OT: ebay's Retraction Policy Doesn't Stand

[thecatspajamas]

I'm not aware of ebay themselves ever having a policy of having to rebid after canceling a bid (not really sure how that could be enforced), but this canceling so close to the auction's ending is new news to me. Historically, once you enter that final 12 hour window, sellers do not have the ability to edit the listing (even when there are no bids), and buyers do not have the ability to retract bids.

I will say though that I cannot recall the last time ebay notified me as a seller that a bidder on one of my items has retracted their bid. I might think there simply have not been any retractions in the last couple of years, except that I know of at least one case where I noticed the bid count drop on an auction item without any notification to me as the seller. So while the ramifications for sellers are troubling if this becomes widespread, it would not surprise me if ebay has taken the stance that auction bids are only final once the hammer falls. And even then, if they're not going to do anything to force payment from a high bidder with buyer's remorse, might as well go ahead and let them off the hook if they get cold feet right before the hammer falls, right?

[buymycards]

Retract a bid
Keep in mind that you can't always retract a bid once it's made –if you're not able to retract your bid, you can also try contacting the seller to see if they'll cancel your bid for you.

When you can retract a bid
You can retract a bid if:

The seller significantly changed the description of the item
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
You can't reach the seller. For example, you sent the seller an email and it comes back undeliverable, or you tried calling the seller and the phone number doesn't work
As well as the above, timing is also important when retracting a bid:

If there are 12 hours or more left before the listing ends, all of your bids can be retracted
If the listing is ending in less than 12 hours, you can retract your most recent bid if it's been less than an hour since you placed it
Any other bids can't be retracted, but you can contact the seller to see if they'll agree to cancel a bid for you.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by buymycards

If the listing is ending in less than 12 hours, you can retract your most recent bid if it's been less than an hour since you placed it

Hmmm, I wonder if they snuck that in there recently. Don't remember that part of their bid retraction policy.

[GeoPoto]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

I'm not aware of ebay themselves ever having a policy of having to rebid after canceling a bid (not really sure how that could be enforced),

eBay's system "looks" at every bid retraction. If you rebid (particularly if you bid $556.00, retract it and 30 seconds later bid $5.56, or something similar), the computer will be more inclined to "overlook" the retraction. If you bid higher in $20 increments, become high bidder on your fourth try, and then retract the last bid made, you will probably get "disciplined". It has more to do with the plausibility of "an honest mistake" versus the appearance of intentional deceit.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

eBay's system "looks" at every bid retraction. If you rebid (particularly if you bid $556.00, retract it and 30 seconds later bid $5.56, or something similar), the computer will be more inclined to "overlook" the retraction. If you bid higher in $20 increments, become high bidder on your fourth try, and then retract the last bid made, you will probably get "disciplined". It has more to do with the plausibility of "an honest mistake" versus the appearance of intentional deceit.

Do you think the guy above made 3974 honest mistakes?

[mikemb]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Do you think the guy above made 3974 honest mistakes?

Probably not. He/She is now up to 4002.

My thought is if Ebay has any sort of system to stop this, it's not working very well.

Mike

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by mikemb

Probably not. He/She is now up to 4002.

My thought is if Ebay has any sort of system to stop this, it's not working very well.

Mike

Hey, just think of the silver lining. If they're using some sort of A.I. program to combat this, then I don't have to worry about being outsmarted by the machines when they rise up and try to take over the planet.