Originally Posted by
calstar
I wasn't aware a seller can cancel a listing once bidding has began...I just got off the phone with an e-bay rep and found out any auction can be canceled up to 12 hours before auction ends...doesn't matter if bidding has started...the rep stated a seller can only cancel if the item is no longer for sale(sold elsewhere, lost, damaged, etc.). How do they know this? Only if the same seller offers the same item at a later date, i.e. the item is still available for sale. If this is the case(in this instance, yes) a confidential complaint may be filed and the seller will be "investigated" by ebay(according to the rep).
I'm not sure the information related to you is entirely correct. A seller can cancel an auction with more than 12hrs remaining even if bidding has begun, for several specific reasons:
1. Item is no longer available (maybe I'm selling on consignment and the owner has changed his/her mind)
2. Item was lost or damaged (pretty obvious, I describe item as fully functional, check it over again before auction ends and it's not working)
3. Mistake was made in listing (I described wheels as clinchers, but they're tubular, yadda yadda)
Ebay says ending a listing under these conditions is unrestricted. There are no guidelines or rules I've ever seen saying the item can not be relisted, and in fact you can always right-click an item ended early and select "relist" from the drop-down menu.
I suppose if a seller repeatedly ended and relisted the same item and a bidder suspected it was because the bid price was too low (not considered a valid reason for ending an auction early) ebay might look into it.
Originally Posted by
calstar
So.....if you're bidding on an item and it seems like the price is too good to be true, don't get your hopes up until the magic 12 hr window is entered. Brian
It's never over till it's over. I generally never bid unless it's in the last 3-5 seconds, I'll put in one bid at my max. If I win, I dance a jig, if I lose I shrug my shoulders and keep looking.
Certainly there are creepy sellers who end auctions for non-approved reasons, or lie about the item being broken to avoid shipping something that ended too cheaply. There are also creepy bidders who just don't pay when they win, or bid on multiple identical items and withdraw bids on later auctions if they won an earlier one. That is also against ebay rules, but doesn't stop folks from doing it.