I went through this with my tub.

Got it with a BIN on eBay.

The seller's name and number was on the auction site....I never even called....I just hit "BIN".

Then I called him and we agreed on payment details.

A week later I took a bus to S FL to pick it up.

But according to the seller he got a few calls after the auction ended with folks wiling to pay more - but he honored our agreement.

Of course, in this case it went through eBay and I did complete the auction process with BIN, so it was more than just verbal. Plus I PP'ed him a deposit right away.

I was still a little worried....

But the back story is.....and this was not mentioned on the auction site.....at the time the auction posted (and I subsequently hit BIN) - the engine was still in PA being rebuilt by a German mechanic.

So it would be at least another week before anyone could get the car - let alone the legitimate buyer (me).

A couple years ago I was looking at a 996 cab with 20k on it. It was a very nice car and drove well, but had really dry rotted tires, to the point it was not safe to drive. I called the owner the next day (Tues) and he never got back to me until Thursday night (Thanksgiving). He tells me he now has another buyer who is willing to give him full price. I told him fine, sell it to him. he kept back pedaling saying I saw the car first, but I held firm. He wanted a bidding war and I wasn't going to give it to him.

A month later, I go to our PCA Xmas party and see the car in the parking lot. It turns out a friend of mine bought the car for $1k under his asking, not full price. He told the guy, this is my offer, if you don't want it, sell it to the other guy (me). LOL

You did good by not getting into a bidding war.

Last real Spoon I sold the principle in Holland flew his spoonsmith in from OK to examine the piece. That cost him airfare, hotel, car rental, food expense, and an Xray of the barrel at $240.

The principle owns a metal coating business whose clientele are the N sea oil rig operators. The guy is #2 in Europe for long range black powder spoon competition. He wanted this piece for the original class Creedmore matches in the UK.