Yep,
That just happened to me, except I came out ok.
Seller over in England, had one of those cast iron, New Departure Bell, display stands listed.
I watched the auction carefully, and at the last second, I sniped it for what I thought, was a win at all cost bid.
Well, to my surprise, I got red flagged, that the seller was unwilling to ship internationally, and the winning bid came in at just over a hundred bucks!
Well, that’s just a give away, for something so fricken hard to find.
Being pissed off, that the listing made no mention of the international shipping limitations.
I contacted the seller to voice my opinion.
I mentioned what that little piece of unobtainium should’ve sold for, and that I had bid to win, and would’ve gladly paid any amount to have it packed and shipped internationally.
Well, just like that, the poor sod that won the auction over in merry old England got jerked around, and the item was made available to me for my buy it now price.
I know, that sucks for the poor bloak, but in times like that, you just have to do what you have to do.
The seller was an antiques dealer, and probably has no trouble sleeping at night, once I quintupled the profit margin on what he probably thought was just some funky looking cast iron door stop.
eBay still works well, if you’re unscrupulous.
