Kurt,there are many ways. 1]If the auction has a best offer feature they make any offer so they can get your email address 2]They ask a question and if you dont check the box that says"hide my email address" they will get a response from you showing them your email address. There are a few more ways but those are the 2 most used. I always used to wonder why people would send me a 30.00 offer on a 3000.00 part,but then i figured they just wanted my email address.Also if they hit a buy it know and win the auction,they have your email.They dont pay for the item, but will set you up on an auction in the future with your email info and username..Once they have your email they send the phony second chance offers that are getting increasingly legit looking.... I received one where by clicking on a link it went right to ebay legitimately !!!! Always check the address bar on your computer before you even think of typing in your username and password,it has to have ebay.com not gy.ebay.com for example......Im starting a site called ERG Ebay research group