You made a typographical error: This means that you
accidentally typed the wrong amount into the bid box, bidding a
far higher price than you meant to. This can be scary: imagine
bidding $100 and accidentally adding an extra ‘0’! You are
entirely allowed to withdraw your bid in this situation, and
bid again if you want to.

The item’s description changed: If you bid on something and
then the seller updates the description, you have the right to
withdraw your bid. It wouldn’t be fair, after all, to force you
to take something that you now realise you don’t want.

The seller is uncontactable: If emails to the seller bounce and
they don’t answer their phone, then the auction obviously can’t
continue, and you can cancel it.

So How Do I Retract My Bid?

eBay hide away the bid retraction form a bit, because they
don’t like people using it. You can find it by going here:
http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?RetractBidShow.

Now all you need is the item number from your auction: this can
be found on the item description page’s top right corner. If you
can’t see it on the page, look in your browser’s title bar, and
in any emails eBay have sent you about your bid on the item.
Choose one of the three allowed reasons, click ‘retract bid’,
and you’re done.

Are There Any Consequences?

Well yes, there are. The more unethical among you might have
considered that you could just cancel bids anytime you feel
like it by saying that you accidentally entered the wrong
amount. eBay are one step ahead of you. Each time you retract a
bid, it is counted on your feedback page for all to see – and
anyone with a lot of retracted bids looks more than a little
dodgy. eBay also say that abusing the bid retraction feature
could get you banned.

So is there a way to retract your bid without facing a penalty?
There is if your seller is nice, and most are. Sellers can
cancel bids on their auctions at any time, and if you email
them with a half-decent excuse then most will be more than
happy to do this for you. After all, it’s not in their interest
for their item to go to someone who won’t like it, as you might
leave negative feedback.

Of course, retracting your bid should still be a rare thing:
you won’t win auctions that way! If you’ve followed us this
far, the chances are you’ve won an auction by now, or you’re
close – but you might be a little puzzled about what to do
next. Our next email will give you a few pointers.

About the Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.