Seller Bids, Retracts 5 Times, Gets Top Bid, and then Backs Out and Can't Retract Anymore. ??

[doh342597]

I'm new to eBay, so I'm not totally sure how the bidding process looks on the buyer's end. But I've been trying to sell a unit that caused a bidding battle between two buyers. One of the buyers kept bidding and then retracting his bid over and over again a few hours later. It seemed like he was being very indecisive; he kept messaging me about the product and ultimately decided to back out as the highest bidder (after retracting and then bidding five times) 20 MINUTES before the bid closes! He now wants me to contact the second-highest bidder (his former opponent). Can I do this? How do I do this? Can I create an offer for the second-place bidder?  I want to make sure I follow all of eBay's policies and make sure the retracting-buyer isn't charged, etc. Please help. Thank you. 

[reallynicestamps]

He now wants me to contact the second-highest bidder (his former opponent).

Offer to send his information to the underbidder.

That usually shuts them up.

In any case you don't know anything about the underbidder except his eBay handle.

Has he paid?

If not, good.

After 96 hours and one second have passed,CANCEL the transaction as UnpaidItem(UID)

The space cadet gets a Strike and cannot leave feedback.

You can then either make a Second Chance Offer or relist.

If he has, you can ask him if he wants to cancel.

"I regret you are unsure about this purchase. Would you prefer to cancel it?"

If he doesn't agree to cancel, ship.

I'd strongly suggest adding Signature Confirmation.

Not because eBay requires it, but because it reminds Space Cadet that you have proof he did receive it.

Yes, we're into mind games here.

If the shipment is refused or if he doesn't pick it up, eBay will not require you to refund one red cent.

Your customer service ethics may prefer to refund, but only the actual selling price less shipping and your fees.

[mam98031]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

A request to cancel a bid near the end of the auction sounds like a "Buyer requested" too.  I got the impression that the OP didn't see that in time, so this questionable bidder won and then suggested the SCO. 

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Valid point.

[stephenmorgan]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@stephenmorgan wrote:

Is this for the

BARELY USED HIGH QUALITY: TUF Gaming GeForce RTX™ 3080 10GB GDDR6X Graphics Card

The auction is already over so I would cancel the order using the reason Buyer Requested to Cancel.

After you cancel there may be an automatic option to offer to the next highest bidder, but I am not sure. The next highest bidder may not want it now because of the bid manipulation. You may have to re-list it to sell it.

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The seller should NEVER use the cancellation reason that the Buyer Requested it unless the buyer actually did.  That is a breach of the rules doing that and a seller can be sanctioned for it.

Don't ever use that reason unless it is actually the truthful reason and you have an email from the buyer requesting the cancellation.  Otherwise you are opening yourself up to potential problems with Ebay and the health of your selling account.  It simply isn't worth it.

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eBay Policy also states

Following the Law and eBay Policy does not allow for the type of bid manipulation that went on.  eBay Policy only allows for a Bid Retraction if there was an error such as entering the wrong amount then you are allowed to reenter the corrected amount.  There is nothing in Policy that allows you to retract a Bid because you changed your mind, or you wanted to uncover the highest bid.  The policies clearly state against certain actions that are not allowed and some of these actions are against the law.

eBay has Policies stating certain actions are not allowed by buyers.  They do not always enforce their own Policies.  They will however penalize a Seller if they choose to cancel a sell because of the buyer violating a Policy.

So, what would you do with a person who has Bid Retractions on your Auction, is winning and then 20 minutes before Auction ends wants you to contact the second-highest bidder?   

The Auction has been manipulated so much at this point that it is now compromised and should be allowed to be cancelled without penalty to the Seller.  eBay does not have an option to allow cancellation for this reason although policy has clearly been violated by the winning bidder who again wants to retract their bid, so they do not win.

[stephenmorgan]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@stephenmorgan wrote:

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

The OP said, "decided to back out as the highest bidder (after retracting and then bidding five times) 20 MINUTES before the bid closes! He now wants me to contact the second-highest bidder (his former opponent)" and that sounds like "Buyer requested" to me.

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That is exactly how I would interpret their communication.

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But would Ebay??

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Maybe?  Maybe not?

[janet9988]

Report all those bidders who retracted.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=3&pos=2&query...

[stephenmorgan]

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@mam98031 wrote:

@nobody*s_perfect  and @stephenmorgan 

The OP said in part "...ultimately decided to back out as the highest bidder (after retracting and then bidding five times) 20 MINUTES before the bid closes! "  They wanted to back out 20 minutes BEFORE the auction closed.  So the seller could have honored that and if the buyer couldn't cancel the bid, the seller could.  Then they would not have been the winning bidder.  Providing the seller was available before the listing closed of course.

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The Bid Retractions made it a bad situation no matter how it ended and as it turned out the item did not sell. 

If I was offered a Second Chance offer, I would have passed on the offer just because the price has been artificially inflated.  If the Second Chance offer was taken all the way to my bid prior to the one who was doing the Bid Retractions, then I may have accepted the offer. 

[stephenmorgan]

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@janet9988 wrote:

Report all those bidders who retracted.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=3&pos=2&query...

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Those are very good and clear examples of Policy Violations that should be added to the list of "What's your reason for  cancelling?"

There are very legitimate reasons (Policy Violations) to cancel an order sometimes that are beyond the limited choices that are offered.

[anjofak]

I think iv heard about single buyers using multiple accounts to get lowest bid first then using the other account to run the price up, then backing out the higher of 2 to get it at the lower..

[stephenmorgan]

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@anjofak wrote:

I think iv heard about single buyers using multiple accounts to get lowest bid first then using the other account to run the price up, then backing out the higher of 2 to get it at the lower..

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That is a form of Shill Bidding.  Sometimes the seller does this to get your highest bid reviled, then retract and bid just below your now known highest bid.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@stephenmorgan wrote:

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@anjofak wrote:

I think iv heard about single buyers using multiple accounts to get lowest bid first then using the other account to run the price up, then backing out the higher of 2 to get it at the lower..

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That is a form of Shill Bidding.  Sometimes the seller does this to get your highest bid reviled, then retract and bid just below your now known highest bid.

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It's the opposite of shill bidding: Bid shielding is when two (or more) bidders collude to keep the ending price artificially low by placing two high bids, then retracting one at the last moment. It happens a lot less on eBay since they introduced the 12-hour rules.  

Bidding high enough to reveal the other bidder's proxy bid, then retracting and bidding just below it, would be shill bidding, i.e., the seller forcing the highest bid possible.

[sapphire_studio]

Maybe he has something similar to sell and he's trying to create a really high comp in the eBay system without actually having to pay anything

[buyselljack2016]

Bid shielding..............

[buyselljack2016]

Color me confused.

Not that it matters, but I only see 2 retractions by that bidder.

Could be they won the other one that they were bidding on.

[buyselljack2016]

@stephenmorgan 

sorry wrong reply to, and wrong idea on my part. 

I read, but did not comprehend before posting

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote: ...  I only see 2 retractions by that bidder. ...

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When an auction has more than 12 hours left and a bidder retracts, ALL of their bids are removed, but only the highest one shows up in the bid retraction history. Apparently this buyer bid a few times, retracted, bid again, and retracted again.