Blimey Karl, if you bought my laptop off me (which I bought off Ebay without seeing it) you'd probably kick my ass - its fooked. Was cheap though...

The thing is, if what you are saying now is that you just want to check that the laptop exists, then really that is something you should have thought about before bidding. Its not how Ebay works and the buyer/seller relationship is primarily based on trust. I took a chance on this laptop I have and luckily I could probably sell it on as parts and get my money back, but I would never go high value on anything on Ebay again. Too stressful waiting for the damn thing to arrive!

Why don't you pay him by PayPal? You get a degree of protection with that (can't remember how much £££ though).

But if you do end up not buying the laptop you will no doubt be on the wrong end of some negative feedback and a complaint to Ebay.

Good luck anyway!