--massive snippage--
Yes there are unscrupulous sellers on ebay, but the vast vast majority of sellers and buyers on ebay are honest people. There may be enclaves of shady dealers in some markets, but I don't know those markets.
Every buyer has to take care of themselves and make sure they aren't taken advantage of. ebay is not there to protect buyers or sellers; it's simply there to get them together, and they take (what I consider) a reasonable fee off the top.
I've been playing in ebay for years now.. 7 years at least... and have yet to be offered a second chance on an item. If you (anyone) may be concerned that the seller is doing this dishonestly, then don't accept second chance offers. Better yet, don't bid an amount you'd be disappointed to pay!!
On the other hand, if you do get what you want at a price that you are willing to pay; what's the whine about?
Also, intuition goes a long way... when you get a feeling that something isn't quite right, like this guy's wife suspecting it was a fake, and this $1000 purse that went for $300, DON'T BID ON IT. Leave it... any whiff of trouble and walk away; it's as simple as that.
--- Tontoni