about to be scammed on ebay

it's sad to say, but yes, i am knowingly (i think) about to be scammed on ebay.  i started looking around for some new geek stuff.  naturally i look to ebay for some ideas on pricing, etc.  i see this auction about to close in 20 hours with no bids and no reserve and an unbelievable deal (complete with pictures and everything).

being the skeptic, i look at the sellers rating (or more appropriately their 'feedback rating').  generally, as a rule of thumb, this can be a good measure of how active/new/etc the ebayer is.  this seller has a rating of 388 -- telling me they've been involved in *at least* 388 transactions on ebay (usually more, but ebay doesn't count them all).  so i bid.

i go to dinner and keep thinking about it.  i go back to the listing to see if i'm still the high bidder (which i know i am because i would have gotten an email).  still no bids...seriously...fish is starting to stink.  so then i decide to look deeper into the seller.  i actually *look* at the feedback list and the items involved in the transactions (new rule of thumb...do that).  the items are all langerberger bows/baskets.  hmmm...and i'm buying a laptop from this person...doesn't add up.

so i email the seller (through the ebay system -- never trust the links in the description) about my concern and click send.  we'll see.

WOW! -- no kidding as i am about to post this, i get this in my inbox:

The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:
Item Number - 110016850213
Item Title - 2.16ghz Dual Core IBM Lenovo Thinkpad T60 T34 Duo NIB
Our records show that you placed a bid on this item. We removed this item from the Site and cancelled your bid because it appears that the seller's account has been compromised and used by an unauthorized third party.

nice -- good to see ebay is on the ball -- whew...my bid (or more importantly, my money) is safe.  damn...that was a good price on a laptop :-)