"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....

[abfabvintage]

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth

I get it...But from what I read here, I don't think the OP was forcing anyone to do anything. If I read the eBay policy as it stands I, too, would be frustrated and would want to report, again following eBay's policy. If ebay isn't going to enforce their policy, then they need to remove it from their policy statements so sellers who do follow policy verbatim,  understand they have no rights/recourse and it behooves them to just move on.

As I said before, it is now a Wild West free for all for buyers. This philosophy that ebay is doing the seller a favor by not enforcing, concerns me. That's all. And the issue is the retraction was initiated days after the closing of the auction. Sure, they could probably offer to the next highest bidder, but maybe this was the only bidder...I don't know. This Wild West show is now creeping into auction listings with no real end in sight. I think in the old days ebay frowned on retractions. But I am old school when your bid was a binding contract lololol.

[abfabvintage]

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth

And you can't do Immediate Payment on auctions or on Best Offer (I think). So, again, everyone makes out except the seller. With sales hitting bottom, I am not surprised this seller is frustrated. eBay just needs to revise that policy regarding retractions and just say: don't worry, if you bid you can always retract with no consequences to you. We want you to be happy and continue to buy a thousand more things lolol.

[abfabvintage]

@coolections

Thanks Cool for your very honest statement: ebay has no choice but to make people choose a lie. Proud of you lolol.

[emerald40]

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@rosemarys_billygoat wrote:
THANK YOU. Finally someone who understands the site policies.

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As was posted, site policies are arbitrarily enforced aka those affecting ebay's bottom line.

You cannot force a buyer to purchase something because either he will not pay, or he will get it and only return it back on your dime.

[emerald40]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

@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.

__________________________________________________

When I work retail, I have seen people drive an item around in their cart only at the last minute dump it at a random aisle.

Or  change their mind at the register.

Or they check out go to their car only to bring it back in because they want to return it.

It happens, alot.

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[7606dennis]

Unfortunately, eBay has made it next to impossible to report invalid bid retractions.  

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

@abfabvintage

I don't see where the retraction was after the end of the auction. The OP said people are bidding as soon as the listing goes live then retracting their bid a few days later. That implies to me it's not even the last 12 hours because that retraction would be invalid.

I think MOST buyers and MOST transactions go through 100% awesomely. I think there are a few bad ones, just like always. It seems like more because nobody comes to the board to report all the sales that went off without a hitch.

Wild West? I doubt most sellers would consider that to be the case. 

[abfabvintage]

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth

Thank you for your reply.

[jason_incognito]

to the OP.

What would you like to happen?

[abfabvintage]

@jason_incognito

Hi, I wasn't the OP. 

[jason_incognito]

hence the 

"to the OP"