Reply With QuoteYes that does sound open to abuse given I would assume the seller has to approve a bid retraction
New one to me - put a bid on small item yesterday, within an hour outbid so buy elsewhere.
Today email: Dear eBay Community Member,
The following item, on which you placed a bid (11111etc) has had a bid retraction or cancellation, and you are now the high bidder. Congratulations!
Try to cancel bid, because <12 hrs left cannot, seller advises they also cannot.
Now I have won item!
Do not think it was the case here, but surely for a higher value item this could be used for shill bidding?
Yes that does sound open to abuse given I would assume the seller has to approve a bid retraction
Agree that it's open to abuse, but seller approval is certainly not the case - and even if it was, then it would be pretty stupid of any seller to reject a bid retraction. If a buyer doesn't want the item, then you really wouldn't want all the hassle of dealing with it, as well as not being able to re-list the item just in case they did decide to pay.Originally Posted by thegreatdogwood
I thought that when you get a "you've been outbid" email from eBay, it warns you that you might still win the item if that bid is withdrawn?
I've had bids cancelled on items I'm selling without being asked for approval etc. Always assumed it was hacked accounts being caught by ebay.
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tricky one that, the seller should cancel as you no longer need the item - but if they don't end the listing early then you can get a non-paid item flag on our accound (see rules) though I would hope exlpaining to ebay what happened they should drop this flag
all too much hassle for a small item I reckon, but you could buy it and return it immediately with less hassle probably.
Looks like a shill bid was used to push you to your max and then they retracted it - report to ebay if you can prove it (unlikely)
"A bid or purchase on eBay is considered a contract and you're obliged to purchase the item. However, if you feel that you have a legitimate reason for not buying the item, you can contact the seller and explain your situation. Many sellers are willing to work with you if you communicate with them openly and honestly.
If you haven't done so already, contact the seller through the listing in My eBay > Purchase history, explain the situation, and see if the seller is willing to cancel the transaction.
If the seller doesn't agree to cancel the transaction and you don't pay for the item, an unpaid item may be recorded on your account. If you get too many unpaid items recorded on your account, your account may be limited or suspended.
Do you want to return an item?
If you've bought an item and you want to use your right of withdrawal under Distance Selling Regulations to return it, you can initiate a return in our Resolution Centre if the seller offers returns.
According to Distance Selling Regulations, consumers who purchase online from a business seller can usually cancel the contract and return the item within 7 working days after receiving it.
Learn more about how to return an item on eBay."
Last edited by Xantiagib; 18th September 2018 at 09:47.
I was thinking specifically of retractions for shill bidding. So you get your mate to ramp the highest bidder up to their max by whacking in a high offer and then in due course allowing their bid to be retracted, leaving the original bidder but at their maximum bid rather than the level that they were previously winning at. If it doesn't need seller approval that's even worse!
No, there's absolutely no seller approval involved. Not sure how it would work, anyway - what exactly would the seller approve? You can't realistically force a buyer not to retract their bid - if you could stop them from retracting their bid, then they would just refuse to pay. And if you could force them to pay, then they would just damage the item once they received it, and send it back to you (at your expense!) as a SNAD claim.
The best safeguard against this (as a seller) is to always start an auction at the lowest amount you'd be happy to accept.
The best safeguard against this (as a buyer) is to always bid using a sniper - I use Gixen. There are really only three rules for buying on eBay: (1) only bid once on any auction, (2) bid the maximum you'd be happy to pay, and (3) bid as late as possible.
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