Email From Ebay Concerning Cancellation Of Winning Auction Bids

Just received this email from ebay today. Has anyone had a serious problem with buyers cancelling winning bids?

"Protecting auction integrity on ebay
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Sta#65279;rting May 1#65279;3, 20#65279;26, buyers in the US who win auctions on ebay will no longer see an option to cancel orders.

Why we're making this change
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Auctions on ebay work best when winning bidders follow through and pay. You have told us that canceled bids disrupt your sale, hurt the item's value, and create overhead. To better protect you, we'll be removing the option for buyers to cancel winning bids.

What this means for you
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Fewer cancellation requests
US buyers will no longer be able to submit cancellation requests after winning auctions.

Auction sales are final
While US buyers can still message you directly to request a cancellation, it's up to you to grant or reject. Our policy states all auction sales are final and fully supports you in declining the request.

Protection from negative feedback
If the buyer leaves negative feedback due to a declined cancellation, you can request its removal through Seller Help within 90 days of the sale.

FAQs
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What should I say if a buyer is confused about why they can't cancel?

You can let them know that this is an ebay policy. Once an auction ends and they've won, cancellations are disabled and the order is considered final. If they have concerns or questions about the policy itself, they should contact ebay directly. Learn more about ebay's policies.

What if the buyer sends me a message to request cancellation?

Per ebay's User Agreement, auctions are considered binding and buyers aren't allowed to cancel an order themselves after winning an auction. If a buyer messages you to cancel an auction order on their behalf, you will not be required to do so, however you can choose to if you prefer.

Which of my orders are covered by the new cancellation policy?

All orders resulting from auctions where the transaction takes place on the US site are covered by the new policy.

Does this cancellation policy change apply to eBay Live?

No, currently this updated cancellation policy only applies to transactions resulting from auctions on our core US marketplace.

Oracle, this happened to me only the other day. A bidder placed the starting bid on an item, then retracted the bid two days later giving the reason 'bid wrong amount'. Luckily there was still time for others to complete the auction and my item sold to a very prompt buyer.
In the UK, a bid placed in an auction house is legally binding, I really don't see why ebay should be any different. So I totally agree if they are now coming round to that way of thinking.
Regards
DavidR

This is different, David. I've experienced people not paying up after winning, but never someone actually cancelling a winning bid. For retracted earlier bids, I think real-life auction houses will let you retract commission bids, doubtless with caveats about timing.

Hi Geoff, can understand retracting commission bids (at the auction house's discretion) but I have always been under the impression that a bid made 'live' in an auction house was a firm commitment.
Regards
DavidR

See "Bainbridge vase" for an amusing story of a bidder refusing to pay the 20% commission on his winning bid.

David - yes, that's right.

This may be motivated just by ebay wanting to shorten the time after which it can recognize revenue under US accounting rules. It may have nothing to do with actual bidder behavior.

I have had several people (out of thousands) who won an item and then want to cancel the order. They claim they bid in error or changed their mind. I usually grant the request. Ironically when the item is relisted it then sold for a higher price.

As a bidder, I have had folks walk their bid up one increment at a time until they topped my high bid. Then claim a bidding error and removed only their highest topping bid. Can you smell shill bidding? Or, If can't afford it, I at least will make some other guy pay far more than necessary right up to his max.

In one case, I contacted the seller, a real stand up seller and he cancelled the auction. He then later relisted the item upon which the slimy bidder did not bid.

Seems like a positive change to me. Parcelpostguy, hopefully this will put a dent in shill bidding.

Thinking of recent history, since this ebay change is not restricted to stamps, ebay sellers may have been hit hard with winning bid retractions for gold and silver bullion price sales. When the market price is widely and rapidly swinging, what was a good buy at $100 now, was not a good buy three hours or three days later -- thus a bid cancellation attempt is used to prevent a "loss" by the buyer.

Additionally ebay did implement some rules for such bullion level sales from being cancelled once the item was received by the buyer.

This "bullion" I reference includes scrap or collectible items' melt value such as silver collector spoons, used jewelry
and old coins with no added collector value beyond the metal.

I don't mind the change. A winning bid should be treated as a binding contract. The excuses I have received include "Oh, my kids must have been playing with my computer", "I found a similar item I liked better, and I don't need two", "I think your item is fake and I didn't want you to benefit from the sale", I could go on. If it screens out that 2% of bidders who waste my time while they suit themselves, all the better thanks.

When a buyer cancels a sale, the headache is only beginning. I've never, ever had a buyer reply to a second-chance offer - they are always ignored. Inevitably I end up relisting the item.

ebay is full of nonsense. Buyers cannot cancel after winning an auction, fine with me, but sellers can, and this is a problem. Sellers unhappy with the final price often cancel with excuses like "item damaged," "lost," or "out of stock", I run into this sooooo often when buying music records. The penalties for sellers are weak, and negative feedback barely hurts, ratings are based on the last 12 months, and high transaction volume easily keeps the overall rating high. The game has to be fair, right?

The problem for ebay is that one of their attractions IS buyers/sellers being able to act badly in a way that is never allowed in the "real" auction/retail environment. They walk a fine line. If they become "traditional" they lose their brand. I had an ebay buyer once that pulled the trigger on a $3000 Five Dollar Colombian. Time went by and they did not pay. The story was an elderly father with dementia somehow pushed the buttons to make the purchase. Utter rubbish. I finally got the money but it was nerve wracking wondering what they might do to get their money back. Claim the stamp was not as described, claim they never received it, blah, blah, blah. You should not have to get anxiety like that selling something.

I think that certain verticals see this as competitors do this to break the opposition's sales.