You can send the buyer instructions on how to cancel their bid. If there is less than twelve hrs left to the listing, you will need to cancel.
Although eBay suggest contacting the seller to cancel, that does not reflect then on the buyer's account. Retractions can cause restrictions against the buyer's buying privileges. The buyer needs to determine the appropriateness of the item before they bid as it can be considered auction interference. Every bid/buy page, give you a confirm option, and states that you are entering into a binding contract to purchase the item. eBay frowns on bid cancellations and retractions.
Bid Retractions
Before bidding on any items on eBay, we strongly encourage you to read the item description and check the seller's feedback. If you have any questions regarding the listing, email the seller directly. Then bid. And remember: Every bid on eBay is binding.
However, under exceptional circumstances, eBay allows you to retract bids. For example:
It's OK to retract a bid if...
- You accidentally enter a wrong bid amount. For instance, you bid $99.50 instead of $9.95.
- The item description of something you're bidding on has changed-a lot!
- You cannot authenticate the seller's identity.
It's NOT OK to retract a bid if...
- You change your mind about the item.
- You decide you can't really afford it.
- You bid a little higher than you promised yourself you'd go.
To retract a bid, use the Bid Retraction form. When you retract a bid before the last 12 hours of an auction, you will eliminate all bids you have placed in that auction. If you are correcting a bid error, you will have to bid again.
Your total number of bid retractions in the past 6 months is displayed in your Feedback Profile. To learn more the Feedback Forum, click here.
Special Retraction Rules
If you place a bid before the last 12-hour period of the auction:
you may retract that bid before that last 12-hour period but only for exceptional circumstances.
you will not be allowed to retract that bid during the last 12-hour period of the auction.
If you place a bid during the last 12-hour period of the auction: you will be allowed to retract the bid for exceptional circumstances but only if you do so within one hour after placing the bid.
If you are not allowed to retract your bid during the last 12-hour period of the auction, you may contact the seller to request that your bid be canceled. The seller will have the discretion whether to cancel your bid.
Of course, notwithstanding the above rules, you may retract a bid anytime if the seller materially changes the item's description after you bid.
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@castlemagicmemories wrote:
Although eBay suggest contacting the seller to cancel, that does not reflect then on the buyer's account. Retractions can cause restrictions against the buyer's buying privileges.
I wish. 
It's true that if a bidder can persuade a seller to cancel his bid, the cancellation will not show on the bidder's record. Retractions (bids withdrawn by the bidder instead of cancelled by the seller) do show on the bidder's record (see their Feedback as a Buyer tab, right side of page, about halfway down), but the actual number shown there unfortunately has no bearing on anything. We've discussed bidders here who show literally hundreds of bid retractions, but they're still going strong. There is no buyer requirement that a seller can set to block bidders with more than "n" number of retractions. It would be lovely if there was.
