Warning from eBay:

[Beastmode]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Actually they are following the UCC to a "T." The UCC states unequivocally that a bid is NOT a contract until the item has been called sold and may be retracted at any time until the item is called sold.

Also it is not possible to sign away your UCC rights, so if you accept someone's bid you HAVE to accept their retraction regardless of what you say your policy is, even if the bidder has agreed to your policy!

However there is nothing saying that you have to continue accepting bids from someone who has retracted bids in the past.

I know this won't be a popular post but I am 100% confident on my knowledge of the law on this issue since it was beaten into me in class very recently You can search elsewhere on this site for a discussion between myself and a lawyer/member on this very issue. I think it was an interesting discussion, and germane to the interests of a lot of the users here.

E-bay is in the Republic of California, so let's start there. We don't follow half of the federal laws here anyway. Here's 2328 California Commercial code (which I think is similar to your UCC reference)

(3) Such a sale is with reserve unless the goods are in explicit terms put up without reserve.  In an auction with reserve the auctioneer may withdraw the goods at any time until he announces completion of the sale.  In an auction without reserve, after the auctioneer calls for bids on an article or lot, that article or lot cannot be withdrawn unless no bid is made within a reasonable time.  In either case a bidder may retract his bid until the auctioneer's announcement of completion of the sale, but a bidder's retraction does not revive any previous bid.

We maybe be talking the same language here, but the problem is e-bay is moving the under-bidder into pole position after a high bidder retracts. That is violating law as I read it, or at a minimum, the intent of the law.

I can quote you on some other California Auction Codes that e-bay is ignoring if you want. In the near future, these AH's, and e-bay, are going to have skin in the game. They will not be able to throw up their hands and declare "i had no clue", or "we're just consignors", when they're enabling listings of the highest degree of fraud on their software platform.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

E-bay is in the Republic of California, so let's start there. We don't follow half of the federal laws here anyway. Here's 2328 California Commercial code (which I think is similar to your UCC reference)

(3) Such a sale is with reserve unless the goods are in explicit terms put up without reserve.  In an auction with reserve the auctioneer may withdraw the goods at any time until he announces completion of the sale.  In an auction without reserve, after the auctioneer calls for bids on an article or lot, that article or lot cannot be withdrawn unless no bid is made within a reasonable time.  In either case a bidder may retract his bid until the auctioneer's announcement of completion of the sale, but a bidder's retraction does not revive any previous bid.

We maybe be talking the same language here, but the problem is e-bay is moving the under-bidder into pole position after a high bidder retracts. That is violating law as I read it, or at a minimum, the intent of the law.

I can quote you on some other California Auction Codes that e-bay is ignoring if you want. In the near future, these AH's, and e-bay, are going to have skin in the game. They will not be able to throw up their hands and declare "i had no clue", or "we're just consignors", when they're enabling listings of the highest degree of fraud on their software platform.

That's all I was saying (the bolded portion) they HAVE to allow retractions. If you look at the other thread mentioned earlier we did discuss remedy after retraction. There are basically two ways a reputable auctioneer handles the situation. They either start the item over or ASK the under bidder if they would like to maintain their bid. Said under bidder is under no obligation to do so. There may be another way to legally handle the situation, but I agree that ebay's way certainly seems to violate the UCC (and yes it appears 2-328 is identical between the UCC and the CCC)

[PowderedH2O]

Oh, they can retract even after the sale. I had auctions that ended on Tuesday night. A guy sniped and and won an item for $45 with one second left. He paid immediately. Then, ten minutes later, asked to cancel. Since eBay has it where he can leave negative feedback on me, but I can't do the same, I have to agree to cancel. The underbidder doesn't want the item, because he says he felt uncomfortable with how fast I sent the second chance offer (I don't blame him). So, I sell to the second underbidder for $35. Thanks, jerk. But, he can do this because eBay allows it.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by PowderedH2O

Oh, they can retract even after the sale. I had auctions that ended on Tuesday night. A guy sniped and and won an item for $45 with one second left. He paid immediately. Then, ten minutes later, asked to cancel. Since eBay has it where he can leave negative feedback on me, but I can't do the same, I have to agree to cancel. The underbidder doesn't want the item, because he says he felt uncomfortable with how fast I sent the second chance offer (I don't blame him). So, I sell to the second underbidder for $35. Thanks, jerk. But, he can do this because eBay allows it.

Yup, I've had this happen to.

A couple months ago I actually had somebody pay me for something two weeks after an auction ended and then request to cancel right after they paid.

Claimed "their dad" bid on the auction by mistake.

I'm pretty sure they paid to avoid an unpaid item on their record, and then immediately went about the business of sabotaging the transaction.

Ebay doesn't give you much of a choice but to just comply. Especially with somebody who knows the ins and outs of getting out of a transaction.

[JollyRoger]

I made a sale outside of eBay using paypal. An ebay member contacted me through ebay's messaging system about making them a custom item. Sent the user my paypal.me link for payment. Both my eBay and paypal accounts are now suspended indefinitely. I can't withdrawal my money from my paypal account for 180 days. The worst part is I had a substantial amount saved up in Ebay bucks I was planning on using. I wouldn't recommend doing deals outside of eBay. Be careful using PayPal F&F for goods as well.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by JollyRoger

I made a sale outside of eBay using paypal. An ebay member contacted me through ebay's messaging system about making them a custom item. Sent the user my paypal.me link for payment. Both my eBay and paypal accounts are now suspended indefinitely. I can't withdrawal my money from my paypal account for 180 days. The worst part is I had a substantial amount saved up in Ebay bucks I was planning on using. I wouldn't recommend doing deals outside of eBay. Be careful using PayPal F&F for goods as well.

Yes, you are risking your paypal account if you circumvent their fees. I would be utterly screwed if I lost my paypal account.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by PowderedH2O

Oh, they can retract even after the sale. I had auctions that ended on Tuesday night. A guy sniped and and won an item for $45 with one second left. He paid immediately. Then, ten minutes later, asked to cancel. Since eBay has it where he can leave negative feedback on me, but I can't do the same, I have to agree to cancel. The underbidder doesn't want the item, because he says he felt uncomfortable with how fast I sent the second chance offer (I don't blame him). So, I sell to the second underbidder for $35. Thanks, jerk. But, he can do this because eBay allows it.

Yes but we were speaking of legal rights, not ebaygle rights...