Sounds like he might be trying to by pass some of the fees charged on E- Bay... And the real price... is not going to be what is bid , hence the contact before bidding. This is just too suspect !

I don't know what it said before but listing now doesn't say to pay outside of eBay; it shows payment to be made through paypal and that there is a 14 day return policy. Imo eBay and PayPal should cover it provided buyer pays within eBay and follows eBay rules. Interested buyer can always contact him solely through eBay messager as well; ask him for the machine's serial # then research it.
I'd steer clear if he didn't respond to people's queries. I'd probably steer clear anyway ~ it's a lot of $ for a 0 feedback seller.

He seems to be a control freak. I would't buy from a person like that if it was $1.

I am very confused by the posting - he said he will cancel all bids unless they contact him first. Why? It states that you can "Buy it Now" for $2500.00 - but bids exceed that amount. And in looking at the bids - am I reading it right - one bidder continued to bid against itself? Too scary for me.

This morning I see that all the bids have been cancelled, strange, and now there are 7 bids & the price is $305. There is something definitely wrong with this listing. I wouldn't touch with a 20' pole!!

This very same listing showed up on ebay several months ago. Don't think I would be too interested as he seems to be having problems selling this - if he really has it to sell

What I have told my husband to do in the case of my death is to pay the gal that LA's my quilts to price out my stuff and have a quilters estate sale.

Buyer beware.>>>>>>

** I send a question yesterday,
"Why do I need to contact you before bidding?"
and did not get a reply.

*** MUST BE A SPAMMER ***

There is not much trust in the world anymore. I really wanted an item on ebay, but it was in Canada, not US. The shipping estimater wouldn't work, so I contacted seller and included my email. Ebay rejected my email because of that. Ebay keeps very close watch! Long story short version- the seller worked with ebay and I did too. I really wanted this very rare and expensive item. The seller was permitted by ebay to call me directly. I took an act of faith and deposited my money directly to her PayPal account. Ebay knew we were doing this outside of them. The item was perfect and the woman has become a email friend. Ebay takes a percentage of a sale and sometimes it just isn't worth it for the seller. You will often see ads that are allowed by ebay letting sales save on shipping costs. I sent a check for a rebuilt sewing machine directly to an ebay seller. I was nervous but it turned out to be a perfect transaction and a wonderful Singer 301.