How to Drop a Bid on eBay
While raising your maximum bid on an eBay auction item is as simple as typing it into the "Your max bid" field on the auction page, dropping your maximum bid is more complicated. In many cases, it's not possible. As eBay explains on its site, you can only lower a bid by first retracting it and then placing a lower a bid. The retraction, though, can only be done if you've made a typographical error in the original bid, if the item description has changed in some significant way or if you are unable to reach the seller by phone or email.
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Instructions
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Log on to eBay with your user name and password. You do need an eBay account to make a bid.
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Go to the upper-right-hand corner of the homepage and click on "Help."
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Find the "Browse help" menu near the top of the page and look for the "Bidding & buying" links on the left-hand side of the menu.
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Click on "All about bidding." The uppermost menu that appears will say "Top questions."
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Choose the first question, "Can I retract or cancel my bid?" Read all information that appears on this page. If any of the situations described apply to your bid, click the "Retraction form" link that appears on the last line of the final paragraph.
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Fill out the form by entering the auction number and choosing an explanation of the retraction. Click on the "Retract bid" button and you will receive a confirmation that the bid has been withdrawn.
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Find the auction again and place your new lower bid.
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Tips & Warnings
The last paragraph of the "Can I retract or cancel my bid?" page also offers a link to the full conditions for retracting a bid. These explain the time restrictions for a bid retraction and provide a collection of fine print that you should read if you plan to go through the process of dropping your maximum bid.
eBay clearly states on these informational pages that the company prefers you not retract or lower your maximum bid for any reason other than the three stated. Changing your bid on the last day of an auction, in particular, is looked at with suspicion and will be investigated by the company. If eBay finds that you were intentionally altering an item's value, you could lose your account.
