posted on March 5, 2003 12:11:00 PM new
I was just contacted by a bidder who now claims that he didn't read the full description and didn't realize that the item was a reproduction.
Should I cancel his bid or tell him to retract it so it is tracked by eBay?
posted on March 5, 2003 12:33:48 PM new
His mistake, not yours. Tell him the appropriate thing to do is for him to retract his bid. I agree that it should be tracked. Who knows? He may be bidding on another one with a different seller?
posted on March 5, 2003 12:54:10 PM new
The trouble with bidders retracting their bids is that they can't write their own reason. Ebay gives them a choice of 3 reasons. I think the reasons are "Seller changed the description", Can't verify seller's identity", and "made error in the amount of bid.". None of which is accurate in your case. As a seller, you can cancel it and write in any reason you want.
When I cancel a bid at the bidder's request, I wait until just before the end of the auction. If someone bids higher then I don't have to cancel the bid and I make more money. If not, I cancel it and hope someone snipes it.
posted on March 6, 2003 04:57:12 AM new
As a seller, I'd probably let him retract. As a buyer. . .I've made some mistakes and have "impulse bid" on items or have read over the description so fast I missed something. I swallow it and just hope someone outbids me. It was not the seller's error, it was mine. I honor my bids. Maybe that's because I also sell and know how tough it can be out there. If I really don't like it after I receive it, I sell it! Simple. No one is really out anything.
posted on March 6, 2003 10:21:02 AM new
She's better off if she cancels it herself. As bkmonroe points out, the only three acceptable "bid retraction" reasons all imply some sort of bad behavior on the part of the seller.
It would be nice to have a way to track habitual un-bidders that back out by requesting cancellations, but in this case, I see no reason to say no to this buyer and lots of reasons to say "sure" and move on.
