How can I retract a bid? by Tyler Jones

Here is my canned response on Retracting Bids. If you need more information, please let me know, giving details about the problem at hand.

eBay allows you to retract bids that you enter. For the most part, this is a fail-safe to prevent massive NPB's. Despite the fact that this service is available, it is to be used only in the rarest of circumstances. eBay assumes that any bid you enter has already been carefully considered and double-checked for accuracy. My advice is don't retract unless it's a major problem

eBay recognizes only a few valid reasons to retract. They are misplaced decimals, such as bidding $1375.00 instead of $13.75, when the seller changes the TOS or description after you bid and if you cannot contact the seller or verify his identity.

Reasons like "I changed my mind", "I bid too much", "I saw a better item elsewhere" or "I was outbid, then became the leader again" are NOT valid reasons to retract. I strongly advise not to retract for any of these reasons.

You can still retract, but if you do, it carries a number of problems. Retractions stay on your record for six months, many sellers may ban you from their auctions and if you get reported for too many, you may get suspended.

Many people retract because they bid, then they see something in the description that they either do not like or is questionable. Please understand that the time to ask questions and read the item description comes BEFORE you bid. eBay assumes that you are fully aware of the item, it's condition, and all terms of sale before you place any bid.

Ultimately, if your current bid will break your bank and you absolutely cannot afford it, bite the bullet and retract anyway. It's better than an NPB, from the perspective of both buyer and seller. Write the seller a polite apologetic note, explaining what happened. Some sellers will understand, some will not. Still, take your lumps and move on.

Each time you are about to enter a bid, please take a moment to be absolutely positively sure that you will be able to pay the full amount. Every bid retraction is a bad thing, and nobody wins when that happens.

I would strongly advise you to hang tough and NOT retract. There are simply too many bad things that can happen and it could easily become habit-forming, causing even more problems. Maybe you'll get outbid, or maybe nobody will bid up to your proxy. Even if you win, I'd advise to simply pay for the item, take your lumps, and learn a valuable lesson.

With all that, if you decide that you simply must retract, even with all of the problems it will cause, then retract and weather the storm.