Thank you Snowman. Your guarantee was spot on!
This email worked and Rick actually answered yesterday.
He asked for a day to look into which he was granted. He requested eBay provide a refund, which is terrific. I confirmed this with eBay and because it is North of $1,000 they need 24-48 hours to review it. That said, they confirmed it will be refunded.
Exhausted for sure. Spent hours and hours trying to communicate to Probstein and eBay. N 54 and member Snowman came thru. I thank Leon and the community as well. Nice to know there is support here from all of us nerdy collectors...we don't ever like anybody getting scammed or screwed.
Lastly, always beware of eBay and their total lack of understanding and support. They are not a well run company IMO.