Yeah, as mentioned b4, the scottish system is good. There's no p*ssing around, but the only drawback is the "offers over" system, where you have to make an offer over the stated amount, not knowing if your bid will secure the property. But generally, much better than our poxy system.
Chains are really fragile when anybody can have a tantrum and say, "Right! My house is off the market!
The only reason I would ever consider doing that is if a buyer was mucking me about.
My wife sold her flat in Clapham in 99 for 110K. The buyer peed around so much she threatened to take it off the market and put it back on immediately, prices were rising so quick.
In the end, she sold, but what a palaver!