Posted By:
Scott MI don't know what auction your refering to, but I agree with the general premise. A couple of times I've made an effort to be able to get to a computer the last day that an item was being offered only to find the item "no longer available for sale". I'd rather they posted that the item was no longer for sale, because at that point the seller has the item but has chosen a different course for selling the item.
I expect to honor any bid I place for an item and feel that the seller has made a similar decision once the item is placed up for bid. It isn't the not getting or being able to bid on the item that upsets me - its that the seller is basically saying that my time is not worth anything. I'm sure that sellers receive many inquiries about items including potential trades that seem lucrative, but I still believe that the seller has already made the decision when the item is placed for bid.
Unfortunately, if your upset - the only recourse is basically to express your disappointment through not bidder on that seller's items in the future. I personally don't take this approach, though I almost sent an email to a seller recently to express my disappointment when an item was pulled. I was in an Eastern Bloc country and had literally caught a cab to my hotel to be able to get onto the internet and put in a bid (if needed) for an item. I incurred (ridiculous) telephone charges to connect only to find out the item was no longer available. I then took a cab back to go to dinner.
Now I know this is the exception - but if the situation were reversed - ie I've been travelling and decided to buy some crystal vases for my mother's birthday instead of that card I won from you last week - then we could expect the seller to raise holy heck that I'm a "deadbeat" buyer. It works (should) both ways.