L@@K! RARE -- 2 EBAY SELLERS CONVICTED ....

Jeff Hellige wrote: It is possible though to get some good deals, especially on non-classic computer stuff, on eBay. Not to mention that many of the sellers are very reputable. I doubt the number of bad eggs, percentage wise, is any worse than going to flea markets and such. At least with eBay there is some recourse if there's a problem with another user, which isn't always the case with flea markets. I know I check a sellers feedback very carefully, as do most people. One's feedback rating makes a big difference. Jerome Fine replies: I agree that there are both good not not so good experiences with eBay, but on average, I have been quite satisfied. Of the few times I have actually bid, I usually wait until the last minute since the first few times I bid, I was always overbid. Of the fewer times I was the top (only) bidder, the most difficult part of one transaction was the payment - the vendor had stated that Master Card was accepted, but did not qualify that BillPay (or one of the other services was also required) and I was not able to do so since I am not in the US. After many e-mails back and forth, I ended up sending a US Money Order, but I found that the attitude that I had made the mistake the most annoying. Also interesting is that 90% of the items actually work even though the conditions of sale were always "AS IS". The best situation I found was for an auction that I did not win. The fellow had stated that additional (magneto optical) disks would be available to the winning bidder. I sent an e-mail just in case and I ended up buying many more than I really can use because the price was so low - although the shipping was expensive since the disks are so heavy. So, overall, I assume that eBay is likely to have a few rotten apples, but then again, some of them will be the buyers in addition to the vendors. Sincerely yours, Jerome Fine