An item I was bidding on just dissapeared altogether what gives??

[roddybuck]

I was bidding on an item and it just disapeared with no explination. I wrote the seller but they don't answer and have many more items.  Am I to believe thjat if I make a bid I have to stick by my bid, but a seller can pull the item at any time.  That is a double standard and if true this policy it's **bleep**. 

[afantiques]

If it vanished completly it was removed by ebay not the seller.You may have had a lucky escape there.

[reallynicestamps]

but a seller can pull the item at any time.

Yes.

And often for good reason. Maybe it fell off a table and got broken. Maybe the kid opened the New In Box product. Maybe it sold elsewhere for a better price. Maybe the genuine diamond turned out to be a rhinestone. Maybe the house burned down.

It's not yours because you are bidding on it. It's yours once you have paid for it and it is in your hands.

Both paid and received because the seller still has responsibility to get the item to you promptly and in described condition.

And if she doesn't, the buyer can return the item for refund.

BTW, a bidder can also cancel his own bids, within limits which I consider too strict, or ask the seller to cancel his bid for any reason or none.

[afantiques]

If the seller withdraws the item it shows as 'unsold'

Only ebay can obliterate it entirely from the record.