[munchkin]

I was bidding on something on E-bay with about two
hours left and I was the top bidder but when I returned
home it was no longer on the bid board or in my saved
ebay. What happened? Was the bid too low and the
guy got *****d and took it off or what? Anyone else
have any similar experience? This has happened to be
twice.

 

[speckle-catcher]

one of the hazards of buying on Ebay. Probably what happened: the seller did not list the computer with a reserve price and a low opening price to avoid paying higher Ebay fees. So you think you are getting a deal on a cheap computer. Getting close to the end of the auction the seller gets nervous cause his computer is going to close low and he'll lose money. So he ends the auction claiming the item is "no longer available" or some BS like that to avoid losing money on the sale. it happens all the time.

Another thing that could ahve happened is that he got an offer from someone else to buy it outright without the auction. It is supposed to be against the rules to end an auction and sell an item to circumvent paying ebay fees - but it happens all the time.

 

[ShadMan]

Do you happen to have two eBay accounts? The seller has the right to Cancel your bid on his auction if he doesn't want to sell to you. You might want to email the seller and ask if they cancelled your bid. It'll normally show on the auction page for the item that your bid was cancelled if you click on Bid History. If the seller cancelled the item all-together, it'll say Auction Ended Early by Seller. Some sellers will cancel your bid automatically if you have negative feedback, or no feedback. It'll usually state that in their auction if that is one of their requirements. I would send an email to the seller and ask what's up. Also, check to make sure you are logged in at work with the same account you are logged in with at home. If someone else uses your home or work computer, a different account may be logged in.

 

[BritishSlave]

I had that happen on a truck I was bidding on. The ad just dissapeared. I asked on the E-Bay discussion forum why that would happen. Turns out another E-Bayer saw the ad and reported the seller to E-Bay. The seller had been banned from E-Bay for taking the money and running. This guy had sold the truck before and then relisted it under a different seller account. I was lucky that day.

 

[BritishSlave]

Have you checked your "My E-Bay" page to see if it is listed under items you are bidding on?

 

[bill]

Was it a computer or computer part?

I would use some simple judgement if that is the case. I do know there are some great deals to be made but there are also some real junk. Before I make any bid I look at the sellers feedback and make a few notes to myself if this is a person I want send any money to: 1. does the person have positive feedback and how many auctions have been completed 2. I look at the feedbacks, are the winning bids and positive results from people with less than 5 complete auctions, the reason is some are up to no good and they make other accounts and give themselves positive feedback. Example, say the person has 500 complete auctions with feedback, now out of the 500, only 4 or 5 people have high complete auctions themselves and they have given a low feedback to this person, now all the other people have very few complete auctions but somehow they have all gave a positive feedback. To me that is fishy.
3. What has been the average dollar amount for the auctions. 4. Did the person just make a buy on an item and now has this possible same item for sale, I see broken parts exchange hands many times. 4. Is there any type of warrenty given for DOA, most do not but some do offer this as insurance.
Is the person in the USA, if not there is very little you can do to ever try and recover money lost, it's hard enough if the person is even in the USA and takes a very long time to make any progress if any.
You should have recieved an email that confirmed your bid and another showing if you won or was outbid or the item was pulled or sold through the buy now option. Ebay can be alot of fun but it can really po someone. I have lost dozens of times in the last few seconds....