"It's a hit or miss with Ebay, but if you're careful about buying from the right sellers you should be ok. I've bought from both Chinese and Stateside sellers and have had no problems with either. As a rule of thumb, I buy from >95% positively reviewed sellers, and I don't buy expensive things from Chinese manufacturers, since I don't know how Chinese law would protect me as consumer, and it would probably be easier to deal with a shady US seller than one 7000 miles away.

Feedback is a big negotiation factor you have, especially when dealing with smaller sellers. I don't leave feedback until I've received and tested the item to my satisfaction. I'm not saying buyers should abuse the feedback system, but it is definitely a good way to get the seller to work with you."

"Counterfeit - that's probably 80% of what is sold on ebab. From batteries, to storage disks, to handbags and of course software. I had to order successively four copies of Photoshop before I got a genuine one and I asked each of the first three sellers, before I purchased, if it was genuine and could be registered. All said yes and none could be registered. Will never again buy from ebay. Yes it is cheaper but after all the return postages and hassle it is not cheaper and very much a PITA."

"I got a very fancy cosplay on ebay, love it."

"I've never really had a problem with eBay itself, and out of over sixty transactions I've only had trouble with one seller. You do have to watch out for bootleg items but it seems like they've been trying to crack down on these. I shop on eBay occasionally, usually after I haven't been able to find something elsewhere. "

"I have a 100% rating on ebay but I have run into the worst purchase that I have ever experienced and I blame ebay more so that the f-ing idiot kxf250 (Franklin Freeborn). I bid on this ipod and win it. The seller says if you pay by 4/3/10, he will mail it out that day. I pay for the item 4/2 (within 20 mins of winning the item).I email him 4/4 to verify that he mailed it out on 4/3. I get this response. "i am very sorry to have to inform you that i had to work on Saturday and was not able to ship your ipod Saturday morning. i always list my items on Sunday night so they will end Friday night because Saturday is normally the only day i can get to usps before they close. i had really hoped to somehow ship it to you today, but it wasn't possible with my work schedule. i will most likely have to wait until next Saturday to ship your ipod. if this is unacceptable i will refund your money. i am very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. - kxf250" I want the ipod so I tell him to send it and that he promised to send it to me so he should overnight it to me. I wanted the item because I was going out of town over the 4/9 weekend. Of course it does not come nor is it in my mailbox when I get back in town. I email him 4/11 and copy ebay and he sends me a nasty email back on 4/15. The item arrived on Monday 4/12 so I open it and the bose head phones that comes with it. I notice small dents on the back and within 2 days the charge still will not be accepted on the ipod. It keeps saying "low battery - 20% charge." I pack it up and ship it back on the 4/15 because he has a 3 day return policy. It is sent out on the 3rd day. So, even though it is damaged, I wanted it out of my hands to meet the return policy. I file another complaint with ebay. They tell me to send it back and they will instruct the seller to credit me. The request a tracking number. I have already mailed it regular mail (US Mail) without a tracking number and explain this in an email. I also say that I returned it within his return policy and he called to harass me Sunday 4/19 upset because I opened the headphones. I explained that I needed the headphones to listen to the ipod but the ipod is damaged. He complains to ebaY and they again ask me for a tracking number within short period of time. I am offline for a week due to work related matters and I respond on 4/26 the day that I have to reply. I get an email stating that because I did not respond to the appeal by the date request, they reverse their decision in favor of the d-bag Franklin. I email them again attempting to reverse their decision and cannot get a response. This should be an easy decision for many reasons... 1. seller offered me a refund for his lack of follow through, 2. I met his poor return policy of 3 days, 3. the ipod was damaged and would not hold a charge. All of these issues considered, it is my feeling that ebay does not support its customers. Now, I have filed a dispute on my credit card and this is the reason I will not allow money to be pulled out of my checking account because ebay is OUT OF CONTROL. The crazier thing is this d-bag in NY has the ipod and I have not received a credit on my credit card."

"I ordered a cell phone on ebay that never worked properly. The cell would not charge, then a couple of months later the screen went black and would not come back. By having square trade, they immediately refunded my money once i returned the item. Thank goodness for Square Trade warranties!! "

"I've had great luck with EBay - I take into effect risk vs. reward though with every transaction.

1) Obvious: Look at their reviews as a Seller (make sure you select just as seller)

2) Check out if what you are buying is what they normally sell - if not you have a higher risk.

3) I have a tendency to look at reviews that are more 'personal' not the A+++ ones are usually high volume guys and not your casual user like myself - very different clients.

4) Be prepared to have to follow through and involve Ebay if necessary. Use their customer support as a mediator - don't get in a fight with the seller - just explain your situation to customer support and what happened if there is trouble with the order (first obviously ask the seller but if that fails...)"

"I like buy products on ebay ,it is safety ,when have problem the seller can solve very fast too .
So i support ebay "

"I buy & sell on ebay every day. I purchased many, many Xmas gifts this past holiday season and was pleased with all of them."

"I LOVE EBAY!
I sell there and buy there all the time!
"

"First ebay purchase! Seller: (bobbiefaye1234) met my requirement for purchase and delivered op time as promised. Didn't really trust online shopping, Mr if i cant touch it i aint buying it. ebay left a good taste in my mouth. Taking it slowly, but definitely will be back! Great prices."

"Ebaying greatly depends on the seller. So make sure to check his feedback and the validity of the item on display. Made a couple of purchases which so far have been smooth running. Great place to buy items otherwise not possible. "

"Don't ever buy "new" camera equipment off of Ebay. I guarantee you that if you do, the seller will be a lazy scumbag who sells grey market crap or even worse(??), presents themselves as an authorized dealer but in actuality places items up for auction that they don't even have in stock! Ebay customer service is the worst on this planet. I tried chatting with customer service, but they absolutely didn't get what I was talking about. It was absolutely pointless trying to communicate with someone who was clearly from another country and didn't know what the hell I was talking about. I tried the email route too, got modified canned responses, none of which reflected the seriousness of the issues presented. Now my money is tied up and I have to wait to get my refunds...if I get them at all. Ebay and PayPal are absolutely horrible. Filing a dispute on PayPal now leads you directly back to Ebay where nothing gets done. Try emailing PayPal...joke. They never, ever respond. For cheap crap like blu rays or books, fine. But for anything related to electronics or camera equipment, beware. Everything on Ebay is grey market junk that will fall apart shortly after purchase, with NO U.S. warranty whatsoever. Ebay knows this too but they say nothing because they want their precious fees. This also leads to bias on the part of Ebay not taking any action towards bad sellers who sell grey market junk and take their sweet time shipping. Ebay...what a nightmare!!!"

"I like ebay. the price is usually the lowest. I bought a Canon camera and I get cash back from bing.com. I am waiting for cyber monday sale since last year, i got 20% off from live.com (which is now bing.com) The camera I bought was 500D and the price was about $1100 with 3 bags, 5 lenses, tripod and more. this is way cheaper than costco.com"

"There is virtually no customer support. There contact section gives no contacts and if there is a section there is no contacts listed. I had to go through Paypal Customer Service to get in touch with Ebay Customer Service. There is also a massive problem with illegal counterfeit products. Ebay does not take an active role in patrolling there site and removing infringing items. There report item section on listing is mostly for show. Ebay has made very easy for sellers to sell illegal items and hide them among aunthentic items. Avoid any seller that is located in China as most counterfeits are coming from China. "