antiquesguy
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posted on September 10, 2007 01:01:48 PM
CAN IT HAPPEN? I had an antique sign with high bidder at $465--he had been high bidder the whole 10 days. Ten minutes before the end of the auction bids dropped to zero with reason given--wrong bid-- a bidder from France stepped in to win the item.The high bidder had emailed me days ago to say he was going on vacation and could he make payment at the end of the month if he won the item. Said he wanted the sign very much. Ebay customer support said the auction was not hacked but said it was odd that all bidders canceled about the same time. Said they would send the case to Security and Safety for further investigation--whatever that means. I have emailed two of the bidders to verify that they did indeed cancel their bids. Any advice or observations about this--really weird! Thanks for your help!
[ edited by antiquesguy on Sep 10, 2007 01:22 PM ]
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Toasted36
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posted on September 10, 2007 01:36:52 PM
Somethings not right Antiquesguy because they are not suppose to be able to cancel bids after the 12 hour point unless the bid is cancelled within a hour.
Timing Matters
There are special rules about retracting bids, depending on when you originally placed the bid.
If you place a bid before the last 12-hours of the listing: You may retract that bid before that last 12-hours, if your situation meets the above description of exceptional circumstances. You will not be allowed to retract that bid during the last 12-hours of the listing.
When you retract a bid before the last 12 hours of a listing: you will eliminate all bids you have placed on that item. If you are correcting a bidding error, you will have to bid again.
If you place a bid during the last 12-hours of the listing[b/]: You may retract the bid only within [b]one hour after placing the bid (and if your situation meets eBay's exceptional circumstances description).
When you retract a bid within the last 12 hours of the listing: You will eliminate only the most recent bid you placed. Bids you placed prior to the last 12 hours will not be retracted.
If you are not allowed to retract your bid during the last 12-hours of the listing, you may contact the seller to request that your bid be canceled. The seller will have the discretion whether to cancel your bid.
Heres the eBay page link
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bid-retract.html
[ edited by Toasted36 on Sep 10, 2007 01:37 PM ]
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Cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 10, 2007 01:52:11 PM
Whatever eBay says, I wouldn't 'honor' the auction result. The auction was intentionally or unintentionally tampered with, and the end result was wrong.
Whether or not there was 'bid shielding' or other collusion on the part of the bid retractors, I wouldn't sell to the 'winner.' You will get a negative, and maybe eBay will slap your wrist, but why give the item away?
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tonimar1
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posted on September 10, 2007 03:11:52 PM
I wouldn't honor the auction either, I would block all the bidders that were on this auction and relist the auction.
This happened to me when I was selling bagpipes, the bids were over 500.00 and near the end of the auction the high bidders canceled and brought my auction down to 100.00. I told the winner that this auction had interference from other bidders so I'm not able to honor his bid.
When something like that happens it's not fair to the seller so don't give your item away.
Who knows if the bidders that retracted there bids were maybe friends of the high bidder and this was all done so the winner could get your item for a low price.
toni
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mcjane
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posted on September 10, 2007 03:18:31 PM
You've been had. I agree, do not honor the auction.
There's a chance you may not get a neg because the buyer knows what was going on & may just slink away & let the matter drop.
There is a feeling of shame when caught & he was caught.
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Cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 10, 2007 03:53:41 PM
The thing that I find strange is that 5 bidders were involved. A straightforward bid shielding exercise only requires two bidders, with one retracting, allowing the second to win at a low price (after having scared away other bidders).
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ebabestreasures
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posted on September 10, 2007 04:07:23 PM
I'm with the others - don't honor the bid. It sounds too fishy.
Let us know what the canceled bidders say.
I don't know that I would block everyone just yet. They (even the winner) maybe innocent.
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zippy2dah
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posted on September 10, 2007 04:11:00 PM
"The thing that I find strange is that 5 bidders were involved."
Five I.D.'s were involved. There may or may not be five bidders involved.
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antiquesguy
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posted on September 10, 2007 04:18:20 PM
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR RESPONSE: HERE IS WHAT EBAY WROTE--Dear James,Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your item. James, I've read over your email and certainly understand your concern regarding the bids being retracted. Although it is rather odd that all these various bidders retracted their bids, I can assure you the auction was not hacked. As a rule, you can retract a bid only in these exceptional situations:- The seller significantly changed the description of the item after you- You made a typographical error in the amount of your bid. (For example, you bid $100 when you meant to bid $10.)- You can't verify the seller's identity.- Someone bid on the item using your User ID and password. ;All the users listed "Wrong Bids" as a reason for retraction and by our policy they were required to correct that amount immediately. I have partment for further investigation. In the meantime your obligation to complete the transaction is with the winning bidder and not with any of the bidder's that had retracted their bids. If you have any further questions or concerns James, please do not hesitate to contact us. It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay. Sincerely, Timothy L. eBay Customer Support__________________________
[ edited by antiquesguy on Sep 10, 2007 04:42 PM ]
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tonimar1
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posted on September 10, 2007 04:38:29 PM
In my case the reason I didn't honor the winning bidder was because by the other bidders putting in a high bid for the length of the auction could have kept other bidders from placing a bid since the price was high.
There was interference with this auction so thats why you should not have to honor this auction.
toni
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glassgrl
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posted on September 10, 2007 05:10:27 PM
>>"I have partment for further investigation."
Say what?
F*ck em. take the neg and void the auction for interference.
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otteropp
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posted on September 10, 2007 05:46:52 PM
I'm with everyone else.
Sounds too fishy.
Re-list and take the consequences if need be.
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merrie
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posted on September 10, 2007 07:12:39 PM
ditto what glassgrl says. It is not Ebay's property. Tell the high bidder Ebay is investigating, they won't know what Ebay said.
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sthoemke
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posted on September 10, 2007 07:31:05 PM
Check the high bidders' bidding history, and compare it with the bidding history of the bidders who cancelled their bids.
There could be pattern of price manipulation between the ID's. That should qualify as Inappropriate Trading Behavior.
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/invalid-bid-retraction.html
I agree with everyone else - don't honor the transaction.
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LtRay
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posted on September 10, 2007 11:49:49 PM
Seriously suspicious. All the bid canceled within seconds of each other and only within 20 minutes of the auction close.
Ebay can not seriously believe that this was not a system clitch of some sort.
a***e( 66) Cancelled: US $350.00
Explanation: wrong bid Bid: Sep-04-07 07:35:30 PDT
Cancelled: Sep-10-07 11:24:22 PDT
o***7( 443) Cancelled: US $200.00
Explanation: wrong bid Bid: Sep-03-07 08:26:28 PDT
Cancelled: Sep-10-07 11:24:27 PDT
e***0( 26) Cancelled: US $769.43
Explanation: wrong bid Bid: Sep-08-07 18:49:32 PDT
Cancelled: Sep-10-07 11:24:10 PDT
m***n( 2 ) Cancelled: US $460.00
Explanation: wrong bid Bid: Sep-10-07 06:38:37 PDT
Cancelled: Sep-10-07 11:24:17 PDT
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PIXIAMOM
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posted on September 11, 2007 12:04:31 AM
oops, never mind.
[ edited by PIXIAMOM on Sep 11, 2007 03:03 AM ]
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hwahwa
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posted on September 11, 2007 05:32:38 AM
Ebay should be able to tell if they are all coming from one PC.
You can tell if they are really one person from the feedback they left for the sellers.
*
Lets all stop whining !
*
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ebabestreasures
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posted on September 11, 2007 05:41:23 AM
The winner sells signs too. That's another red flag.
Say it fall off your truck and got run over by a Semi!!! They will know you are lying but who cares.
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hwahwa
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posted on September 11, 2007 07:20:55 AM
But,if the high bidder does not co-operate,how does the seller get his FVF back?
Ebay is an auction,when you list an item ,you have agreed to sell the item at the starting bid,so if there are last minutes withdrawal,you are expected to sell to the high bidder,whoever this person may be.
*
Lets all stop whining !
*
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birgittaw
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posted on September 11, 2007 07:34:40 AM
Perhaps this requires something other than an email to eBay. Call them. Are you a power seller? If so, may make it easier to get someone real.
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antiquesguy
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posted on September 11, 2007 08:01:17 AM
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES. Here is an update. Ebay froze my account because of suspected fraud activity. Through Live Chat that has been cleared. One of the retracted bidders emailed me minutes ago and firmly stated she did not retract. So I have put the ball back into ebays court to come up with an answer. I have emailed the bidder in France indicating this matter is being investigated. Nothing gets sent until word from ebay. AND THE BEAT GOES ON.
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antiquesguy
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posted on September 11, 2007 11:48:07 AM
There is a happy ending to this saga and ebay made it happen. I went to live chat and the woman there did a preliminary examination of the facts--then transferred me to security live chat. She discovered that my account had been hacked by a third party who canceled the bids. She ended the auction and notified all bidders about what happened. Then we changed the password. Many thanks to these live chat support people and to all of you who gave support and advice. The item will be relisted today and I will post the number so you can see what the fuss was all about.
[ edited by antiquesguy on Sep 11, 2007 11:49 AM ]
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antiquesguy
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posted on September 11, 2007 12:22:48 PM
HERE IS WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT: ITEM NUMBER 280152307830.
[ edited by antiquesguy on Sep 11, 2007 12:25 PM ]
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mcjane
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posted on September 11, 2007 12:45:24 PM
Gee, now I feel bad about accusing the "winning" bidder.
Oh well, at least he doesn't know that.
I wonder though why his bid wasn't canceled too!
Can't wait to see what the sign really goes for. Be sure to let the bidders know it's back up again. A happy ending & good luck antiquesguy.
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glassgrl
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posted on September 11, 2007 03:36:42 PM
thanks for letting us know and best of luck with your "new" auction. I'm sure the winning (cough cough) bidder of the last auction wasn't/isn't too happy about it.
I'll be darned if I can find the webpage again but I just read a couple of days ago where Ebay had been hacked - again. And this was just in the last week or so.
here's one reference to it:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/eBay-Attacked-by-Hackers-64623.shtml
I still hate hate hate that new hidden identity bidder thing. Yes - I understand that it will prevent scummers from sending fake second chance notices to the underbidders. I just think it leaves too much open to shill bidding etc.
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glassgrl
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posted on September 11, 2007 03:41:07 PM
PS. as for Timothy from Ebay -
>>"Although it is rather odd that all these various bidders retracted their bids, I can assure you the auction was not hacked."
Hey timothy - get a job!
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classicrock000
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posted on September 11, 2007 05:04:02 PM
"Gee, now I feel bad about accusing the "winning" bidder.
Oh well, at least he doesn't know that.
I wonder though why his bid wasn't canceled too!"
Just a thought-was it possible that the winning bidder hijacked the account so they could get it for a cheaper price?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you look like your passport photo, you probably need the trip
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mcjane
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posted on September 11, 2007 05:43:33 PM
I guess it is possible classic since "he" was the only bidder left.
Would have got it at the opening bid too.
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ebabestreasures
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posted on September 11, 2007 06:33:38 PM
The winner probably used a sniping service and his bid didn't go in to the last seconds.
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ST0NEC0LD613
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posted on September 12, 2007 09:50:09 AM
Wow,
I was just about to chime in and say to check your own account. The tip off was the time that all of the bids were cancelled. The fact that all of them happened within a few seconds was the clue. There would be no way all four could have done that on their own (unless they were in a conference call or something like that).
Glad to see you have control of your account again.
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