To be suspicious of this seller

[thisisnothappening]

I found a specific item on ebay that I really want/need, sent the seller a message with couple of questions, no reply.
I made an offer (it was buy now or best offer)
No reply, when my offer expired the item was gone.
Next day the item relisted, i made another offer (closer to the buy it now price)
No reply item gone again.
Then in couple of days it's relisted again but different seller , (ok maybe they forgot their password etc and made a new account?) BUT also different location?!
Still exactly the same images and description. No other items for sale by this seller, no feedback.
What would you think?
It's a used electrical appliance if that makes any difference
I really really want to buy it but feel suspicious of this activity and no replies to anything.
It's couple of hundred £.

Any logical explanations to this behaviour from the seller?

I would not buy an item worth several hundred from a seller with no feedback. I mean, you are protected by PayPal, but if something goes wrong it's a huge hassle.

I'd wonder if it was stolen - could your questions have rattled them, thinking you were police/ the owner perhaps?

Is it an item you can collect and see it working?
PayPal are very good, but on the rare occasion in the past I haven't managed to get my money back, so if it's a lot of money I wouldn't risk it.
Is no one else on eBay selling one?

I know! BUT I really want it!
It's way too expensive as new and also not readily available in the uk

No one in the uk on any possible selling page is selling one, used or new!
And new would be too expensive!
It quite obscure

This is like that ebayer who was selling tat and displaying it on his hairy leg

Maybe it's him?

It's way too expensive as new and also not readily available in the uk

And was the eBay one a really really really good eal?

forgot the d there...

Sounds dodgy, don't buy it.

I can't collect it's too far.
I just thought if you are going to scam, why use an item that most people don't even know/care about. Surely you would use a popular item.
No?

Also if it's a scam surely they would try to sell it - and reply to offers/messages?

I know everyone says don't buy it, but I find it too hard to let go

Maybe the seller did reply to someone else's offer hence why the item was no longer up for sale.

I would be very very suspicious of this.

What is it? We can help find you one.

Trust your instincts - it probably doesn’t exist and it’s a scam. Had they accepted your offer, they’d try to persuade you to do a deal off eBay.

A gold plated personal item.

bin now

Freudian slip?

If i was to buy it and it never materialises would i get a refund via Paypal?
I've never had such an issue before so don't know how it works

From the majority of items that have never turned up I've managed to easily receive a refund through eBay. Some have been hard. But one item I couldn't get my money back for.
They were selling lots of just released series' on DVD for about a third of the price of other retailers. I brought one, the item never came, by the time I could try and dispute it they had cancelled their PayPal and ran. Not sure how they managed it or how much effort it was for them, but I never got my money back, I assume the others who purchased off them didn't either. And I paid through PayPal.