A bit of an anti-climax really, a waste of several days. I put it on longer to accommodate viewings but nobody bothered. Still, I'm happy with four grand and I think that's a fair price. I don't know the buyer, but the car is going to west Yorkshire.

The final watch count was 247 Nosey buggers!

Nice one mate, well deserved sale. someone is getting a nice car!

How do you feel, O-N? Weird?

No increasingly irritated.

The winning bidder hasn't made contact. I know it's only been a day but surely he watched it go off? I'll give it until tomorrow evening then I'll ring him. I can see it being re-listed before the end of the week, but then I am a pessimist.

I hope they don't mess you around. I was bidding on your engine, but didn't quite get it.

I just don't get it when that happens - surely it's the most basic level of courtesy to get in touch immediately and exchange pleasantries - especially with the purchase of something like a classic car.

Sometimes there's a valid explanation, of curse.*


A variation of that has happened to me today - I placed a bid on a guitar and won it for a silly amount, undoubtedly far less than they'd have been hoping for. I felt a little guilty so sent them an email saying that if they were happy to go with the deal then clearly I'd be pretty happy too! But I added that, since it went for a very low price, if they wished to relist it or try selling it locally, then I'd have no problems with backing out of the deal at all - just let me know. Have they replied? Have they buggery...


*That was a genuine Freudian - so I'm leaving it in!

It appears I have a problem. And true to the nature of this thread here it is unfolding before you in real-time. In a nutshell the winning bidder of my auction was a dick. It’s exactly what I didn’t want, and yet I got it.

I have been unable to contact him since Sunday, and several emails that I sent have been ignored. ....

Now instead of launching into a rant I’d like to explain something and later i'll ask advice. One of the reasons this thread has been so popular is that it contains all sorts of stuff. It’s not just car related, it’s often gossip, or ranting, or whatever. People are curious by nature, and like a soap opera they tune in to see what’s up.

I have no doubt that among those reading these words are for example, some folks not remotely interested in 2cv’s. The internet is a big place, and one can stumble across all kinds of curiosities. There will also be people from all walks of life, Doctors, Policemen, maybe even that ignorant f*cker from Popular Classics that didn’t answer my email. ‘Professional’ people in other words.

Now this is just me, but it might to a greater or lesser degree apply to us all. When an unknown person wins an auction then goes and hides under the stairs ‘till it’s all over, I tend to develop a mental picture of them. It exposes my inner prejudice, because I see some lazy scrote in dirty tracky pants and trainers. Some muppet with bum-fluff, who bid without ever having the money to pay for it – just because he can.

Another favourite hate figure and auction spoiler in my troubled mind’s eye is a fat bloke wearing those thick black framed NHS glasses. He has a bryl-creamed quiff, wears a grey cardigan with egg yolk dribbled down the front, and still lives with his mother at 46. This guy will usually have a name like ‘Bernard’. Bernard likes trains, custard creams, and jigsaw puzzles. He thought it fun to bid on a 2cv for a while until ‘Flog it’ came on TV.

The most damaging thing to happen when a guy spoils your auction is that the other genuine bidders immediately think the winner has refused the car because it’s no good. How many of us get a ‘second chance offer’ and immediately think “Why what’s up with it?” How many auctions have you seen ‘re-listed due to time-waster’? I got to thinking....who are these people? So I dug around a little. I traced the guy, including his home and works phone number that wasn’t given by ebay, and when office hours begin I’ll ring him for an explanation.

This should be fun. I’ll also post up his reply/excuse/ or his secretary’s ‘he’s away for a few days’ bullshit. As you may have gathered, it’s not Bernard.

Good lad!

i hear the song i predict a riot in the background

He bid 4 days before the end of the auction, so it is not outside the realms of reason/possibility that he is indeed away.