Why can't I reduce my max bid?

[frgreg_38]

I honestly don't understand the logic behind why this is not allowed.

I'm not experienced with bidding on ebay so I will accept the fact that I didn't properly read and understand what would happen when I entered my "maximum bid" for an auction. But here is the situation:

The auction still has 3 days left and I am currently the highest bidder for the auction at roughly. I put in a max bid (which is currently higher than the current highest) yesterday because that's what I was willing to pay for the item. Since that time I was able to find the item cheaper from another location.

Now I have the current highest bid, and I understand that bidding is binding so if I won at the current price I would pay it. But why can't I change/remove my max bid at this point? I don't want to continue automatically bidding if I am outbid, I just want to stop.

Why isn't this allowed?

I've read about the bid retracting and the "accidentally entered wrong amount" grey area but I'm not interested in answers talking about that; I'm curious what is the reason behind the policy?

[7606dennis]

Actually, when you place a bid it is for that amount.  While eBay's system uses only the amount of your bid that is necessary to keep you in the lead, you have still bid the total of the amount of your bid.  It is only your maximum bid in as far as your liability can not exceed that amount. 

[7606dennis]

You have placed one bid for the amount that you are saying is your maximum bid.  While eBay's system only utilizes the amount of it to keep you in the lead, you have still made only the one bid.  In an outcry style auction, the placing of that one bid would have increased the price to that amount immediately.

[frgreg_38]

I'd also like to point out that this page (linked from "Learn more about bidding" on the place bid page):

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/automatic-bidding?id=4014

Is written in a way that makes it seem like ebay is submitting bids on my behalf.

Yes, it states "When deciding your maximum bid, be sure you’re happy to pay that amount if you win the auction" which makes sense, and I agree with that. But nowhere on that page does it say anything about 'cancelling' automatic bidding before reaching your max. I should have read between the lines on that one and made the assumption that it's not possible.

[frgreg_38]

If I were to make an analogy:

Me and my friend Mr. E walk into an auction hall. I see a really cool scooter is the next item on auction with a starting bid of $100. They inform me that the auction for this scooter is going to be open for 3 days. Well, I don't want to hang out in the auction room for 3 days so I take Mr. E aside and give him $150. I tell Mr. E to bid for me as long as the bids stay under $150, then I leave and go about my day.

The next day I come back and I ask Mr. E what's going on. They say you're currently winning the auction with a bid of $115 dollars. So I say, ok let's not actually bid anymore and see if we win with $115.

Obviously this isn't how the ebay system works, but it seems very odd that I wouldn't be allowed to do that.

[jujujohnno]

<sigh>... look, it would be really helpful... I find myself in a similar situation... one of my kids without permission bid on a load of Fortnite 'rubbish'' without authorisation.  He has no understanding of how bidding works, and yes, of course I should have put something in place to prevent this, but here we are, and I know I won't be the only one.

If I had the ability to reduce the maximum bid, this would no longer be a problem... but it is and now I will have to jump through all kinds of hoops to cancel the purchase which will be a real pain for both the buyer and the seller...

[soh.maryl]

You have posted to a question that is from October, 2021.

Let's hope the OP has resolved his problem by now.

As an experienced eBayer, you probably know that those "all kinds of hoops" include asking the seller to cancel, but realizing that he is not required to do so.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@jujujohnno wrote:

<sigh>... look, it would be really helpful... I find myself in a similar situation... one of my kids without permission bid ......

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If the auctions haven't ended yet, you can send a message to the seller, asking them to cancel the bids.

[andac8250]

I'm all for not wanting to cheat the system. In my case, I accidentally failed to hit a decimal point in my bid, so my max bid is several hundred more than I intended to actually bid and that's not cash that I'm able to afford atm so I now feel like a total idiot for making a bid that I didn't intend to make. 

[kathiec]

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@andac8250 wrote:

I'm all for not wanting to cheat the system. In my case, I accidentally failed to hit a decimal point in my bid, so my max bid is several hundred more than I intended to actually bid and that's not cash that I'm able to afford atm so I now feel like a total idiot for making a bid that I didn't intend to make. 

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This is one of the allowed reasons for retracting your bid. You'll be expected to rebid the correct amount.

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

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.