Things Don't Add Up

The curiouser and curiouser keeps getting even more curious about that Freeman Leidy set. 

With several concerns about the sale (low feedback number, more damage visible than declared, no pictures of the off sides of the pieces) and knowing just how fragile Freeman Leidys are, I messaged the seller and asked how he planned to pack them.

I'm interested in your Freeman Leidys. They are fragile, and they have damage to their ribbons, a leg, etc. If I buy, how would you pack them to protect them from breaking in transit? Thanks. Lynn

Freeman Leidys really are difficult to ship. Once I had one arrive that was impeccably packed and arrived in an undamaged box and yet the plume had broken in transit. It was not the seller's fault although he was mortified and offered a refund. I declined it and fixed the plume to the best of my ability.

Friday afternoon the seller replied.

These have already been sold so sorry.

I had just looked at them and they were still listed as available. So, I went back and looked again. Still there. Just to be sure, I closed my browser, reopened it, and clicked the link on my watch list.

Still there. Still available.

Hmmm. Did he send me that message because my question about packing made him nervous to sell them to me? Had he sold the item off-list and hadn't removed the ad yet?

I decided I'd see if the sale was still live, clicked the Buy It Now button, and the sale went through almost to the very end.  

I did not complete the sale on my end. If I were going to try ordering the set despite the seller telling me it was sold, I wanted to be sure I understood eBay's Money Back Guarantee in case of problems.

This morning the set was still in my Watchlist and when I clicked on the link, there they were. Still listed as a legitimate sale and available.

Again I clicked the Buy It Now, and again it took me through to the (almost) end.

I am trying to give the seller some grace. There may be some very human and innocent reasons that this eBay listing seems wonky. Inexperience, age, dementia, and more come to mind. Or, perhaps my question made the seller realize that shipping them would be difficult, and he was offering free shipping as part of the sale. That shipping would be costly.

I am going to keep checking the listing and see what happens to it. If it's still posted in a few days, then I might consider bidding.

Things just don't add up, and I am curious to see what happens.

Stay 'tooned.