First, let me say that I do little to no research on items I post from any eBay. I merely perform searches and then go through the items brought up and look for thing that, in my humble opinion, I think people can use or will be interested in. As you all have no doubt noticed, from time to time, I will include things from the auction like price, feedback percentage for seller, location of item or description text. I have NEVER sold anything on eBay either personally or through an agent.
That said, this is a good discussion and brings up a very salient point: as Ron Earp has pointed out, this is a free forum and, in this situation, that means self policing. None of us likes to be the bad a$$ or a snitch, but (again IMHO) I think we owe it to the community here to fully disclose the facts if any of us KNOWS that someone is attempting a fraud or rip off. While it may be hard to obtain absolute proof, if there is a high likelihood that someone is trying to pull a fast one, especially another member, take them to task for it! Jimmy Mac, I think you showed great restraint given the situation!
If there is a misunderstanding and the person wants to remain a member in good standing with the community here, he will explain the situation and be sure to make his intentions clear the next time.
Personally, I don't quite understand why I sometimes find articles for sale on eBay when they haven't been posted here. I do realise that some may have a primary or side business in dealing in vintage/performance parts, but that shouldn't have a bearing on things. Perhaps they would feel obligated to post items here at a lower price than they might expect to get on eBay or perhaps they feel that they would be taking advantage of thier membership here if they advertised thier auction items here as well. Either way, I believe openess would be received with understanding as we all know that there is profit motive throughout the industry which seeks to supply the automotive enthusiast. Without it, we would be hard pressed to find the parts and services we need to persue our pleasure. BUT, none of us wants to be gouged or our altruism to be taken advantage of either.
Just my $0.02 worth,
Lynn