I bid on a powder measure several days ago on ebay.  Last night I was outbid, tried to place another bid and got an error message saying there was a problem with my bid.  I tried again later and got an auction ended message.  Oh, well.  I moved on and placed a bid on another measure.  This morning I get a message telling me I won the first auction for $41.01 (I never even tried to bid $41.01).  I tried to retract my bid on the second measure, but was refused because there was less than 12 hours remaining.  I contacted ebay and was told sorry, try working it out with the seller.  I emailed the guy, explained the glitch (on ebay's end) and asked if he would relist the item with a minimum reserve to cover my high bid plus the cost of listing again (less than a $2.00 fee).  If he didn't get the minimum, I would buy it at the reserve price.  Worse case scenario he waits a few more days for his money; best case he makes a little more (we're talking about $30.00).  Anyway, the guys is balking and threatening me with "negative feedback."  My conscience tells me to pay up, but my brain tells me I did nothing wrong.  I couldn't care less about ebay's feedback program, but I do care about my reputation, internet or not.  

What would you do?

Sorry for the length.

Eddie