Mary is selling her house and has received many bids on the property. The listing closes with a high bidder and Mary is ready to close the sale. Unfortunately, the high bidder decides not to complete the transaction. Upset with this buyer, Mary tries to file for Final Value Fee credit through the Unpaid Item process. Mary, the seller, is in violation of the non-binding bid policy because bids on real estate are not contracts.

Example of a binding bid: Steve is bidding on a new rug for his living room and he wins the online auction. Later, he finds out that the rug is not big enough to cover his floor and he wishes to back out of the transaction, claiming the bid was non-binding. Steve, the buyer, is in violation of the Unpaid Item policy because the rug he was bidding on is not covered under the non-binding bid policy.

In most cases, a bid on eBay is a legally binding contract between the buyer and the seller. Due to state laws and complexities in certain real estate transactions, bids on some categories of Real Estate on eBay are non-binding.