Help!  The high bidder retracted, leaving me as the high bidder.
Found Here

You placed a bid in full faith that all who bid would honor the contract (including anyone who outbid you).  Then, you were outbid.  Perhaps you moved on to another auction.  Suddenly, you get an email from the seller saying that you won their auction!  You won, because someone retracted with a really lame excuse.  Sound familiar?  When a thread like this made its first appearance on the bidding board, I thought it was an unusual situation that no one had thought of.   Then, I discovered that it was not so uncommon.  So, this help page was created to give some collective advice about the subject.  I hope this will help you.

You are not the Bad Guy  Perhaps once you were outbid, you went on to another auction and bid on another item.  Now, you are left holding the bag on two auctions.  Most likely, you have no need for two of these things, right?  I sympathize with you, because few people would see this scenerio.  You may feel like you are the bad guy, because you do not want this item, but the real bad guy is the retractor.  They hurt you and the seller.  Excessive retractions can lead to suspension and can make sellers wary.   The issue of retractions is certainly a sore subject to many buyers and sellers on the message boards.

What can I do now?  Unfortunately, two wrongs do not make a right, so I think that you should honor the bid with the seller in full faith.  Failure to honor a bid could result in negative feedback and possible suspension.  If you absolutely do not have enough money to buy both items, offer to pay the seller for the listing fee and the final value fee.  Remember, it cost them money to run the auction.  Here is what I recommend to anyone who has a retractor leaving them as the high bidder.

(1) Contact the seller if this presents a problem to you.  Sometimes, a seller is willing to mutually cancel the auction, although they do not have to.  Also, see if the seller may want to contact the next bidder in line.  It is worth a shot, but is up to the seller.  Remember that you are obligated to the bid when discussing the auction with the seller.

(2) Look at the reason for the retraction.  If it is due to a wrong bid amount, a change in the item description, or inability to verify the seller's ID, this needs to be further examined.  They are valid reasons for retraction, but it is possible one of these reasons was given as an excuse.  If they bid "wrong amount", did they come back and bid the correct amount?   Was there actually a change in the item description?   If they claim that they cannot verify the seller's indentity and you can, that could be a potential problem.  Does the bidder have several retractions on record?  If so, they need to be reported.  Mistakes are made, but not that often.  To report an invalid retraction (or even the reasonable suspicion of one), send an email to safeharbor@ebay.com and inform them of the auction number and the retractor.  The only way to get rid of these retractors is to report them when it happens.  Not only will you help yourself, you will help all of us.

(3)Buy everything that you win.  It will most likely earn you positive feedback as well as be a lesson learned.  You may want to sell back the extra item on Ebay if possible.

Where Does it Say I could be Reinstated?

Two places, actually.

(1) The outbid notice that Ebay sends you by email.  Here is an example of what you would receive:
 

XXXThe Item DescriptionXXXXXXX The current bid amount is: $XXX.XX
The auction closes : 00-00-00 00:00:00 PDT

Of course, your existing bid may be reinstated if this competitor's bid falls through. You
can keep an eye on things if there's still plenty of time before the auction closes. Visit

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=xxxxxxxxx

Otherwise, you can stay in the running and place another bid. Just visit

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=xxxxxxxxx

Safety Tip: Now that you're no longer the high bidder, you may be contacted by the
seller or another person to buy a similar or identical item outside of eBay. This type of
transaction is against eBay rules and is not covered by services that protect buyers
such as feedback, insurance, and dispute resolution. For your own
protection, please do not participate.

If you have any questions, be sure to visit our Help section; it's best to email us from
there rather than replying to this message, as replies here can't be processed. Just
click
http://pages.ebay.com/help/index.html

Good luck with your bidding!
 

(2) In the Buyer's Guide under this link:

The tip is located under Section 8, here is what it says:

If you are outbid on one item, wait until that auction has ended before placing a bid on an identical item. If the bidder who outbid you retracts his/her bid or becomes unregistered  before the auction ends, your bid may be reinstated as the high bidder. If you have also bid on another identical item, you may end up being obligated to purchase both items.

How can I prevent this from happening again?  By doing the following, you can protect yourself from future retractors and further enjoy your Ebay experience.

(1)  Bid as late as possible.  You will not have your money "tied up" for days on one auction.  Once the auction is over, you are free to move on to another one without any further worry.   By bidding late, this will be a short wait to get the final results.

(2) Never bid on multiples if you only needed one.  Even if you are outbid by several people, you must assume that they will retract and leave you holding the bag.

(3) Make use of the "Watch Item" feature on the auction page.  You can keep track of several auctions at a time on the My Ebay page without an obligation to bid.  Once the time and price is right, you can place your bid.  This is a great organization tool.