One of the unfortunate aspects of dealing with auctions across international borders is that the parties rely in the auction and payment sites internal mechanisms for protection. Other than posting about it to warn others, there are few other options.

It doesn't matter what the legalities are, since you can't sue a German seller in the United States and it's impractical to sue in Germany. If the auction site won't help, then game over. As an attorney, my advice would be to put it behind you if Rolf won't be reasonable. Of course, Jeff may differ, in which case I defer.

I too was interested in that Siffert, as I have been looking for one (only 1 son) for a while. But I wasn't comfortable with the auction site since my German/French was a little too rusty to understand what was being said, and as much as I liked the watch, the potential for misunderstanding was far too great.

As for the ridiculously high packing costs, you probably nailed the problem. I'm sorry to hear that Rolf basically screwed you, and sorrier still to say that there's little you can do (except to let the rest of us know not to do business with Rolf or that auction site). Perhaps Rolf will reconsider if he learns that his actions are condemned by others here and that no one will buy from him if he tries to gouge like this.

Scott