Question
Maybe you already know this, but I just tried it and it works. eBay doesn't have a contact link on some closed items, so it's handy. Go to one of their active listings (there has to be one to make this work), hit the "ask seller a question" link, substitute the inactive item number for the active one in the address bar, hit refresh, and viola... you are contacting them. In my sent box, it doesn't have the item number or description, so probably the seller won't know what I am talking about, except that I told them in the message. It's just a "Message from eBay Member" email.
Hmmm... more I think about it, the more useless it sounds. lol
Answer
" target="_blank">Here's why I tried this trick. I have the little brother to this guitar, a '64 SG Special. Only problem is, mine essentially has nothing left of the original guitar except the wood.
So I think what I learned is that un-met reserve auctions don't have a contact link onced they close. Or is something else at work here? I've never examined this before, whether some auctions do or don't after closing. I'm thinking eBay just doesn't want people to contact the seller in such cases.
Anyway, I might wish to re-examine my home-owners policy. Damn.
Answer
You can contact an eBay seller even if they don't have ANY active listings.
Simply go to their feedback page. In the right hand corner, near the top, you'll see a grey button marked "Contact Member".
Answer
True, Irene. Like I said, it's a useless "middle-of-the-night discovery" on my part, I was just trying to contact them regarding a closed auction. In this case (un-met reserve) the contact link is removed, while other closed auctions still have one, and I never noticed that before. I thought that my trick would reference the auction to them, and it didn't.