...or are folk just getting cold feet?
I think that might be it.
I have a feeling people saw "Messerschmitt for sale" and put in a bid and then later went back to see what it was exactly they were bidding on and decided that it might just be a little more work than they wanted.
However, looking at the bid history, it only show One Person has retracted their bid. ($1900) So it is not like they are leaving in droves....
There are many people that "want" a Messerschmitt or an Isetta and a number of them "want" one simply because they have heard about them or remember them.
How many people have you seen at car shows pointing at an Isetta and saying "look, that there's a Messerschmitt! made from old Aircraft parts!" or pointing at a Messerschmitt and saying "There's that car that opens at the front! I think it was made by BMW!"
Just last weekend I was at a small car show with my Zündapp Janus and a guy came up and was telling his wife about the BMW Isetta, which apparently also had a door in the front but it also had only One Wheel in the front as well.
When I tried to politely engage the obviously very knowledgeable gentleman and suggest that possibly he was thinking it had 3 wheels with one at the REAR, he would have none of it and he simply replied "Its a FACT, GOOGLE it!"
Several club magazines, including "The Isetta Spotter's Guide" would not sway him.
Heaven forbid he is shown to be incorrect about his knowledge of automobiles in front of his wife!