Well, being outbid at the last second (sometime literally) isn't the same as being "cheated" but it does deny you the opportunity to place another bid and it is done with the INTENT of denying you that. Again, the most I can say about it is that it is unethical.

I run a web site dedicated to an old Detroit brewery www.PfeifferBeer.com (by hosting provider just downgraded my account and now half of it doesn' work) and was bidding on eBAy for Pfeiffer Beer items quite a bit. The first time I even did eBay, I was "snaked" (the old skater in me) by someone with 1 minute left in the auction. So, on my next auction, I did the same thing to someone else. I was then given a polite email saying that I had every right to do what I did, but it is considered quite rude. And the PFeiffer collecting "community" on the web, I soon learned, frowned on that. I politely replied that I was new to eBay and was forgiven. This was important to me becuase eventually you'd learn who the other regualar bidders were and what items they liked or needed. So, people would suddenly NOT bid on items I was bidding on to help me out and I would do the same for them. GRanted, there were a few times that I had to say "Gary, we each want this 1910 vintage sign, so may the best man win!"

I really don't know what this has to do with the empeg/eBay fiasco, but I have to agree that it is spineless. Why didn't any of these people offer Sven (Smu) a RioCar when he kindy asked someone to buy him one and send to Europe for him? He asked this before they were even sold out.