according to the terms of service, a seller is expected to sell an item he/she lists in an auction, but that is not always the case. for our purposes, we should use HE.  

He listed an item, number 200168838326, and when the no reserve auction was over, i was the winner.  the lot is a pair of exhaust pipes for my motorcycle. they are thrashed, but appear intact, just right for me to use when i go to the racetrack.  the "buy it now" was set at 175, i won them for 31+S&H... $56.00 for a set of pipes is a SCORE!!! (would have been)

when i hit the pay now button, paypal was not an option presented to me...

i went to the store, and bought a western union money order, sent it out to HIM that day...

3 weeks later, i contacted HIM to inquire as to why i hadn't received my item yet.  He said he hadn't received my payment.  I asked why he didn't take paypal... he said he did, but didn't list it directly because he dosent take credit cards, only bank account...  i verified that my money order was not cashed.

i obtained his account info, and paypal'd him immediately.

a week later, i inquired again about the whereabouts of the pipes i paid for (twice so far)...

he claimed to have sent them, by ups, from an office supply store, but didn't give me a tracking number. 

they never showed up, a second week later, i resumed my inquiry. 

he said they must have been lost, and would refund my payment.

he refunded my paypal payment. 

i again asked for tracking number, to no avail.

I found the same pipes RELISTED on ebay, sent him a less than polite demand for an explanation of how these pipes, that i had won, were not in my posession but were in fact, relisted ?

he agreed to reaccept my payment, i resubmitted my payment immediately.

about 48hrs later, he refunded my payment, sent me a message stating that he'd "thought it over, and would rather not pay me to take these from him" (with the cost of reShipping & such a low price for winning auction)

so, now, after contacting eBay, the net result is:

1, a useless nonproductive seller file opened up (according to ebay, it takes 2 NPS files for action against seller)

2. Negative feedback filed on ME, (look at the rest of my feedbacks, i like to pay instantly)

3. Trust & Safety... misnomer, i now have no trust in this marketplace, and safety?    ok, it's not that this kid doesn't understand the concept of firearm safety, but he clearly has no clue as to the concept of a CONTRACT. 

4. Breach of contract that will need to be repeated in order for appropriate action to be levied against HIM. (?)

BOTTOM LINE, don't count on eBay to protect your rights as a buyer.  don't expect the things you purchase to be sent to you, until they have already arrived... and don't, under any circumstances, at all, and without exception, expect honesty from the "MEMBER" that left me negative feedback, and called me a liar because i wanted what i had won.

EDIT:

As a side note...

this "MEMBER" as in a "C=8"  Listed the Bike that thes pipes fit, Item #190197541698, with one of the pipes mounted on it... I informed eBay... Auction continued actively until end, reserve not met... You be the judge!