Well, I was watching this auction...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3049004569

I decided to snipe and put in $178.09. The high bidder put in his bid at the same time that I placed my bid. At that time, the high proxy was only $100.
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...tem=3049004569

Not even 12 hours later I get an email from ebay regarding a "Second Chance Offer" to buy the item at my proxy ($178.09) because the high bidder was unable to follow through. I thought it was suspicious that someone would back out of an auction so soon. I became more suspicious that the high bidder had private feedback. I felt this must have been a shill bid or a "nuclear bid" gone wrong. But I looked at the seller's feedback and he had 100% with over 200 transactions. I didn't know what to think.

So I emailed the seller asking what happened to the high bidder, especially since it was not even 12 hours after the end of auction. He says that the high bidder was from Germany and that he had emailed the seller asking him if he could bid, even though it said shipping to the USA only. The seller claims to have said no, but the bidder bid anyways (why the seller didn't block him from bidding right then and there I do not know). After the auction ended the seller told him he could not sell the item to him, and hence I get the second chance offer.

I guess I am more pissed off than anything. I could have won the auction for $102.50 if the German bidder would have been unable to bid. Or do you think I was taken? I know MIB/NIB Jaguar CD players do go for about this price, especially with all the games that are included (the seller has offered to throw in another game plus a composite video/audio cable).

Another question I would have is why does ebay make your high proxy the second chance bid? Logic would seem to indicate that had the high bidder not bid, the proxy bid would not have gone that high. For instance, why isn't the second chance offer $102.50 on this item?