Pete, valid question!

Let's say Jim's high bid was $150.00. The $400 guy (BigBidder) bids $400, and the high bid then goes to $155.00, not $400.00.

Someone else comes along and bids $200. The high bid then goes to $205, with BigBidder on top. etc. etc.

The only way the bid ever reaches $400 is if someone comes along and bids $395.00. Which is a "gamble" the seller did not want to take, and did not have to take.

Everyone here may well know that there would likely have been a lot of last second "snipe" bidding, but the seller did not know this. He doesn't know jack about casino chips, by his own admission. He was looking at a high bid of either $42.00 or $100.01, had a firm offer of $400.00, and did what he thought was right for him and his family. eBay agrees completely with his intentions, the opinions of armchair auctioneers on this board notwithstanding.

The only problem is that he failed to cancel all the bids before ending the auction early. This thread was begun to discuss his intentions, and quickly moved to a discussion of eBay rules.