The EBay thread.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by glatt

... I think this seller was extremely deceptive. You shouldn't have to read a listing like you a making a deal with Satan, looking for how he is screwing you. ...

I've determined for myself that if a seller's rating is below 99.8%, that's precisely what I have to do. Additionally, I:

Determine the seller location versus the item location.

Compare the number of sales to the number of feedbacks.*

Look for feedback on recent purchases of the item I'm interested in.

Read the past 12 months of neutral and negative feedback looking in particular for cases in which buyers had to go to eBay for resolution.

Originally Posted by glatt

Meanwhile, the seller hasn't responded to me in about 18 hours.

EBay wants you to give the seller several business days to respond.

Originally Posted by glatt

I appreciate everyone's input. I want to be reasonable in my response to this.

Keep in mind that once the seller cancels a transaction, gives a refund; or, eBay has arbitrated a case, the case is closed and you can no longer leave feedback. *That can skew the seller rating in the seller's favor.

TIP: Since sellers are allowed to change their item descriptions during the course of a listing, it behooves one to take a screenshot of the listing just before making a purchase. It serves as both a memory aid and evidence if a transaction is brought to eBay for arbitration.

FYI: When I find something of interest, that's in new condition, on eBay, I routinely look for it on Amazon and then do a general internet search to see if a listing pops up on the first results page at somewhere like wallmart.com. It's easy to get lulled into the idea that eBay will have the best deal. I've found that to be true only half the time.