Ebay help

[BCAC]

Is there a possiblity to delete a bid you have made for something if you change your mind and no longer wish to buy the item. I looked everywhere and can't seem to find it.

Thanks in advance.

[MuffinMan]

Nope if you read all the fine print, you have a legal contract to fulfill the bid, you can only hope someone outbids you, the seller has a reserve, or the product is damaged when you recieve it. Sorry


MM

[davidg]

I think you can ask for the bid to be withdrawn by contacting the seller but I don't think he/she has any obligation to strike it out. I may be wrong

[Mark R]

Nope if you read all the fine print, you have a legal contract to fulfill the bid, you can only hope someone outbids you, the seller has a reserve, or the product is damaged when you recieve it. Sorry


MM

There is a time limit for the withdrawal of a bid by the bidder. Think it is probably like 60 minutes if I remember correctly.

Other than that option, the bidder has no recourse unless he can prove the bid was truly made in error (doesnt fly often as you have to click thru multiple warnings to confirm your bid) or the bid was made by someone else (like your kid having access to your account).

Only other option is to, indeed, contact the seller and explaining you do not want the bid to stand. The seller does not have to remove the bid as you are already bound to complete the transaction by confirming your bid when it was placed. You may find a seller willing to work with you, one may find one who wont even respond to your messages just to force you into completing the transaction. That is the crap shoot with ebay.


If you end up winning the auction and the seller wants to hold you to the transaction, ebay will penalize you with a strike against your account which is meaningless if it only happens one time. Multiple strikes against your account would lead to an automatic suspension from ebay.

Think that covers the bases. LMK if you have any other questions.

[Chas]

That is the crap shoot with ebay.

With all respect, that's the "crap shoot" with all auctions. That's what an auction is.

The quote from eBay:

You can retract your bid, but only under the following circumstances:

- You entered the wrong amount (you should place a bid for the correct amount shortly after you retract your bid)
- The seller changed the item description
- You cannot contact the seller

If you retract your bid outside of these circumstances, it can be considered an invalid bid retraction

An invalid bid retraction:

Misuse of the bid retraction option to manipulate the bidding process is not permitted. This includes any manipulation of the bidding process to discover the maximum bid of the current high bidder or to uncover the reserve price.
Breaches of this policy may result in a range of actions including:

• Listing cancellation
• Limits on account privileges
• Account suspension
• Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
• Loss of PowerSeller status

That is eBay's official policy.

If you wish to go down the retraction route, it starts on the "Bid History" page. If it were me, I would go with "I could not contact the seller."

I hope this is helpful.

Regards

Chas

[Mark R]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

With all respect, that's the "crap shoot" with all auctions. That's what an auction is.

Understood, Chas, as I have sold alot on ebay in the past. My "crap shoot" comment was in reference to the seller in question rather than to the auction format. You may have a seller who chooses to ignore the request simply because he has someone on the hook and the only way the bidder is off the hook is if the seller gets a higher bid.

Whether as a buyer or a seller, always considered ebay to be a 2 way street -- what is the point of having a disgruntled buyer simply because you have them obligated to complete the transaction. You lose nothing as a seller by withdrawing the bid if a buyer has changed his mind as he probably wont complete the transaction anyways.

[Chas]

Oh, I agree, Mark. It is always in the seller's interest to communicate with the buyer. If he doesn't then he has given grounds for the "I cannot contact the seller." bid retraction.

Regards

Chas

[Jay]

The seller also risks negative feedback and 1 star ratings.