posted on March 18, 2002 11:00:38 AM new
Hi:
I had a buyer bid on an item, then ask me to cancel it. Can't he cancel it himself on Yahoo or don't they allow it? Or does he just want me to do it so he won't look bad?
posted on March 18, 2002 11:36:54 AM new
I don't see the big deal out of the seller canceling the bid. The bidder may be very familar with ebay's bid retraction policies and doesn't want to risk any strikes on their record. After you cancel the bid you can blacklist that bidder if you want. I've never had a bid retraction or canceled bid in over one thousand Yahoo auctions.
posted on March 18, 2002 11:47:41 AM new
Another great advantage for sellers on yahoo is unlike ebay bidders cant retract their bids! On ebay I would have retractions all the time. Here is what yahoo says about it:
Can I cancel my bid?
After you place a bid on the auction item page, you'll be taken to a Preview Bid page. You can cancel your bid while on this preview page. Simply click on the "Cancel" button, and the bid won't be placed.
You cannot cancel your bid after you've confirmed it (i.e., after you have clicked on "Place This bid". Please don't bid on an item if you're uncertain that you can pay for it.
In case of emergency, you can ask the seller to cancel your bid by posting a question in the Question and Answer section on the auction item page.
Please note: It's at the seller's discretion whether or not to cancel your bid.
To ask the seller to cancel your bid:
Go to the auction where you want your bid cancelled. You can view all your auctions where you have bids by clicking on the "My Auctions" link on the top of any auctions page. Then click on the "Bidding" link.
Click the "Question & Answer" link near the top of the item page. Enter your question in the space provided. When you post your question, our system will send the seller your question via email. The seller will be instructed to return to the auction to answer your question. If you don't receive an immediate response, please be patient, as it sometimes takes the seller a little while to get back to you.
posted on March 18, 2002 12:39:39 PM new
There recent is a thread on the ebay Outlook forum about bidders with -5 feedback ratings bidding on expensive auctions.
On Yahoo that can not happen unless a seller foolishly sets his/her feedback level allowed to bid level at "any". Most Yahoo sellers select zero so that sellers with a -1 rating are shut out from bidding on their auctions. Yahoo seems to care more about its sellers than ebay who refuses to institute this feedback rating block system.
posted on March 18, 2002 12:46:34 PM new
It's not that Yahoo doesn't "allow" it, they just make the seller do it! I guarantee, Yahoo will not send someone to collect your money on an auction that a buyer doesn't follow through on!
If you refuse to cancel someone's bid after they ask, count on a dead beat bidder and a NEG! Yes, you can try amd make them go through with the deal, but if they don't, they don't and they have basically already told you they won't when they asked you to cancel their bids!
If you want it to count against them (so to speak) you will have to leave the bid standing. Take your neg (read through FB awhile and you'll see quite a few "I asked seller to cancel bid but they wouldn't" comments), wait 10 days after close for the "send reminder" link to appear, send the reminder wait 10 more days for the esculate link to appear and have Yahoo send another email. Then, after seven more days you can cancel them as the winner and get your fees back!
Wouldn't it just be easier for Yahoo to give the bidders a way to cancel a bid instead of relying on the seller to do it for them?
We all hate bid retractions, but I'll gladly take a bid retraction before the auctions closes rather than have to go through all the above steps especially knowing in advance they want me to cancel their bid!
posted on March 18, 2002 01:24:39 PM new
Since this bidder had the honesty to e-mail you asking to retract the mistaken bid, I would do it. But ask them to consider some other auctions you have running. Who knows,
You may end up getting a sale on a different item. I have done this before for a person and they turned right around and bid on something else and we were both happy. I can't say this person will buy from you, but if you work with him/her, there is a good possibility they will look at your items. If you black list them or tell them where to go, they will never be a customer of yours. The other end of the deal is, you will be cancelling the bid of a person who doesn't want the item before the end of the auction so others will get a chance to bed at the lower price so there is still a good chance to make a sale on the item. I personally don't like to get into bidding wars and will often overlook items with bids already on them.
Cancelling the bid can be a good thing if you do it right.
Good luck,
bp
posted on March 18, 2002 01:45:13 PM new
jimtaxi that was an excellent point. I always set my minimum feedback setting to 0 to avoid deadbeats with negative ratings. Yahoo also protected sellers from deadbeats when they began the 5 bid rule on new accounts. They also require the 3 digits on the back of the credit card to help stop fraud. Yahoo is miles ahead on eBay when it comes to seller protection.
sulyn1950 if one of my bidders wanted the bid retracted I would do it, but not during the last day or hours before the auction closed. I never had a bidder ask so I am lucky.
posted on March 18, 2002 02:22:57 PM new
OH! I cancelled his bid alright, I knew I had no choice in the matter. To leave it stand I would have ended up with a NPB or a NEG. I saw that coming so I had only one option! The thing that get's me is after I did, I went to his feed back and it show's nothing, of the cancellation. So now anyone who deals with him will never know that he back's out of deals.
And his reason really stunk! Said he had no accessories to run item, BUT the item came with all needed accessories!
So any reason was NO reason!
posted on March 19, 2002 10:43:53 AM new
Block his ID from bidding on your auctions. I'm sure Yahoo is working on a bid retract system like eBay's. The current system is a holdover from the no fees days.
posted on March 19, 2002 11:43:46 AM new
Yahoo and eBay have some similarities but a lot of differences.
Yahoo is in a position to "make a better mouse trap", if they put their minds to it. EBay has been quite successfull for a long enough time now, that the "planners" at Yahoo could see what the community likes and dislikes about that site and fix it on theirs.
I do like the new "Buyer's Profile" that is now available on your bidders. I also realllly like that it is only available to sellers who actually have a transaction in the making with a bidder.
I quit buying on eBay because anyone could see what I had bid on or won and prices paid on eBay for the past 30 days!
I felt it was a big invasion to my privacey and I picked up a cyber stalker! They would email me from different email addresses and tell me what I had bid on, what I had won, what I had paid and then ask me what I was going to do with it or sometimes they would ask me if I felt guilty about spending so much money on trival stuff when there where hungry children in the world (that comment did make me pause to think). EBay's recommendation to me was to just start an new ID using a web-based email addy!!!!!
I think it was a disgruntled fellow bidder. I like to snipe. It's really the only fun left in buying on eBay. I can't imagine a seller making comments like that!
Anywho, I do like the way Yahoo set theirs up. I don't necessarily agree that even a seller has the "right" to know what else I'm bidding on, but at least only the ones I am dealing with will know.
posted on March 19, 2002 02:09:42 PM new
bidsbids I believe yahoo should have a retaction option, but I would put a time limit on it. I think 48 hours before the item ends no retractions should be allowed.
sulyn1950 I think yahoo is starting to wake up when it comes to auctions. All yahoo needs to do is make the site easy to use and dont start shoving new rules around. Everyone liked ebay much more in the beginning, and I would use what sellers like as building blocks. Yahoo already offers free BIN, 3 free pictures, free 10 day listing, free gallery, and a much better link policy. I would use ebays greed against them.
. Please don't bid on an item if you're uncertain that you can pay for it.