I believe that she can cancel and relist, but would need to cancel the bids first. That is very important to do that. If she just cancels the auction, whoever is high bid would win at that time. Yes, she will still have to pay the listing fees as well as relisting fees, but still that would be better than paying the shipping.

Jackie..how does she cancel the bids? It's been over 2yrs. since I listed anything on eBay.

I haven't used it in a long time, but if it were me I would just take the loss rather than take a chance on bad feedback.

If she goes to her account and the page that has a list of all the different things you can do, one of them tells you how to cancel...I think she has to notify the bidders but I don't recall exactly as it's been a long time and I only did it once or twice.

She can cancel on the basis that there was an error on the listings.

If there are 12 hours or more before the end of the listing, you can end the listing early without restrictions. If there are any bids on your item when you end the listing, youÂll be asked whether you want to cancel the bids or sell the item to the high bidder.

Here is a link that might be useful: ending a listing

If she cancels the auctions..will that hurt her feedback?

No. Ebay will cancel the bids and give the reason she states for ending her listings. Then she can relist again.
Only the bidders that end up being her buyers would be allowed to leave feedback and she won't have any of those if the bids are canceled.

Now, if this happens often as if this is a way to avoid low final bids, then the seller will be sanctioned by eBay.

In this case, she's okay. But tell her never to submit a listing unless she's previewed it and checked for errors.

Thanks!!

Ok, I'm sorry, but how could she not realize that could happen? I'm not sure that ebay would accept her excuse. Lots of people start their items low and offer free shipping because often you get better placement and more hits. Now that she sees she's not really 'making' that much she's going to back out? NO, that's not right. She made the mistake; she should take the hit. To cancel a listing a real "mistake" (not simple ignorance) should have been made... and not, you aren't making as much as you hoped and will have to eat shipping charges. Everyone would be canceling their items if that were the case.

I'd tell her to leave as is... take a hit. Depending on what kind of shipping she offered hopefully it won't be 'that' much. She needs to learn from her mistake. I'd be mad if I bid on her item (and missed out on another one) because of her mistake.

Well Carla...this was a REAL mistake. This was her 1st time listing anything. Most people don't have an extra $40-$50 sitting around. I'm sure she's probably learned from her mistake!*S*

It was a mistake, yes, but probably one ebay will not accept -- Let's put it this way, if the listings each went up $50 would she keep them listed? If yes, then it was not a mistake that she should cancel.

An legitimate mistake would be cancelled either way - the amount the listing would sell for would not really matter. But if she is only cancelling them because she did not make enough to cover shipping (and forgot to calculate that in) I highly doubt that is an excusable mistake. I'd seriously check with ebay rules or ask on the boards over there. I'm not trying to be mean -- but I'm not going to tell you want you want to hear either. I seriously think she could get in trouble.

And, sorry to be so blunt, but "forgetting" you'll have to pay shipping charges is not a normal thing for people when first selling on ebay. That's about the first thing you look into when beginning to sell. If she's that uneducated about ebay; she should not be selling on ebay until she really understands what she is doing. It's just not fair to the buyers. Again, sorry it's not what you want to hear... but I really think she's wrong to cancel them. Again, ask on the ebay boards or even ask the ebay help center and see what they say about her mistake. She's not being fair to the buyers. I had to eat money because I didn't know how to package stuff well and a package got damaged in the rain -- everyone has to accept and learn by their mistakes.

I teach a Selling on eBay class. I not surprised that this newbie seller made a mistake on the shipping. Thank goodness she has time to do something about it.

If I thought for one minute she was being dishonest, believe me, I would have told her to take her lumps and finish out the auctions.

This mistake is small potatoes to some I've heard about. It happens.

My DH and I recently started selling on Ebay. Not making much. One item was a Disney framed photo we paid $100 for in 1986 at Walt Disney World in Florida. We were hoping to make at least $500. We got one bid for $100, then a second for $120. When you consider we had offered free shipping and it cost us a little over $45 to send it UPS, we actually lost money.

Carla, I'M not "wanting" to hear anything,so don't worry about NOT saying what you think I want to hear! I don't have a dog in this fight(the auctions),nor was I asking for OPINIONS. I simply asked HOW TO CANCEL an auction.
If she cancels, I guess it's up to eBay if they accept her reason!

Seriously, mona?

People forget they are going to have to pay shipping? I've seen people list priority and send out media rate or something like that but have never heard of someone who totally forgot they would have to pay shipping. What did she think when she had to enter in the shppping amount -- just didn't think about it? Really, that's like someone opening a shop and forgeting they are going to have to pay rent. Shipping is the main, and often the only, cost to figure in.

And, according the the ebay rules I just read what she is doing is not acceptable. Maybe you should check into that again before you teach another class.... Just because people do worse things doesn't make what she is doing ok. And, just because she is new doesn't mean she can take advantage of the system or get "freebies". Newbies generally do make mistakes here and there; it's to be expected, but it should be on their dime.. not on ebay's or the buyers.

Carla, will you please post a link to that eBay rule, so I can forward it to her?

Carla, there's no need to get nasty.

A listing can be ended early if there is an error in the listing. The seller is encouraged to revise the listing and make the changes to correct the listing. However, there are limitations to what can be changed while an auction is active.

Adding/changing the shipping charges is one of the things that cannot be done. In that case, the seller may end the listing early by stating that there was an error in the listing. She will be asked if she wishes to cancel the bid and she will say she does. The bidders will be notified and she can relist the items with no penalty.

Many sellers trying to avoid low bids will end an auction by saying the item is no longer available or broken. This seller is being honest by saying she made a mistake in her listing. Why attack her?

I'm not going to respond to your "Dig" about my needing to learn more about eBay before I teach another class because you obviously know little about eBay rules.

Not that you need to know this, but the Today Show came down and filmed me teaching my class and it was shown on National TV. Headquarters in CA selected me and a few others across the country for this honor. Pretty good for someone like me who doesn't know about eBay, don't you think?

Thanks Mona! I don't teach (and have a lot to learn) about Ebay, but even I thought "error in listing" was reason enough!*S*

Better tell your friend to hurry and end it. I looked at the auctions and some of them are coming up on 12 hours. She needs to do it before then. Tell her to go to the site map and under selling, it will tell her how to end the auction. If she lets it go to the end, she will have to pay the shipping.

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes and most people do understand. I know I made a mistake on the very first thing I sold.