[Tommy]

Damn Nigerian bidders!

As a totally off topic aside - I noticed a kit car that shall remain nameless for sale a few weeks ago with a buy it now price. It reached near the BIN, but it didn't reach reserve. When I checked the bid history, it was apparent that someone had bid one dollar under the reserve at the beginning of the auction. I strongly suspect the seller placed the high bid at the beginning to assure the car would not sell for less than the BIN price. It also appears that he used the auction to contact unsuccessful bidders to deal with them directly and bypass Ebay's fees. Ebay was being used as a marketing tool rather than a marketplace.