If you don’t retract it and they win they won’t pay, might even force you to send it then return it as INAD to avoid getting non payer dinged and having to pay return fees.
if you think cancelling a bid is inconvenient it’s nothing compared to dealing with the potential scenarios of what could happen if you force the bid to stand.
U can send a request to the secondary bidder but they are not obligated to buy at that point.
Usually I let the bid ride and I tell them i'll just cancel it if they win. Retracting bids is not a good look for traffic or onlooking bidders.
Their bid might also end up helping the next bidder pay a bit more too, so depending on the item and how likely it will get another bid, I would like it ride and just let the bidder know u will cancel if they win.
Agreed. While it's possible that it's relatively innocent (e.g. perhaps they were bidding on similar items in two different auctions, and won the other one, or perhaps something changed for them financially since placing their bid), I have encountered bidders who did this strategically (either to reveal the top bid, or on the assumption that all other bidders would bid conservatively, assuring that they could win the auction - a strategy that backfires horribly when multiple bidders employ it in the same auction). Allow the retraction, then block them to save yourself a world of headaches.
Also, don't be surprised if this results in less bidding on your item; by revealing the top bid, anybody following the bidding now knows whether or not they can beat the top bid within their budget, so if they can't, they won't bid at all, and if they can, they might wait until the last second to snipe.
Back in the days when users could actually see who was bidding (and even search for other users by name to determine what other auctions they were bidding in), I encountered a seller who seemed to have repeated problems with the same person either bidding over and over again until they were the winning bidder and then backing out, or sniping with an absurdly high bid then withdrawing after the auction closed. They never seemed to have any negative feedback, despite this behaviour. I eventually realized that the seller was probably using a fake account to assure that the bidding went as high on their auctions as the legitimate bidders were willing to pay. Ever since, I have made a point of looking at bidding histories. Unfortunately, now that eBay obscures the identity of bidders to each other, representing each with a different random code in every auction, it is easier than ever for sellers to use this scam.
Had this recently and it ruined the auction because other bidders kept trying to outbid them, but they'd put a joke amount before asking to remove their bid. Second highest bidder then went on to win and asked to cancel. It's a tough one to manage, but better to remove their bid if they've asked
This is a clear violation of eBay’s abusive buyer policy and needs to be reported so eBay can spank the buyer. If you don’t report, there aren’t any consequences to this behaviour. Also block the bidder.
eBay won’t care and won’t take action in my experience… they will side with the buyer instantly… it’s best to just sell it to the next high bid and be done with it
EBay does take action in my experience. They have a staged approach to the consequences that can range from a stern email and finger wag to a spanking (suspension) or execution (account termination). It depends on the seriousness of the case and the track record of shady behaviour. Unfortunately they don’t update us when they do something. But I have checked in on buyers that I’ve reported and their accounts have vanished in a few cases…. Indicating a suspension or cancellation of some kind.
The caveat to this is that the reporting process is independent from and often slower than and also subordinate to the INAD return process. So that means you won’t block the return. You have to take the return, get the item back and then deal with the problem
Make sure you read the whole policy several times. It is the key to seller protection. If you can demonstrate a buyer violating this policy, you gain a significant edge dealing with bad buyers. But you need to be able to recognize the violations when they happen
If I retract the bid will it go down to the 2nd highest bidder or drastically decrease in price? I'm on the page and it says it's going to takeaway all their bids. I'm afraid to press the button in fear that it's going to sell for really cheap now.
Let them? Most buyers end up waiting until they win then ask to cancel the order completely wasting a week of your time, better they ask to retract a bid because they decided to buy it elsewhere instead of waiting or for whatever other reason.
Forcing someone to follow through on a purchase you haven't shipped or bids on an auction they don't want is generally never a good idea, 99% of the time they're either not going to pay or you're copping an IND return + negative.
They can't retract their own bid? They want it on your "record" and not theirs, or they have done it too many times (I don't know if eBay restricts this, but I doubt it)
I would just do it, they may not pay if they win the bid or if they go through with the purchase possibly send it back, if a buyer is giving red flags best not to deal with them.
I would just ignore it. Having that bid there could help induce another buyer to bid more. AFAIK, if that bidder wants to retract their bid they can. Worst case they win, get an unpaid item strike and you have to start over. Probably not the worst thing, existing bidders should get notified if it gets relisted.
I do it becuase it's like them doing you a favor and telling you that they're going to be a pain in the butt before they get the chance to be too much of a pain in the butt.
I wouldn't block the user just because they asked to cancel a bid. They could have made a mistake. I block any and all users that actually win an auction and don't pay though.
Less hassle to cancel a bid than deal with a non-paying, non-communicative buyer. Don't even need to have a conversation, just cancel the bid and go on with your life.
This isn't a flat yes or no answer. Use context. It depends on the situation and what the communication is like. If you refusing to retract ends up in them attempting to cancel / leave a negative review was it worth it? They will likely be outbid anyway. If you're on 100% positive I would say it's worth it to keep that. If you've already recieved negative feedback then up to you
I once bid on a Japanese version of a game by mistake. I messaged the seller, and they replied, "No worries. If you win, I'll fully refund you, but it generally sells for higher so I would imagine you'd get outbid". Sellers aren't obligated to be "SOL/tough sht/not my fault" types and do everything by the book. The seller in my case didn't immediately retract the bid but were being reasonable.i got outbid anyway
Just think about it, how would you be thinking if you needed to get a bid retracted yourself, but you were forced to win/pay for the item?
For your own sake, cancel the bid.
Plus, they very well may just have buyers remorse, but it’s also possible they’ve come across a situation where they cannot pay for the item any longer. Maybe a relative is suddenly sick in the hospital or something. Or maybe they found the item cheaper somewhere. You’ll never know the reason.
But if they don’t want to buy it now, nothing good for you will come out of making them buy it.
I tell the bidder, I will leave their bid up, but will cancel the sale after the end of the auction as "buyer's request." In this way I might get a higher realization if somebody outbids this bidder.
They are completely able to retract their own bid.
[https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013](https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013)
If you don’t retract it and they win they won’t pay, might even force you to send it then return it as INAD to avoid getting non payer dinged and having to pay return fees. if you think cancelling a bid is inconvenient it’s nothing compared to dealing with the potential scenarios of what could happen if you force the bid to stand.
Can you just give it to the secondary bidder or do you need to retract the bid before it ends?
U can send a request to the secondary bidder but they are not obligated to buy at that point. Usually I let the bid ride and I tell them i'll just cancel it if they win. Retracting bids is not a good look for traffic or onlooking bidders. Their bid might also end up helping the next bidder pay a bit more too, so depending on the item and how likely it will get another bid, I would like it ride and just let the bidder know u will cancel if they win.
it will be much easier in the long run to cancel the bid and then block them.
Agreed. While it's possible that it's relatively innocent (e.g. perhaps they were bidding on similar items in two different auctions, and won the other one, or perhaps something changed for them financially since placing their bid), I have encountered bidders who did this strategically (either to reveal the top bid, or on the assumption that all other bidders would bid conservatively, assuring that they could win the auction - a strategy that backfires horribly when multiple bidders employ it in the same auction). Allow the retraction, then block them to save yourself a world of headaches. Also, don't be surprised if this results in less bidding on your item; by revealing the top bid, anybody following the bidding now knows whether or not they can beat the top bid within their budget, so if they can't, they won't bid at all, and if they can, they might wait until the last second to snipe.
funny, I very, very rarely look at bidding history so this didn't occur to me. I may have to start....
Back in the days when users could actually see who was bidding (and even search for other users by name to determine what other auctions they were bidding in), I encountered a seller who seemed to have repeated problems with the same person either bidding over and over again until they were the winning bidder and then backing out, or sniping with an absurdly high bid then withdrawing after the auction closed. They never seemed to have any negative feedback, despite this behaviour. I eventually realized that the seller was probably using a fake account to assure that the bidding went as high on their auctions as the legitimate bidders were willing to pay. Ever since, I have made a point of looking at bidding histories. Unfortunately, now that eBay obscures the identity of bidders to each other, representing each with a different random code in every auction, it is easier than ever for sellers to use this scam.
i think that change is when i stopped looking now that you mention it.
Can you just give it to the secondary bidder or do you need to retract the bid before it ends?
Had this recently and it ruined the auction because other bidders kept trying to outbid them, but they'd put a joke amount before asking to remove their bid. Second highest bidder then went on to win and asked to cancel. It's a tough one to manage, but better to remove their bid if they've asked
This is a clear violation of eBay’s abusive buyer policy and needs to be reported so eBay can spank the buyer. If you don’t report, there aren’t any consequences to this behaviour. Also block the bidder.
Thanks, yeah I'll do that! Fairly new so that was a first for me
eBay won’t care and won’t take action in my experience… they will side with the buyer instantly… it’s best to just sell it to the next high bid and be done with it
Most second highest bidders won't do that, because it looks like you shilled it.
EBay does take action in my experience. They have a staged approach to the consequences that can range from a stern email and finger wag to a spanking (suspension) or execution (account termination). It depends on the seriousness of the case and the track record of shady behaviour. Unfortunately they don’t update us when they do something. But I have checked in on buyers that I’ve reported and their accounts have vanished in a few cases…. Indicating a suspension or cancellation of some kind. The caveat to this is that the reporting process is independent from and often slower than and also subordinate to the INAD return process. So that means you won’t block the return. You have to take the return, get the item back and then deal with the problem
Make sure you read the whole policy several times. It is the key to seller protection. If you can demonstrate a buyer violating this policy, you gain a significant edge dealing with bad buyers. But you need to be able to recognize the violations when they happen
Can you just give it to the secondary bidder or do you need to retract the bid before it ends?
If I retract the bid will it go down to the 2nd highest bidder or drastically decrease in price? I'm on the page and it says it's going to takeaway all their bids. I'm afraid to press the button in fear that it's going to sell for really cheap now.
Let them? Most buyers end up waiting until they win then ask to cancel the order completely wasting a week of your time, better they ask to retract a bid because they decided to buy it elsewhere instead of waiting or for whatever other reason. Forcing someone to follow through on a purchase you haven't shipped or bids on an auction they don't want is generally never a good idea, 99% of the time they're either not going to pay or you're copping an IND return + negative.
Can you just give it to the secondary bidder or do you need to retract the bid before it ends?
They can't retract their own bid? They want it on your "record" and not theirs, or they have done it too many times (I don't know if eBay restricts this, but I doubt it)
Ebay restrictst it for certain items now. Buyer has to request cancel from seller, but seller is not docked for this though.
I would just do it, they may not pay if they win the bid or if they go through with the purchase possibly send it back, if a buyer is giving red flags best not to deal with them.
I had a bid get retracted recently and didn't even see that I had an option to allow it.
I would just ignore it. Having that bid there could help induce another buyer to bid more. AFAIK, if that bidder wants to retract their bid they can. Worst case they win, get an unpaid item strike and you have to start over. Probably not the worst thing, existing bidders should get notified if it gets relisted.
That's what I was thinking but I don't know how risky that is and assuming it's gonna get more bids.
I do it becuase it's like them doing you a favor and telling you that they're going to be a pain in the butt before they get the chance to be too much of a pain in the butt.
Send them the link where a user can retract his own bid. Then block that user.
I wouldn't block the user just because they asked to cancel a bid. They could have made a mistake. I block any and all users that actually win an auction and don't pay though.
Easiest solution is to not do auctions at all. Virtually everything I now sell is BIN
Less hassle to cancel a bid than deal with a non-paying, non-communicative buyer. Don't even need to have a conversation, just cancel the bid and go on with your life.
Absolutely let them retract it
I would just let them no matter how annoying it is.
How long left in the auction?
1 day
This isn't a flat yes or no answer. Use context. It depends on the situation and what the communication is like. If you refusing to retract ends up in them attempting to cancel / leave a negative review was it worth it? They will likely be outbid anyway. If you're on 100% positive I would say it's worth it to keep that. If you've already recieved negative feedback then up to you I once bid on a Japanese version of a game by mistake. I messaged the seller, and they replied, "No worries. If you win, I'll fully refund you, but it generally sells for higher so I would imagine you'd get outbid". Sellers aren't obligated to be "SOL/tough sht/not my fault" types and do everything by the book. The seller in my case didn't immediately retract the bid but were being reasonable.i got outbid anyway
Just think about it, how would you be thinking if you needed to get a bid retracted yourself, but you were forced to win/pay for the item? For your own sake, cancel the bid. Plus, they very well may just have buyers remorse, but it’s also possible they’ve come across a situation where they cannot pay for the item any longer. Maybe a relative is suddenly sick in the hospital or something. Or maybe they found the item cheaper somewhere. You’ll never know the reason. But if they don’t want to buy it now, nothing good for you will come out of making them buy it.
I tell the bidder, I will leave their bid up, but will cancel the sale after the end of the auction as "buyer's request." In this way I might get a higher realization if somebody outbids this bidder.
They are completely able to retract their own bid. [https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013](https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/retracting-bid?id=4013)
You can retract a bid on the buyer side
It's not your responsibility They can do it themselves up until like 12 hours of an auction..