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Invalid bid retraction policy

Policy overview

A bid is a binding contract that's active until an auction-style listing ends. Once you place a bid, you need to pay for the item if you're the winning bidder. You're not allowed to retract bids to manipulate the bidding process, like trying to find out the maximum bid of the current high bidder or to find out the reserve price.

Honest mistakes sometimes occur, so there are a few times when you're allowed to retract or cancel a bid if you meet the time restrictions. Review the guidelines below.

Make sure you follow these guidelines. If you don't, you may be subject to a range of actions, including limits of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.

What are the guidelines?

Allowed

Allowed

It's only OK to retract a bid if:

  • You accidentally enter the wrong amount, like entering £99.50 instead of £9.95. If you do, you need to enter the correct bid right away.

  • The item description changed significantly after you placed your bid. For example, the seller updated information about the item's features or condition.

  • You can't reach the seller. For example, you sent the seller an email and it comes back undeliverable, or you tried calling the seller and the phone number doesn't work.

Not allowed

Not allowed

Examples of when you can't retract a bid:

  • You changed your mind about buying the item.

  • You wanted to find out the reserve price.

  • You wanted to find out how high another buyer bid on an item.

  • You only wanted one item but placed bids on multiple identical items. You should only bid on multiple items if you intend to buy all of them.

Why does eBay have this policy?

A bid is a binding contract between a buyer and a seller. It's important to honor this contract. Your bid affects how other buyers bid for an item and the item's final price.

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