It could be that he may have had second thoughts about jerking around the legitimate bidders that were competing for the winning bid. Or maybe he felt that you pressured him into a deal, and just decided that he did not want you to have it. Just because you may have offered him more money, dosen't mean that he has to accept it.
I agree a deal is a deal, whether it be a hand shake or ones word, but it sounds like he already had a local person interested before he had listed it on ebay, and who knows what he may have initially told that person. Or better yet, who the other person may have been, (possibly a relative).
He probably just felt that if he wasn't going to sell it to the highest bidder on ebay, he may as well sell it to someone he knows.
Either way, I believe that if you had outbid the others on ebay it most likely would be yours.
Just my opinion.
