I think that it was a very nice thing for the ladies to do. Although its against the rules of the forum, it is at your own discretion if you do decide to do a transaction. But I do think its better if transactions between members are done on ebay IMO.
Actually, it is a bannable offense, harsh or not. For now, we prohibit anyone to PM someone else or post publicly about their eBay auctions or IDs.
If it was worth $9000 retail why did the seller let it go for only $3500?? I'm sure he/she could've gotten a lot more for it since it's such a rare item, no?
Sorry to hear you lost out on the item. I'm currently bidding for something too (my 1st time on Ebay!) so I'm a bit nervous.