EBay question - I bid on the wrong thing!

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have never sold anything on eBay, so I don't really know how this works.

I bid on an item for DH, and it turns out that is is the wrong thing. The auction doesn't end for a little over 3 days. DH is FURIOUS because 1) it will be a worthless item to us and 2) my minimum bid is WAY higher than what other identical items are selling for because the thing we need is actually a much higher priced item. I shouldn't have bid on it, I'm an idiot.

I have never tried to back out of a bid before. I did e-mail the seller to beg for mercy. Is it difficult for the seller to cancel my bid if he is feeling generous? I did tell him I understand the mistake was entirely MY fault - ball is in his court. I can totally see us winning and having to pay for the item. Lesson learned.

 

[moppety]

How to retract a bid, per eBay rules:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/questions/retract-bid.html

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I wouldn't have even emailed the seller. I would have just retracted the bid.

 

[tinaluis]

Retract your bid ASAP. It happens all the time.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

The problem is, I don't meet the guidelines for retracting. I am just a bonehead who bid on the wrong thing. It isn't the seller's fault. I didn't type in the wrong amount, etc. It says it is a violation of eBay rules to retract a bid for any reason other than the ones they list, and if you have another reason to request a retraction you should contact the seller.

What will happen if I just retract it? DH will be REALLLLLLY mad if I get us banned from eBay.

 

[patsal]

A few years ago DS bid on a pair of boots--guess what, he has narrow feet and the auction was for wide. I wrote the seller immediately and told her the situation. She worte me back just saying I could pay her for the "fees" that she would incur and we would both give one another positive feedback. Afterall it was an accident! This was fine by me and then I changed my password and now I am certain to log out, DS didn't get boots, but he did get grounded!
I'm sure it happens pretty often and maybe you will be outbid? But if not I would try to resolve it withthe seller so you dont' end up with something you don't want and they don't get billed for $$ they didn't make.

 

[DianeV]

As a seller it does frustrate me to have bids retracted for not valid reasons (per ebay) but it does happen. At least there are a few days left...I would just go ahead and retract the bid if the seller isnt responding. One retraction isnt going to kick you off ebay

 

[kimsuenew]

The problem is, I don't meet the guidelines for retracting. I am just a bonehead who bid on the wrong thing. It isn't the seller's fault. I didn't type in the wrong amount, etc. It says it is a violation of eBay rules to retract a bid for any reason other than the ones they list, and if you have another reason to request a retraction you should contact the seller.

What will happen if I just retract it? DH will be REALLLLLLY mad if I get us banned from eBay.

Could you retract it for the wrong price and then put a really low price on in place of your origional bid (like you bid $99.99, you retract it, and then put on $9.99, which technically does fall into the retraction of bid guidelines).?

I know it is a bit dishonest, but might work.

We messed up a couple of times when we were newbies several years ago and just "bit the bullet" as it was our mistake. That might be an option for you as well.

If you end up not retracting and win the item, you could put it back on (being the seller) and at least getting some of your money back.

Good luck!

 

[moppety]

I agree with the PP. One retraction won't get you kicked off. I'd do it soon, though, so that the item has time to get some bids.

Could the seller raise a stink? Sure. But eBay right now is very heavily weighted to the buyer. They're scrambling for buyers so hard that they are trashing a lot of the sellers rights. For the seller, it's not in his best interest to raise a stink. If he were to force you to go through with the transaction, there is a possibility you would leave him a neg. They hurt sellers FAR more than buyers, especially with the new rules in effect.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I'll see if I hear back from the seller. If he won't cancel the bid then we'll just pay for the item. Which we WILL win because my max bid is at least 30% higher than the item is selling for. My best hope would be that I could win it for less than the max bid.

I almost thought about just telling the seller to keep it, here's free money from me, sell it to somebody else. But I guess I will just pay for the item AND the shipping and then try to sell the item locally and recover whatever we can.

Guess I will be digging out my "old gold" when I get home to try to cover the cost of this stupid thing.

 

[LisaNJ25]

How to retract a bid, per eBay rules:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/questions/retract-bid.html

you have to retract 12 hour or more before it ends