Why would somebody ask me to end an eBay auction early? -

I put a cell phone on eBay. I was contacted by a potential buyer who wanted to pay me $35 (presumably outside of eBay) for the phone. That s a good deal, so I offered to place it Buy it Now for that amount and keep it inside the eBay system.Anyway, he said he would rather I set the auction at $35, let him bid, then end the auction with the highest bid winning.Why? I can t detect any scam, but what could his reasoning be? Is there any way I could be slammed for doing this, by either him or eBay?Thanks

He doesn t want anyone else to beat him to that Buy It Now button. By putting it on auction, if someone DOES beat him, he can jump in and throw on an extra dollar or two then have you end it.

The bidder is trying to play both sides! He is trying to get it at the $35 price and if you put it Buy it now, then he could lose out. Now, if he pays for it thru paypal and there is a problem with the phone you sent then he can refer paypal back to the auction you have set up and ended early. Why? because it has a description and the condition of the phone listed.I would just ignore him and let the auction run its course. You know you will get at least $35 from him and you most likely will get more.What is you auction number or link?

it could be for his record.IE highest bids: 23