posted on May 17, 2001 08:49:48 AM
Just how many bid retractions does one have to have before they get suspended? If it a obscene amount where do you report it to?
I believe that they check for "excessive" bid retractions within a relatively short amount of time.
If it's just a couple... it is likely that the user will get a warning or friendly reminder that it's against the rules of eBay to abuse the Bid Retraction Feature, since there are supposedly very few incidents where Bid Retraction is an acceptable solution for an ACCIDENTAL Bid.
I don't think that eBay has any site text indicating the exact number of Bid Retractions within a specific time period it would take to be considered "Excessive" or an "Abuse" of the feature.
They likely view the activity of the member to determine the percentage of bids placed Vs. the number of Bid Retractions. (I would hope they also pay attention to the items the bidder is bidding on to determine if they are "Cherry Picking" by bidding on several of the same Like Items and then either retracting a portion of those bids later or not honoring a portion of their winning bids.
If you suspect that a bidder is abusing the Bid Retraction Feature, you should forward their Feedback Page (which includes the number of Bid Retractions they've made in the last week, month and 6 months) to eBays SafeHarbor Department for investigation.
Bid Retractions aren't investigated UNLESS someone sends in a complaint. (It might even be something like the "three complaints and you're outta here" schedule, similar to NPBs)
posted on May 17, 2001 10:43:33 AM
I think that more than 2 or 3 retractions in the LIFE of your Ebay account (meaning years) is odd.
It's NOT that easy to make a mistake, and if you do, HOW many times would this realistically happen?
Most users, myself included, have somehow managed to go years without ever retracting a bid....and it HAS NOT been a burden to uphold this record.
I'd say the vast majority of bid retractions are likely for BS reasons; either they changed their mind, are trying to see high bidder's maximum, are just playing games bidding up prices and went too high, are shilling and went too high, or are engaging in bid shielding.
Considering how much this can adversely impact auctions (beyond the sellers control), Ebay should really take a very firm and very strict stance on this.
posted on May 17, 2001 11:12:05 AM
Recently posted on the eBay Announcement Board.
***Bid Retraction Reminder***
On eBay, your bid is a contract; place a bid only if you're serious about buying the item. If you are the winning bidder or purchase an item through one of our fixed price formats, you will enter into a
legally binding contract to purchase the item from the seller.
Every bid on eBay is binding (unless the item is listed in a category under the Non-Binding Bid Policy or the transaction is prohibited by law or by eBay's User Agreement.)
Bid retractions can seriously compromise the integrity of a listing. We do realize that mistakes sometimes happen and that there are
legitimate reasons for retracting a bid on occasion. However, frequent bid retractions are not acceptable. We will thoroughly investigate bid retractions and abuse of this feature may result in action against you, up to the suspension of your eBay account.
Please click here for additional information.
posted on May 17, 2001 11:12:22 AM
This one bidder has 30 retractions in the last 6 months and her excuse for the newest one is "my mistake, sorry" This person needs a little more than a friendly reminder in my opinion. I have emailed safeharbor and I'm not holding my breath or anything but it would be nice if they did do something.
posted on May 17, 2001 11:17:49 AMI think that more than 2 or 3 retractions in the LIFE of your Ebay account (meaning years) is odd.
That depends.
If a seller adds something "negative" on to the auction description, *after* a bid has already been placed, that alone is enough reason to retract the bid.
This may not happen often, but it happens.
I know I miss the odd nick, fine HL crack, etc when listing, but I always email the bidders to let them know I've included some new info, & that I would certainly understand if they felt the need to retract their bid.
Under that circumstance, the appropriate thing for the seller to do is to offer to cancel any bidder's bid who has changed their mind as a result of this new info. A seller mistake should not end up in you retracting a bid--since a retraction is a blemish on your record.
