Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

I just purchased some gloves from the fabulous Mr. Mudd. In the AH, they examined as +3 deflection, +1 int. I received them and it appears they are cursed. No bonuses, just heckin' cursed. Is this operating as intended? Seems silly that Mr. Mudd, with all his trafficking of enchanted items, wouldn't screen out the cursed ones. Bad for business, especially if some angry Red Wizard he bilks disintegrates him.

From a mechanics perspective, if this is not a bug, this feels like a rules violation - this is non-consensual, no-opt-out PvP.

The character is Miles McGonagall. The gloves in question are called "AC III Int 1," currently in his inventory.

Congrats - you hit a jackpot.
Some (rare) curses trigger on equipping the item.

If the seller did not use the item before, he had no idea it was cursed at all.

I was under the impression a character was unable to remove a cursed item from their inventory once it was picked up... unless they follow the "first inventory slot and a remove curse spell" protocol. Is it mechanically possible the item became cursed after the sale?

yes, there are different curses.