I'm fuming over this mess around 'buyer' 😡

[megan_ollie]

Hello.

I've never been in this situation before..

I had a bid retraction notice last night on an item that sold this evening.

The bidder stated:

"Entered wrong amount"

I thought fair enough, it happens.

Then tonight I see they've won the auction.

Pretty immediately I get a notification from eBay stating they want to cancel.

Reason they gave this time:

"Order placed by mistake"

I noted that I can decline the request, but then I guess the 'buyer' will open a 'not as described' case, with more headache for me.

To add insult to injury, eBay states if I relist the item, I'll be charged fees!

I'll have to agree to cancel, but seriously, how is this ok on sellers?! 😡

[dch2112011]

Make a second bid offer  to the next highest bidder, accept the cancellation and block the bidder.

ebay auctions are  auctions in name only,  buyers can fail to pay , request a cancellation or force a return - sellers can cancel the order, stop an 'auction' and relist the item at a higher price even if they cancel claiming it as lost or damaged !

ebay do have reporting functions - but you will never know what if any action is taken. 

It happens far too often  on both sides buyer and seller for it to be anything but an accepted practice - doesn't make it any more frustrating and annoying !

[collectandbuy16]

As dch2112011 says above, make a 2nd chance offer to the underbidder. 

If they don't accept the offer and you have to list it again you are a private seller so you won't pay a fee to list it..  Just go to the listing on your sold items page and click on 'sell similar', scroll to the bottom of the page it will show the fee as 0.00 or the button will say 'list for free'. 

[kyanyama]

Not doing anything about it condones their bad behaviour.

They could genuinely have made a mistake or more likely they have something similar to sell and disrupted your auction deliberately.

First of all add buyer to your blocked list so they can't do it again - to you.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/buying-practices-policy?id=4374#section2

Misusing eBay messaging or bidding
Not allowed

Sending messages to force or intimidate the other member into something outside of the original agreement
Bidding on and winning an auction, but failing to pay for the item

Report them for disrupting your auction:

To help us identify buyers who are engaging in unacceptable buying behaviours, please report the abusive behaviour - opens in new window or tab.

You will find the link on the page I've given you.  Forget the reasons offered as it's been a while since I had to report a buyer - but the more sellers who do report will eventually get the buyer kicked off.  Just have a look at your blocked list for the number who are 'deleted'.

I don't do auctions now - so don't know if the option to sell to the next highest bidder still exists or you could try a BIN for just below the sold price.

Every little helps!

[vinylscot]

Oddly enough, this "buyer" started out the right way. 99% of those who cancel a bid because they bid the wrong amount never actually bid the correct amount. At least this guy did, although his later actions ruined your listing.

I would make sure I reported the buyer. I'm not so sure about 2nd chance offers. I don't find them very acceptable, and in the case, your second bidder would be charged their highest bid of £47.42, instead of their first bid of £45.99, which would have won, had your "buyer" not appeared. I find 2nd chance offers are rarely accepted because of this unfairness.

Report and block the problem buyer, relist the item, and forget about it; there's not much else you can do.

[eastern-lights]

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@vinylscot wrote:

Oddly enough, this "buyer" started out the right way. 99% of those who cancel a bid because they bid the wrong amount never actually bid the correct amount. At least this guy did, although his later actions ruined your listing.

I would make sure I reported the buyer. I'm not so sure about 2nd chance offers. I don't find them very acceptable, and in the case, your second bidder would be charged their highest bid of £47.42, instead of their first bid of £45.99, which would have won, had your "buyer" not appeared. I find 2nd chance offers are rarely accepted because of this unfairness.

Report and block the problem buyer, relist the item, and forget about it; there's not much else you can do.

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One thing I have tried with some success is, instead of sending a second chance offer, I message the second bidder (from the bids page), explain about the time waster, and ask if they are interested at the price they would have won the item at. £45.99 in this case. If they are still interested, I create a Buy it Now listing at that price and list it at an agreed time for them to swoop in and buy.