Bid Retraction Etiquette
 

When is it okay to retract a bid?

Here's what I've got going on. On eBay. I read the title of an item, looked at the item, and placed a bid. Later, upon closer examination, I realized that the title was inaccurate. The item for sale is not what is said in the title (although it's easily mistaken for it). I contacted the seller, told them about the problem, said that they probably want to re-list it, and that I'm happy to have my bid canceled if they do that. They responded saying "Sorry, my mistake." But they did not pull the listing, change the title, or cancel my bid. The next day I wrote back asking them to cancel my bid because of the inaccurate title, and they wrote back saying "sure, no problem".

That was yesterday. The listing is still up, with the wrong title, and they haven't canceled my bid. I don't think that they're up to anything shady - I've bought lots of things from them before with no problems. I suspect that giving the listing an inaccurate title was an honest mistake. But saying that they'll change the listing, and saying that they'll cancel my bid, and then doing neither one, is pretty confusing.

So, can I retract a bid here? I guess I mean that as both a question about eBay etiquette and a question about the rules around bid retraction. eBay says that you can retract a bid if the title of the item changes, or if you can't reach the seller. But the problem is, basically, that the title of the item didn't change, and that although I can reach the seller, what they say appears to have no connection to what they do.

perfectly acceptable to retract in this situation imo.

Legally speaking there is no reason necessary to retract a bid. It is your right to do so up until the time the lot is declared closed for any reason or no reason at all.

Retract with a clear conscious. Since you have done business with them in the past and presumably want to maintain that relationship, you may want to email them to tell them that you will retract the bid by Xpm if they dont cancel it for you. But I think you are in every way justified retracting the bid.

For what it's worth, the seller CANNOT change the title or description of an auction on eBay once there are bids on it. They can add to the description, but not alter what was there when the bid(s) were placed.

Ebay won't penalize you for retracting one bid, and you have already reached out to the seller to explain why you're doing so. Assuming they agree with you that there is an error, it would probably be in their best interest to pull the listing altogether, but you are not bound to complete the transaction simply because they have not proactively cancelled your bid for you. Better to do so before the end of the auction, since you will not be able to retract your bid in the final hours.

Another consideration is that if by chance they do not agree that an error has been made, or don't care, the seller may simply be waiting to see if someone else tops your bid, saving them the trouble of cancelling your bid, and resulting in a higher final bid overall.

Rather than pull your bid, why not see how it plays out and don't bid anymore. If you win remind the seller you asked to pull your bid and he said he would.

+1 I agree with this.

I don't think Ebay will let you retract a bid that was placed that long ago. I'm pretty sure they only let you retract it if it was within a couple of hours of placing it. The Seller will have to cancel your bid.

I think you can retract the bid, until there is 12 hours until closing. But you may run afoul of eBay's bot. Call eBay, push past the phone operator, explain the situation and get them to green light (or effect) the retraction. If the seller accepts returns, the potential for disputed facts is moot. If your communication has been through eBay, the buyer's acceptance of your evolving understanding of his ambiguous listing will be obvious.

Bid retractions
 

How in gods name is this allowed?
Sorry this is on its side, it wasn't when I attached it.

Yeah, it's just further proof that there are no repercussions for retractions on Ebay. Retract away, and then make a habit of reading full descriptions before making a bid, instead of just the title.

The only real consequence you might face would be the seller blocking you, if it annoys them enough.

They seem to be casual enough about it, that you probably don't have to worry, especially if you are a regular customer of theirs.

eBay will allow you to keep bidding regardless of how many retractions you have.

I will automatically block a buyer that retracts a bid and does not rebid. If more Sellers would do the same thing, we might get rid of these buyers who love to retract.

Just for the record, the screenshot in #10 isn't me. I've never retracted a bid before.

>

The description on this item was also incorrect. They must have thought that they had a different item than they actually did.

Anyways, I pulled the bid and haven't heard anything from them, so I assume we're okay.

Sorry, I don't think anybody assumed that. I think we understood you were asking because you actually weren't sure what the right thing to do was.

That screenshot is just touchy for people who are familiar with the Ebay quagmire, as it is, already.

Sorry for any misunderstanding.

Would it be possible to post a link to the item in question, so we could get a little better context?

Retract away. More than justified.