There was? Hmm, strange then.
Still, eBay rules only allow a seller to end an auction early when there are bidders, under circumstances, one of them being an "error in listing". Unless eBay sends someone out to inspect the item, they will never know will they? Even if eBay does not refund the seller's listing fees, one would assume that whatever he/she got for the items (again, assuming the auction was ended early due to a local buyer), more than compensated for anything from eBay.
L.