Originally Posted by
cadillacmike68
I looked at the bids.
I've encountered this on Canon Camera stuff a lot in the past (just try getting a Montreal F- or a Los Angeles F-1). This is what i always do in such a case. I tell the seller that if the top bidder backed out than ALL of his bids are to be completely negated - that is erased from the list. Now we look at the new list and I offer to pay one bid increment over the next higher (losing) bid. In this case the next higher (losing bid) besides yours was the 118 so if the bid increment is 2.5 then I would offer $120.50. It works more often than not. unless you have a crooked seller on your hands.
That's a good strategy, and it makes sense. The only caveat from a seller's perspective is that other bidders might have bid if the unscrupulous bidder hadn't, or others may have tried to bid, only to have their bid not register because it wasn't high enough. So I disagree that only a crooked seller wouldn't go along with what you propose - the seller may just have felt his auction was compromised. Also, it is perfectly legit, as I understand it, to offer another item identical to the one sold at auction, so a second chance offer doesn't automatically mean the high bidder backed out (or that there was a shill). I suspect that's the case with the auction in question. Might be worth asking the seller whether he's offering a second pair of rims identical to the first. You'll know eventually if that's the case when the buyer of the first set leaves feedback (assuming he or she does).