"Entered Wrong Bid Amount" Retraction DAYS Later...getting really sick of this....

[rosemarys_billygoat]

Not sure if I'm alone in this, but lately I have been getting quite a few bids right away on an item, and then several days later, the buyer retracts their bid.  It always says "Entered Wrong Bid Amount", but their bid was usually exactly the starting bid, or not much more and my guess is they found someone else selling one a bit cheaper...but still, isn't that a violation of bidding policy? I seem to recall that policy stating that a  'wrong amount' bid has to be retracted not long after you place the bid (after all, who DOESN'T immediately notice that they bid, say, "$600 instead of $60?"), not on the last day. 

I tried to report them, but it seems that unless someone has actually bought something from me, there's no way to report them for any policy violation (dishonest bidding, harassment, etc). This is ridiculous....

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay seems to have given up on enforcing any sort of bidder violations, including invalid bid retractions.

There has never been a time limit on retractions, other than the 1-hour limit on bids placed during the final 12 hours of an auction. A bidder who accidentally placed a bid of $600 rather than $60 might not notice his error until he sees that the bidding has gone higher than $60 and he is still in the lead.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Maybe you should stop looking at your listings until they end? We tell bidders that whoever has the highest bid at the end is the winner. That intermediate results mean nothing. Sellers should be thinking the same way. 

When a bidder decides they don't want something, the earlier in the selling process the better. Many bidders shop ending soonest and there is plenty of time for new bids to come in.

[jason_incognito]

Maybe if people are always finding stuff cheaper elsewhere, you should re evaluate your prices?

Would you rather they win, pay, return and neg you?

[rosemarys_billygoat]

See, that's the thing, though- There IS a policy and they violated it. Lord knows Ebay won't hesitate to punish sellers for the smallest thing (or something they didn't even do, like buyers trying to initiate offsite purchases). If they aren't sure they want something, the intelligent, decent thing to do would be to WATCH the listing, not bid and then retract later.
From Ebay policy:
"Whenever you place a bid, you're agreeing to buy the item if you win the auction. However, in some situations you can retract your bid."
"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"
Sorry, they did violate policy.

[castlemagicmemories]

I understand and I am so sorry this happened.

The policy states if you bid the wrong amount, you need to rebid after retracting.

Many don't know the rules of the site, or they just don't care, and so they abuse the retraction process.  Ebay may, in egregious cases of abuse, sanction the buyer~limit their buying privileges to fixed price, immediate payment required listings.

It is annoying and frustrating. 

[rosemarys_billygoat]

Last time I checked, you can't leave negative feedback just because someone else sells an item cheaper than you did. Also can't return an item that has nothing wrong with it just because they decided they don't want it anymore.  

Also, my price was a quite a bit less than everyone else's listing for the same item (which isn't made anymore) because I wanted a quick sale. My prices aren't the problem. 

[coolections]

Don't worry abut the reason. Ebay has no choice but to make people choose a lie. Whoever it was decided they didn't want it.

[rosemarys_billygoat]

THANK YOU. Finally someone who understands the site policies.

[ittybitnot]

Sorry, they did violate policy.

Sorry, ebay does not care.  

[ittybitnot]

See, that's the thing, though- There IS a policy and they violated it. 

Doen't matter. The block that sellers could use  for buyers with policy violations has been removed from the site preferences.   

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

@rosemarys_billygoatwith all due respect, we ALL understand Ebay policies. We also understand how Ebay policies are addressed by Ebay. The bottom line is forcing a bidder to buy something they don't want has bad repercussions FOR YOU.

Bidders are not dogs. You cannot train them to behave the way you want. They are fully cooked adults and there are no consequences for retracting bids. Ebay knows that buyer may go on to successfully complete thousands of purchases.

The best approach is to mitigate damages and move on. Nothing good comes of trying to force grown strangers to follow YOUR rules. As long as there is time left in the auction you are out nothing other than frustration.

[abfabvintage]

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth

There is a policy regarding ebay and retractions. The OPs dilemma is not forcing THEIR rules, it is eBay's rules/policies which eBay is not/will not enforcing. We are now all playing in an open, Wild West, field of no rules, no policies upheld for buyers. BUT, wait, eBay policies hold very strictly for sellers.

[luckythewinner]

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@rosemarys_billygoat wrote:

I seem to recall that policy stating that a  'wrong amount' bid has to be retracted not long after you place the bid, not on the last day.

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There is no policy restricting "wrong amount" bid retractions to "not long after you place the bid" or "not on the last day". If that is what you seem to recall, you are mistaken (at least about current policy).

That being said ...

It serves no one's interest to force a buyer to pay for an item they clearly do not want. A buyer who is willing to lie about the reason for a bid retration will have no problem lying about a SNAD return.

I suspect that by allowing buyers to retract bids with a wink and a nod, eBay believe they are pleasing buyers and also helping sellers in the long term.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Well we can sit around discussing how unfairly Ebay rules are applied or we can get up and deal. When sellers are the ones who suffer the consequences of forcing the rules, it would seem to be a bad idea.

What exactly would be the benefit of pursuing this rule? Do sellers REALLY want buyers buying things they no longer want? Would it really make Ebay better for sellers to force sales?

People change their minds about purchases all the time. They abandon carts, they return things to the store. That is the way life works now. I don't see Ebay making any change to hold buyers to strict rules. It would send far more away than it would have any benefit.