Multiple fraudulent bid retractions?

[ausjosh]

I'm selling a camera and with 24 hours to go, the top two bidders had both bid up to $620.

I received a message from the top bidder informing me that he would like me to cancel his bid as he longer wanted the camera. I didn't think this was possible as bids on eBay are a binding contract, but he then figured out how to do it himself. Turns out there was an option for him to retract his bid with the reason "Entered wrong amount". Clearly a lie and I have his original message to me as proof.

Two hours after this, the second place bidder also withdrew ALL of their bids as well, for the same reason: "Entered wrong amount". Even though this second bidder had been bidding back and forth with the first and third place bidders for the last few days... so there's no way they "entered the wrong amount" every time. I assumed they did it because they thought the other bidder retracting their bid was suspicious, so I messaged this second bidder to ask. They replied that they withdrew their bid because it looked fishy, and they also found a better offer on the same camera from a different seller.

The bidding is now down to $460 with less than 24 hours to go. And with all these retractions, the listing now looks suspicious to any potential bidders.

eBay states here that "a bid is a binding contract", and there are only a few instances where you can retract a bid (if you accidentally enter the wrong amount, or if the seller significantly changes the description). 
https://www.ebay.com.au/help/buying/bidding/bidding-works?id=4003

Considering I have messages from both sellers admitting they lied about why they retracted their bids, is there anything I can do about this? Not sure what resolution I would want from this, but I feel quite disappointed by eBay's system. Is there any point contacting eBay support or should I just move on?

[twyngwyn]

....if you are happy with the underbidder you can send them a 'second chance' offer

[twyngwyn]

But I've received so much good advice and even received a message from eBay customer service after they saw this post.

Wow....that doesn't happen very often!!

[sugar249]

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@ausjosh wrote:

Considering I have messages from both sellers admitting they lied about why they retracted their bids, is there anything I can do about this? Not sure what resolution I would want from this, but I feel quite disappointed by eBay's system. Is there any point contacting eBay support or should I just move on?

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Not sure you can actually say the second bidder lied as such,  yes they most probably would have being happy with the original bid amount.   Bad with the highest bidder dropping out, to a reasonable person that would look fishy,  it even looks like the seller is bumping it up, and than dropping out,  not saying you did,  but to another bidder it does look that way, and is a common practice.

And there is no real option for cancelling a bid because you think the seller is playing games, so the best approach is use bid wrong amount.

Glad they came back in,  but you have to consider their view on the world as well

[springyzone]

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@ausjosh wrote:

Hi all, thanks for your messages! Yes currently the item in question is back up to $640 (AUD) with 10 hours to go.
The strangest thing happened... I hadn't got around to blocking the two bidders yet, and the second bidder messaged me to say that the other seller wouldn't ship overseas to them so they came back and bid on my item again. I messaged them to ensure that they only bid as high as they are committed to paying, so hopefully they listen.

In an even more annoying twist of fate... I am selling two other items on eBay, and one of them just closed. Immediately after winning the auction, the winning bidder sent me a message saying "Hello, can we cancel this transaction?".

Is this normal for eBay? This is such a terrible selling experience.

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That is good (though unexpected) news about the second bidder. I always felt they dipped out because they got alarmed by all the cancelled bids of that first top bidder and wondered if they had themselves gone too high. Maybe after the price went down to $460, they felt it was an honest auction again.

Good luck with your auction and hopefully the top bidder pays up.

As for your question as to whether it is normal for buyers to ask for a cancellation. Don't know about normal but it happens. It would be interesting to know if it is more common for buy it now items or in auctions. 

I think there is also a perception out there by some that buyers are entitled to cancel within an hour of a sale.