What to do when a bidder asks to retract their bid?

[anotheratticclearout]

I am selling an item. A bidder has sent me a message asking me to restract their bid.

I can see the mechanism for cancelling a bid, but this does not seem fair to me:

So far there are 2 main bidders, who have bid against each other. If I cancel the bid from one of them, then the other bidder could justifiably feel annoyed that their bid was forced up unfairly.

 The auction ends in just under 12 hours. Both bidders bid up to £15, but it is the one who wants to cancel who is shown as having the top bid at the moment.

What's "the right" thing to do?

I don't understand why Ebay offers the mechanism for retracting/cancelling bids. 

It could be used delierately to force a bidding war, and then back out, with no risk.

And it has taken up quite a bit of my time, trying unsuccessfully to figure out what is the right thing to do.

[plum993]

A buyer should retract there own bid if a seller changes the description or they entered the wrong amount, then, they should enter the correct amount,but many don't,so as a seller you can now cancel the bid on there behalf,as you really don't want the hassle of a non payer/a buyer who really no longer wants the item for whatever reason.http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?CancelBidShow

Best add the buyer to your blocked bidder list here,https://www.ebay.co.uk/bmgt/BuyerBlock?

[tressygirl]

Personally,  I would cancel the bid.  The buyer can retract their bid themselves this wouldd be better as it then registers on their profile.

However,  they may not know how,  so in my humble opinion, and I fully agree it's frustrating and annoying,  but better to cancel a bid from someone who would have no intention of paying if they won,  you'd then need to wait 4 full days to cancel the unpaid item to receive back your seller fees and be able to relist the item.  Losing on the way any other bidders you had.

Cancel the bid here:

https://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?CancelBidShow

[*vyolla*]

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@anotheratticclearout wrote:

 The auction ends in just under 12 hours. Both bidders bid up to £15, but it is the one who wants to cancel who is shown as having the top bid at the moment.

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Your bidder cannot retract their bid themselves if the auction has entered the final 12 hours - only the seller can cancel bids now.

Personally, galling though it is, I'd oblige only because if they end up winning you're stuck with a buyer who doesn't want the item, and will need to cancel the order anyway.