BriaN... Before chezparee retracted, when you saw $51, dshron@aol.com was high bidder. The bid was at $51 because chezparee's max bid was $50, and dshron's was something more than that. Chezparee then bid $61.88 (or more), which made him (or her) high bidder. He then later saw the same chip as item #499353509 with one bid, sitting at $45, and decided to take his chances there. That's why he retracted his bid on your chip.

When he retracted, that left only the three other bidders. Along with his higher bid, the earlier bid of $50 was also gone, leaving dshron at one bid increment over monthana. Note that eBay never shows anyone's reserve amount over the high bid. I would assume dshron's max bid was $60.88. You were indeed robbed. We can easily assume that if chezparee had never been in the picture, someone else would have bid on the chip when it was at $36. Unfortunately, eBay's rules favor dshron, who will expect to get the chip at the closing bid of $36. You can claim in civil court that chezparee owes you $15 due to auction fraud, but you probably can't win. Maybe a lawyer would see it differently. Punative damages, anyone?

Archie... chezparee was "discontinued" AFTER all the damage was done.