EBay users are discouraged from How to Cancel Your EBay Bid, as this often represents a contractual agreement to buy the item. In a few cases, the site does permit retractions, such as if you enter the wrong bid. However, for most auctions, it is best to avoid canceling a bid.
The only way to remove a bid that is outside of certain situations is to contact the seller and request that they cancel your bid. If you retract a bid without a justifiable reason, it could lead to your account being suspended.
Allowed Bid Retractions
There are only three situations in which you are allowed to retract a bid on eBay. The first is if you made the bid by accident, such as if you meant to bid $10 but instead bid $100.
The second is if the seller makes significant changes to the item after you bid, such as changing the condition from “new” to “used.” Finally, you are allowed to cancel a bid if you try to contact the seller by phone or email and find that the number or address don’t work.
Retraction Time Limits
If there are more than 12 hours left in an auction, retracting your bid will cancel out all bids you have placed on the item. However, if there are less than 12 hours remaining, you can only retract bids made in the last hour. For live auctions, you can retract absentee bids made earlier, but not bids made live.
Retract a Bid
If you need to cancel your bid, you can do so by logging in and filling out the bid retraction form (link in Resources). To find the item’s number, look at the top of the item’s description or in the “Bidding” list on the My eBay page.
Then, choose one of the three reasons from the drop-down menu and click “Retract Bid.” If you select “Entered wrong amount,” you must return to the item’s page and place a new bid immediately after retracting.
Contact the Seller
If the reason you need to cancel your bid on an item doesn’t fit any of eBay’s three allowed conditions, the best way to get in touch with the seller is by clicking “Ask a Question” on the item’s page. Choose any question topic to see frequently asked questions, and then click “No, I want to contact the seller.”
If the seller agrees to your request, he can remove your bid by filling out a bid cancellation form (link in Resources). However, sellers don’t have to agree to remove a bid, and if you win the auction you’ll still be responsible for paying the winning bid.
Retract a Best Offer
If you need to cancel a best offer for one of three reasons, you can do so by logging in and entering the item number on the best offer cancellation form (link in Resources). If the seller has set a maximum number of offers per user, cancelling your offer does not grant you an additional offer.
Hello, My name is Shari & I am a writer for the ‘Outlook AppIns’ blog. I’m a CSIT graduate & I’ve been working in the IT industry for 3 years.