Wondering

… if I've come across my first dodgy dealer on eBay. I lost out in bidding for an item but still received a second chance on it. I decided not to accept it - although there was no option anywhere on the eBay panel to turn it down. Ergo I left it alone. I put in a bid for a signed script from a TV show, after which out of curiosity I searched online for more details about the seller and came up with zilch. That made me a little bit nervous of the authenticity of said script. A website by a professional dealer would be the least I was expecting to find.

Someone pipped me by about roughly three pounds (the auction was in dollars in America) but the next thing I know I'm being offered a second chance to buy it straight away; within hours of the auction ending. With auctions starting and ending at all times people might not even heard they've won something until a day later. It was evening for me when the auction ended, I think mid afternoon in the states.

You would think that someone up to no good on eBay would be quickly found out hm? Not if they offer second chances: which is entirely acceptable according to eBay. You could set up an several account and get others to do the same. The other accounts bid on things. If they don't win fine; if they do win quickly leave positive feedback and then the item is offered to the second person on the list. I know this could lead to negative feedback from people but the chances are low: if anyone won the auction they would be getting what they bid for anyway. The reason for setting up the other accounts would be to drive the price up and generate good feedback. This of course assumes you're not selling dodgy stuff. I'm not saying this dealer is up to anything, just that it didn't feel right.

Anyway, enough paranoid ramblings. This Global Warming . ...