Posted 13 December 2021

Why do people bid on eBay and cancel immediately?

So I’ve sold loads of stuff on eBay over 10+ years and had very little issues with buyers on eBay (maybe I’ve been lucky by reading some of the stuff on here).

I recently bought several pairs of AirPods that were clearly miss priced, and keep listing a pair every time there is a eBay fvf offer.

Every other week bidding takes place at tens of auction as usual, but the winning bidder sends a cancellation almost immediately. It’s happened 7 times out of 12 auctions.

What I don’t get is why it happens, is there some sort of gaming the system taking place? Or is it just people “doing it for a laugh” or getting caught up in the bidding frenzy?
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  1. PaulandPam's avatar
    If you have a reserve placing a high bid will disclose your reserve price if the bid is higher than your reserve, also these high bids will allow someone to find out another buyers automatic bid amount.
    As previously mentioned Ebay is an awful place to sell and I only really use it for cash on collection only sales. (edited)
  2. wibbleboy's avatar
    I've always hated listings with hidden reserves. If you won't sell for under a given price, just start the ruddy listing at that price.
  3. Narod's avatar
    Biggest mistake is using bidding. I've sold an alright amount of stuff on eBay and (touch wood) am yet to have an issue. Though of course you'll be told by many not to use it as it does for sure have it's issues.

    It's better to use Buy it Now and turn on offers. Be prepared for stupidly low offers but you can ignore those and that should help you sell. Airpods will always be a pain to sell though, it's one of the few things I wouldn't touch on selling as the chance of a buyer saying they were sent a fake and returning a fake back to you with no recourse is insane.
  4. Captainbeavus's avatar
    Worst place to sell.
  5. Headnogood's avatar
    Not gonna lie I used to place bids on random stuff just for giggles but I never cancelled a bid weird I know but still.
  6. Captainbeavus's avatar
    Headnogood13/12/2021 20:34

    Not gonna lie I used to place bids on random stuff just for giggles but I …Not gonna lie I used to place bids on random stuff just for giggles but I never cancelled a bid weird I know but still.


    Now that is an addiction

    Narod13/12/2021 20:27

    Biggest mistake is using bidding. I've sold an alright amount of stuff on …Biggest mistake is using bidding. I've sold an alright amount of stuff on eBay and (touch wood) am yet to have an issue. Though of course you'll be told by many not to use it as it does for sure have it's issues.It's better to use Buy it Now and turn on offers. Be prepared for stupidly low offers but you can ignore those and that should help you sell. Airpods will always be a pain to sell though, it's one of the few things I wouldn't touch on selling as the chance of a buyer saying they were sent a fake and returning a fake back to you with no recourse is insane.


    This is probably the best advice. Always worked for me. Have never used auctions to sell an item. (edited)
  7. c_mmxx's avatar
    "I recently bought several pairs of AirPods that were clearly miss priced, and keep listing a pair every time there is a eBay fvf offer."

    Angry HUKD'ers are out to get you, your card is marked now

    Real answer, maybe just someone trying to find out high the price will go if they bid? It sounds weird though. It doesn't sound like they're trying to game the system by forcing a high price to put people off and then cancel at the end.
  8. kevlfc's avatar
    alcohol
  9. aLV426's avatar
    I'm not aware of how you would game the system - I'm guessing they could be doing it to check the reserve price ceiling or expose other bids. I'd love to know the alternative selling platforms, I reckon they all have their failings...
    I have 20 Xbox One controllers in various states of operation and many old tablets & laptops, but I don't want to run the risk of all those fraudsters out there!
  10. NoNamesLeftWhy's avatar
    PaulandPam13/12/2021 19:55

    If you have a reserve placing a high bid will disclose your reserve price …If you have a reserve placing a high bid will disclose your reserve price if the bid is higher than your reserve, also these high bids will allow someone to find out another buyers automatic bid amount.As previously mentioned Ebay is an awful place to sell and I only really use it for cash on collection only sales.


    this is the answer, I do it all the time to either see what the reserve is or if I want to see what the top current bid is.
  11. sm9690's avatar
    Mispriced or fakes? maybe the scammers got you
  12. Max_Testina's avatar
    My theory would be that such buyer simultaneously bids on multiple auctions and only pays for the lowest priced item and cancelling the rest. (edited)
  13. CrashOverride's avatar
    The other problem with auctions as a buyer is you don't necessarily want two pairs - but there are multiple auctions going on, and you may win more than one...
  14. DTT_R30's avatar
    Author
    The auctions were all started at £20 with no reserve, so there was no excess that could be revealed by bidding.

    Although I will never know, bidding on multiple items and taking the lowest sounds the most plausible, but hey everyone thinks in different ways.

    I'm going to list them as a buy it now going forwards.
  15. Taz09's avatar
    They come up some stupidity excuses, my daughter bidded it , my frog pressed it , my fingers slipped etc soo annoying
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