Fair enough point, but if Joe Bloggs does drive there or lives up the road.. its bye bye pinball. Ebay is really only there in this instance to make everyone aware that the pin is for sale. Its the same for all of us.. unless its in Brisbane or close, im in the same boat as you. Try contacting the seller through Ebay and snap it up then. If you insist on seeing it first then the first buyer that will take it no matter what gets it.
Stop looking at Ebay as a place where the world is all fair and we can all bid against each other and the seller is happy to hand over 9.8% of the winning price + Paypal fees.... its not.
It does work the other way though... when my peep show was listed I contacted the seller and asked to pay to have the auction pulled.. starting price was $280. Seller refused and wanted the listing to go right to the end. No one else bid on it and I got it for less than half I was offering.. there are 2 sides to the coin.