Hmmm...I don't think you really did anything wrong by the technical rules of ebay. I am not a power user of ebay, but I have been using them for over 7 years now and have a 100% positive feedback rating of about 100. Like I said, not a power user and no store. That being said, I have never been involved in any auction that was canceled early. I "watch" dozens of auctions simultaneously and bid on some and don't bid on most. If I was interested in anything that I had been watching and did not get a chance to bid in the last few hours it was open, I would be upset. I rarely bid early but I do on occasion. Even if the person had been previously been informed that this item existed and was available for sale, he still has a right to bid on an item placed for sale. The reasonable expectation of an ebay bidder is that the auction will be open for the time it is posted. There has to be some room to understand someone being upset if they were not given a chance to bid under those circumstances. Still, you technically did nothing wrong. I sympathize with the place you have been placed here. It will blow over. If you are paying fees to ebay for a store, you should at the very least have an argument to have them waived if you are not able to use your store during this period. When you prevail in this issue, I would then push it for more. Best of luck in this difficult situation David.

Steve