bidder who wants to retract his bid on active auction

[bremaxx]

i have someone who has bid on one of my items, the listing is still active,  but he emailed me to state he found a cheaper item and want to retract his bid.

i told him a bid is a bid and there is no retracting. am i correct in saying this

thanks

[heidilynn0_3]

Hi bremaxx .. correct as far as it is not an acceptable reason for a retraction..

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/questions/retract-bid.html

Sellers can cancel bids..

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html

Question is..do you want an unhappy buyer.

[oskye]

Yep, you are correct, but as heidilynn0_3 noted, do you want the potential buyer to ever come back?  At least the person was honest enough to come up and tell you why s/he wanted out.  and it IS a fair reason (from a buyer's point of view). After all, you can take something back to the store, or get a price match, if you find it cheaper somewhere else - even after you've bought it.

Guaranteed, if you hold the buyer to the deal - they will NEVER come back, whether they end up with the item or not.  If they do get it, they'll likely give you Neutral feedback due to the price.

BUT - if you let them off the hook, they might make a point of coming back at a later time, as a show of gratitude.  I have done that for a seller who allowed me out of a bid - I purposely chose to buy something from them awhile later (several competing sellers had it for the same price) AND gave glowing feedback.  I can't say all Buyers will be so "honourable", though.  So, make the decision based on your business model.  Are you a casual seller?  Do you care if past buyers come back, or what they think?  Is the item high-value?  etc.

Good luck!

[femmefan1946]

EBay really needs more allowable reasons for retractions. For one thing, if the seller ends a bid, the buyer goes scot free. But if the buyer retracts, that information is posted to his feedback page.

In this case, stop pouting, cancel the bid, and if you still are put out about it, add the bidder to your Blocked Bidder List.

And be grateful you didn't have to chase him for weeks, do a Unpaid Item Claim, and lose your listing fee because the underbidder moved on.

[pierrek801]

Personally I would cancel the bid it can save you a big headache the buyer could end up being very unhappy and lash out with feedback my opinion not worth it.

[iankimmerly]

Technically no, but since he won't pay you, why bother trying to get blood out of a stone.

Cancel his bid, or let him retract it ('legal' reason or no). He can't leave feedback or trash your DSRs if he doesn't have a bid.

You probably should add him to your Blocked Bidder List though. Who needs flibbertigibbets?

[angelineangel1]

I am having the same issue - a buyer bid on an item and just messaged me this morning that she didnt see the postage (which is calculated postage rate) and wants me to retract the bid. I have never done this before so tried to change postage rate (although it is already calculated) but it wont let me because there has been a bid. I dont know how to retract her bid and truly dont want to because it is not my fault she didnt see it clearly marked that postage would need to be paid. What should I do?