What if I bid on an item that I now think is fraudulent?

[annies666]

I placed a bid on an item and then contacted the seller to see if I could get pictures of the actual item they are selling. The post has pictures from the company of the item, and not the item the seller says they have. I admit I made the mistake of bidding before contacting this person and realize I may win the bid. I will, and have no issues with going through with the purchase. My fear, however, is that after taking time to reach out, I have seen things that make me think the ad may be fraudulent. 1) The auction is for a very short amount of time. 2) The pictures are not of the actual "in hand" items. 3) The seller is not contacting me with pictures to show they have the items. The seller actually has not answered any of my questions or messages, and I have sent several. Is my only option to wait and see if I get outbid, or to potentially buy something I will not receive? I have scoured through information on eBay and cannot find an answer. I am just curious what others think? 

[mam98031]

The length of the auction is not likely a sign that it is a fraudulent item.

You can cancel your bid and you likely should.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013

[annies666]

I say the length of the auction only because it was mentioned in eBay's list of things to watch for when thinking something is fraudulent. Of course, I did not read this until after the seller would not respond. I can cancel my bid for only certain reasons. I really do not fall under those categories. I am still within the 12-hour window. I have even asked the buyer to cancel my bid due to not really knowing what I am getting. Of course, that has gone unanswered as well. I would love to think that I cannot contact the seller would be efficient, however, the rules state this means the contact information is incorrect. I am technically able to contact the seller, they just do not respond. I do not want to be seen as a bad buyer or as making an invalid bid revoke.

[mam98031]

Well it is the weekend and your seller may be off enjoying life.  

I'd just send them a polite note and let them know that you need to cancel your bid as you are unable to complete this purchase if you are the winning bidder.

Leave it at that.  If they don't respond before the auction closes.  Then hope that you get outbid.  But if you don't get out bid, simply send the seller another email after you win the auction and let them know you need to cancel the purchase.  They can do that with no harm to you or them.

Try not to feel bad.  Trying to get this cancelled up front is so much better than paying the seller, getting the product and then having to file a claim for a return.  Better for you and better for the seller to just cancel the transaction.

[lady_madonna]

@annies666 

None of the reasons you specified in your post are valid reasons for retracting your bid.

You can only retract your bid if

• The seller significantly changed the description of the item
• You accidentally bid the wrong amount. For example, you meant to bid $20, not $200. In this case, enter the price you intended to bid as soon as you've retracted the incorrect bid

[woodland_gnome · Accepted solution]

The time to have second thoughts and do research and ask questions AND get satisfactory answers is BEFORE you bid or otherwise commit to buy the item, not after.  NEVER be in a hurry to bid.  

You are protected by the eBay Money Back Guarantee (and also any protection your payment method gives you on top of that, but go with the MBG first) if you don't get a package or it is significantly not as described.

The seller need not have direct physical control of the item, it is enough that the item is assigned to him and in the physical control of someone he has a contract with to ship it (such as a "fulfillment center" including Amazon's) at his direction.

[mam98031]

While the other two posters are completely correct in their assessment of the situation, it is also important to keep in mind that it is likely cheaper for the seller to just allow the cancellation.  Certainly the seller has every right to refuse the cancellation request, however all that will likely result in is the expense to ship the item to later get an INAD on their record and the expense of processing the the INAD.

While I agree completely with what the others have said, buyers have responsibilities that were not met in this situation.  The least harmful to the seller is what I've suggested.

[annies666]

Thank you all for the advice and for letting me talk the situation out.