eBay bid retractions

irish36 · Feb 20, 2023

Not sure if anyone here sells on eBay, but i am winnowing down my collection and sold two pieces on there over the past week. Both of my auctions had multiple bidders retract their bids in the midst of the auction. They all claimed they had bid mistakenly, but in some cases there was 24 hours between the bid and retraction.

In any event, I wasn’t aware this was something one could do, better yet have it happen so many times. If I were a prospective buyer, I would have been suspicious that the seller was doing something fishy. Makes me question whether I received a fair price for my pieces, and certainly makes me unhappy about being charged 15% commission.

Has anyone else run into this problem? I guess that’s why so many listings are “buy it now”.

JwRosenthal · Feb 20, 2023

eBay is all about the buyer- they can do whatever they want and there are tons of tire kickers, scammers and just plain assholes. Yes, there are some wonderful buyers there- like me 😀- but lots of people who just don’t care that a person is on the other end and has to just take it.

Once you hit 200 here (better get chatty) you can sell here. The majority of people here understand what it’s like to be on the other end and are respectful of that. It’s like people who never worked in food service or retail usually treat people in food service and retail like crap. If you have, then you know what it’s like.

Scarecrow Boat · Feb 20, 2023

irish36
Has anyone else run into this problem?

Yup- a number of times. You are well within your right to add these people to your block list, which will prevent them from buying. Bidding up an item to ultimately retract is often done to see what it takes to be the highest bidder and then if it is worth staying the highest bidder. A negative side effect to these people bidding/retracting is- the genuine interested party that was the highest bidder will receive an email alerting them to up their bid if they want the item; then, once the bid is retracted, they will receive another email stating they are, once again, the highest bidder. This could further lead to the genuine interested party becoming skeptical that the seller is shill bidding and bid too high, which might lead the interested party in retracting their own bid. I have had people bid/retract on items I have sold as well as items I was bidding on.

rendo · Feb 20, 2023

While this is not fair for the seller, one positive I see with this is they get out before they end up winning it. Otherwise they would just not pay for the item, and you would have to wait for that process to be finalized before you can re-list again.

JwRosenthal · Feb 20, 2023

rendo
While this is not fair for the seller, one positive I see with this is they get out before they end up winning it. Otherwise they would just not pay for the item, and you would have to wait for that process to be finalized before you can re-list again.

They do this too- a lot. And once you relist the item, it’s been burned as people who were bidding or watching before think something must be wrong with it. Sometimes they try to negotiate the price after winning, and if you say no they demand that you cancel the listing. Or they even negotiate the cost of the shipping, or ask for you to commit customs fraud if it’s oversees…..fυcking unbelievable,

Scarecrow Boat · Feb 20, 2023

JwRosenthal
Sometimes they try to negotiate the price after winning, and if you say no they demand that you cancel the listing.

I lost count how many times this exact scenario has happened.

JwRosenthal · Feb 20, 2023

Scarecrow Boat
I lost count how many times this exact scenario has happened.

And I haven’t sold in eBay in probably 6-7 years. At least we could leave negative feedback for buyers then and were able to tell people to go fυck themselves and have eBay back you up. I understand it’s worse now for small sellers. I have a ton of shit I need to move (lots of dead hobbies) and I have actually contemplated just donating everything to charity shops just to not have to deal with this headache again.

VickMacky · Feb 21, 2023

As others have said, eBay is great for buyers but not so much for sellers. I sold a 36mm SMP on there, guy paid and everything was fine. Once he got it he said it looked too small so he wanted to return, which the ad stated sales are final. He threatened to claim it was broken or something and he knew they would side with him so I finally accepted it and sold it on Reddit. It’s a much better platform since I can’t sell here yet.

Duracuir1 · Feb 21, 2023

irish36
Not sure if anyone here sells on eBay, but i am winnowing down my collection and sold two pieces on there over the past week. Both of my auctions had multiple bidders retract their bids in the midst of the auction. They all claimed they had bid mistakenly, but in some cases there was 24 hours between the bid and retraction.

In any event, I wasn’t aware this was something one could do, better yet have it happen so many times. If I were a prospective buyer, I would have been suspicious that the seller was doing something fishy. Makes me question whether I received a fair price for my pieces, and certainly makes me unhappy about being charged 15% commission.

Has anyone else run into this problem? I guess that’s why so many listings are “buy it now”.

I gave up on EBay a long time ago. I had no idea the commission was 15 %. If you live in or near a big city you may wish to try a local auction house. I sold most of my watches. The auction house charged me 20%. I did not need to worry about shipping or any issues with the watches and buyers. Some sold for less than I expected, while others totally exceeded what I thought I would get. Only problem is I am almost out of watches now!😀

JwRosenthal · Feb 21, 2023

VickMacky
As others have said, eBay is great for buyers but not so much for sellers. I sold a 36mm SMP on there, guy paid and everything was fine. Once he got it he said it looked too small so he wanted to return, which the ad stated sales are final. He threatened to claim it was broken or something and he knew they would side with him so I finally accepted it and sold it on Reddit. It’s a much better platform since I can’t sell here yet.

I posted in another thread that I used to sell vinyl records on eBay. I had a buyer who tried to initiated a return on a no return record because he said he didn’t like the music….nothing “wrong” with the record, he just didn’t like it 😵‍💫

Dan S · Feb 21, 2023

The whole bidding situation on eBay is a mess, for so many reasons. It's really not surprising to me that sellers often cancel auctions after the fact, even though it's against eBay rules. I especially dislike the way that sniping is encouraged in the eBay format. Most other auction platforms extend the hammer time when someone bids, which makes it more likely for items to reach their true market value. Sure, occasionally you can get a bargain as a buyer, but in the long run auctions are meant to find the actual market value, which is advantageous for everyone. When sellers don't feel that they are getting fair value, they just decide not to use that platform.

gatorcpa · Feb 21, 2023

I’ve come to the conclusion that eBay just doesn’t care anymore. It’s Gresham’s law in action.

The have made it so difficult and expensive to sell, that many of the honest sellers have been run off.

gatorcpa

JwRosenthal · Feb 21, 2023

I still think there should be an open hobby swap section in the marketplace here where we can swap other hobby things for watches….pens for watches, cameras for watches, Hummel figurines for spring bars….

EuroDriver · Feb 21, 2023

Be glad they retracted their bids instead of buying, test-driving your watch and then returning it.

That happened to me - I posted about it earlier in a different thread. I sold it on the condition of "no returns accepted."

Over a week after receiving the watch, the buyer opened a claim for "item not as described." ebay refunded their money (including shipping costs) and had them return the watch without contacting me or even informing me of the claim until after the fact. They did credit me the commissions but not my shipping & insurance expenses.

Watch came back with a scratched bracelet and the boxes scuffed and torn. I suspect the buyer swapped the bracelet and boxes.

At least ebay approved my damages claim for the full amount requested - $750. I'm waiting for the credit to appear.

Regardless, that will be the last time I sell expensive items on ebay.

JwRosenthal · Feb 21, 2023

EuroDriver
Be glad they retracted their bids instead of buying, test-driving your watch and then returning it.

That happened to me - I posted about it earlier in a different thread. I sold it on the condition of "no returns accepted."

Over a week after receiving the watch, the buyer opened a claim for "item not as described." ebay refunded their money (including shipping costs) and had them return the watch without contacting me or even informing me of the claim until after the fact. They did credit me the commissions but not my shipping & insurance expenses.

Watch came back with a scratched bracelet and the boxes scuffed and torn. I suspect the buyer swapped the bracelet and boxes.

At least ebay approved my damages claim for the full amount requested - $750. I'm waiting for the credit to appear.

Regardless, that will be the last time I sell expensive items on ebay.

The swap is always a fear. I had that happen with a rare record I sold.Buyer claimed it had a scratch, it didn’t. Claimed it wasn’t disclosed, it wasn’t- because it wasn’t there. eBay approved his refund and he sent it back. What I got back was the same “album”, but a different record. Jacket was slightly more worn and stamper number on the one he sent back was different- the one I sent was far more valuable. I tried to explain this to ebay but they didn’t understand- I got a record back-isn’t that the same thing.

Poppyboy · Feb 21, 2023

It’s a real shame. I don’t understand why people just don’t keep their word.

JwRosenthal · Feb 21, 2023

Poppyboy
It’s a real shame. I don’t understand why people just don’t keep their word.

It’s a lot easier to fυck someone over when you don’t have to look them in the eye.

DaveK · Feb 21, 2023

JwRosenthal
And I haven’t sold in eBay in probably 6-7 years. At least we could leave negative feedback for buyers then and were able to tell people to go fυck themselves and have eBay back you up. I understand it’s worse now for small sellers. I have a ton of shit I need to move (lots of dead hobbies) and I have actually contemplated just donating everything to charity shops just to not have to deal with this headache again.

Maybe, if we ask nicely, we can get a random garage sale sub forum for members with 2,000+ posts.

JwRosenthal · Feb 21, 2023

DaveK
Maybe, if we ask nicely, we can get a random garage sale sub forum for members with 2,000+ posts.

It’s wishful thinking but the mods have answered this question before and want to avoid this place looking like a Moroccan bazaar- I get it

irish36 · Feb 21, 2023

JwRosenthal
Sometimes they try to negotiate the price after winning,

Yep, this happened to me on one of my auctions. Buyer complained that my 1960s Chronographe Suisse had a plexi crystal and that he wouldn’t have bid so high had he known.

eBay bid retractions

irish36

JwRosenthal

Scarecrow Boat

rendo

JwRosenthal

Scarecrow Boat

JwRosenthal

VickMacky

Duracuir1

JwRosenthal

Dan S

gatorcpa

JwRosenthal

EuroDriver

JwRosenthal

Poppyboy

JwRosenthal

DaveK

JwRosenthal

irish36

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