay should start fining these phony sellers 10% of what the items sold for and giving the a 8% of that fine to the seller as some sort of compensation.
gurlcat
·Jul 16, 2026 at 8:55 PM@kirkscardsshack I see this is your first time participating in the Community -WELCOME, this is a great place to get help and chit-chat with other sellers.
I too do auction sales and agree deadbeats are awful. I have more thoughts on the topic, and others probably do too, but would you please consider doing this: copy this^ reply, start a brand new post of your own, title it however you like, and paste this reply into the body?
Reason: the post you replied to is from 3 months ago and even though it's basically a "related" topic, it's not precisely on-topic. I'm especially interested in discussing how auction winners bypass auto-pay, but that's not what this post is about.
kalyoth
·3 months agoSo - no cancellations & required payment when bidding. Sounds like only thing left to fear are return claims.
animal-house-8
·3 months agoSo if you refuse to cancel ebay will remove any negative feedback but when the buyer claims IND and sends you back a brick cause they were mad you did not cancel order ebay gives ZERO protection and you must take the loss. I'm I getting that right?
deltilogical
·3 months agothis is a good move for the platform.
aigr-990
·4 months agoI agree with this change only because if your at an auction in person the same rules apply if you bid on something you must pay, so why should it be different online.
stephenmorgan
OP4 months agoIf I am currently wining a bid at $20 but I have a Proxy Bid of $500 there should not be someone maxing out my Proxy Bid and then cancelling and bidding just below my max bid. At least in theory it should work this way.
campanaelia
·4 months agoYou mean like this:
https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/188237727603
This is a common occurrence never addressed by ebay
stephenmorgan
OP4 months agoExactly like that!
Only two bidders with 35 total bids. The high bid being withdrawn and re-bid to a dollar under the second highest bid. Definitely a suspicious action that seemed to only benefit the seller by running the price up.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@stephenmorgan Pssst. Use a sniper bot. justsnipe gives you 5 free snipes per week, no card entry, no trial period, just FREE. Then your maximum proxy bid doesn't get entered until it's too late for manual snipers to react, and you won't have nibblers and shills ratcheting up the current high bid all those days.
EDIT: Just don't use it on my auctions please. Nibbles make me giggle. 😁
kennys-kollectibles
·4 months agoThis is all fine and dandy but they need to block the fake returns loophole.
Sellers lose too much money on shipping for all these fake returns.
And buyers should be limited on how many returns and cancelations they can do in a year.
People that do this show a pattern, and if a pattern if above average then it needs to be
nipped. Nipped in the bud.
bonanza125
·4 months agoThis is more of a scare tactic on Ebay's part then anything. Ebay is just telling buyers hey if you are going to bid it will be honored. You will not be able to cancel. So think twice or more before placing bids for now on cause once your bid is placed it can't be canceled. This way Ebay makes money. Now if the seller wants to cancel on the buyers behalf or cancel for themself that's on the seller. Seller has to make the decision do they want to risk a return or not. This will lead more into fixed listings I believe.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@bonanza125 I didn't see anything in the new policy description that stated buyers will be notified of the change before they bid. It sounds like once they win, the Cancel button will simply not be there to click anymore.
bonanza125
·4 months ago@gurlcat
Well all Ebay users received the email about this change. There should also be an announcement as well. All users should know about this change right now or within the next time they use the site. Here is what I think may happen. When someone places a bid they will probably get a notice stating before they bid they agree that the bid is a contract and can't be cancelled. The bid is final. Kind of like terms and conditions. So when someone comes into this community and asks "Why can't I cancel?" We could ask did you not read the terms and conditions before bidding? It's on the bidder/buyer.
kibble-net
·4 months agoGiven the choice, I would rather send out a second chance offer instead of running the risk of a remorseful buyer returning a damaged item for a refund.
Non-paying bidders already get a mark on their account - too many and they are denied the privilege of bidding on auctions.
This will likely decrease non-paying bidders by a noticeable amount. But it will also increase returns by a nonzero amount.
dhbookds
·4 months agoon the several questions:
Message says AUCTIONS........so fixed priced/buy it now are NOT affected.......
While US buyers can still message you directly to request a cancellation, it’s up to you to grant or reject. so they do have an out
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoThere are so many factors responsible for the NPB increase with or without cancellation.
This is a no-brainer change, which is unlikely to do much harm, but probably will not do much good either.
The comparison between the NPB and the seller who cancels when he does not like the priced realized is right on. Both are neither intelligent nor honorable.
pancake*maker
·4 months agoThey need to do something about returns. You have 3 days to say there’s an issue on PM. Would love to see that on eBay. 30 days to say and then like 30 more to return is insanity.
campanaelia
·4 months ago3 days is insane, buyer's lives don't revolve around ebay deliveries.
My packages go to a mail box store, I usually pick them up once a week, but sometimes it been up to 2 weeks.
Also when buying lots of computer/electronic items, testing everything takes time.
I stopped buying my computers on ebay when auto-pay first started and never resumed.
3 day returns would probably force me to shop elsewhere for everything else I'm still buying here.
I never shopped at PM and probably never will for that reason.
pancake*maker
·4 months agoI’d settle for something in between lol. Or maybe categories like electronics would have a bit longer. I think most sellers would agree that the current time that buyers have is far too long.
mozartbach1971
·4 months agoI think they did this with PMs because some buyers may want to speculate and wait to see if the metal goes up or down before deciding on a return.
saturdaystoys
·4 months agoWhile the concept is appreciated (and should have never flipped to give buyers such a broad discretion in cancelling orders)... still, more clarity is needed.
All of the language in the "update" references "auctions" and buyers who "win" their auction.
How does this connect to "fixed price" or "buy it now" listings? (as is the case with most eBay listings). Is the update for both "auctions" and "fixed price listings"?
texasgirl59
·4 months agoI would like to know also if the fixed price or buy it now listing is included.
stuff4divas
·4 months ago@texasgirl59 BINs have always been 'request immediate payment' as an option for sellers
texasgirl59
·4 months agoYes, I understand that, but they can always use the cancel button after they used the buy it now and paid. Now they have to ask to cancel the order, but I'm wondering if this new auction integrity on ebay also includes the buy it now.
stuff4divas
·4 months ago@texasgirl59 no, buyers cannot cancel on their own, they HAVE to ask the seller to cancel and the seller has the option to accept or deny, it's been this way since about forever
taken for this ebay link> https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/cancelling-order/cancelling-order?id=4004
"If you’ve changed your mind about a purchase, you can submit a request to cancel the order. The seller can either accept or decline your cancellation request."
Therefore, BIN does not have to be included since it has already been doing it all along
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoThe difference now is that buyers cannot file a formal cancellation request for auctions, which blocks any future cancellations including for nonpayment. I don’t know where the right balance should be for Buy It Now listings (which are unchanged with this new policy), but it does feel unfair that buyers can just get out of a strike by requesting cancellation even if the seller is supposed to have the choice to decline.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@jonathanbrightlight There's a big difference in the experience of having an auction cancelled after 7 days of anticipation (not just for the seller but the other bidders who were beaten by the "winner"!) versus simply relisting a BIN. If you have a BIN priced well, you could sell it in a day or two.
snapmom
·4 months agoWhat happens if you ship, and your policy is to accept returns, the buyer can just send back the item.
a_la_vintage
·4 months agoOr they open a INAD when you don't accept returns.
scentral23
·4 months agoI think this change is about 10 years too late unfortunately.
campanaelia
·4 months agoIt should work both ways...
Auctions on eBay work best when sellers follow through and ship regardless what the final price was.
Too many false reasons from sellers cancelling/not shipping.
Or being ghosted and buyers having to open an INR case.
Ebay needs to also crack down on that end too.
Buyers also invest time watching, bidding, and paying, only to to get refunded and being told: "Buyer asked to cancel"
And in addition, int'l buyers lose money on exchange rates when refunded due to no fault of their own.
Sadly most changes always seem to only favor sellers!
kensgiftshop
·4 months agoI see more INADs if auction sales are final and don't have the option to cancel.
rosszonebricks
·4 months agoIt does sound like a positive step. (wait? didn't auctions used to be 'final' anyway!? )
Buyers will always still find a way to get out of auctions they changed their mind on. But the feedback protection is a good start, and after that, the already robust chargeback protection should help the rest.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoSounds like a positive step. We rarely do auctions personally, but that's one of the complaints I see often on these boards from sellers.