My guess is that when there was a reserve, someone decided to yank his chain and place a bid knowing that there was no legal obligation. Once the seller relisted it without reserve no jokers are about to put their necks on the line. I also suspect that the international inquiries he got were from the fake check scam artists who plague high-ticket items on eBay. He may well end up "selling" it for $250K and getting a bogus check for $260K, with a request to refund the "overpayment" by Western Union. I almost feel like writing the guy a note but even if I bend over backwards to be polite I'm sure he'll just figure I'm trying to con him out of his fortune. He'd be very lucky to get $250 for it in a truly open auction, let alone $250,000..... Best regards, Rene Rondeau ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.