You got It. As long as everyone is fully aware of what you are doing, it is a very fair solution. And Ebay actually provides you with a provision for doing so.
The terminology I actually use on Ebay is as follows,
" I reserve the right to end the auction early at any time, for any reason, as additional alternate forms of advertising are also being utilized."
This makes any potential bidders aware of the fact that the auction may end, even though they may potentially be high bidder. I buy and sell old musclecars on Ebay. I provision EVERY ad using the above verbage. I had even contacted Ebay regarding doing so and staying within their guidelines.
The following is the actual email between Ebay and myself:
Message: Hi Folks. I wonder if you can answer a question for me. I had
>listed a car for sale on Ebay motors. In my "terms of sale" I had
>reserved the right to end the auction early because I was also
>advertising the vehicle utilizing local advertising (newspaper). The car
>did in fact sell using the newspaper so, I cancelled all bids, and ended
>the auction early. My reason for ending the auction early was "the item
>is no longer for sale". According to the Ebay listing rules, It was O.K.
>for me to do so. Is that correct? I am just trying to confirm that I am
>operating within the Ebay guidlines. Can you help me out with this. Your
>input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Ed.
Their response:
Hello Ed,
>
>Thanks for writing to us. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you
>with your questions.
>
>You can end a listing early for this reason. Another thing sellers will do is to print out and display the following
>in their vehicle:
>
>http://pages.ebay.com/ebaymotors/help/basics/print_color.html
>
>This attractive sign shows that the vehicle is for auction on eBay. You
>can also display the starting bid or current bid on the vehicle to
>attract passers by to come to look at the vehicle.
>
>
>It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.
>
>Regards,
>
>Kelly B. J.
>eBay Motors Customer Support
That's straight from the horses mouth. ED.