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Posted By: Texas Ted

While there are a small number of scammers out there, with a few self imposed rules you can have a good experience on ebay. Stick to the dealers that have the good feedback. Everybody will run into a jerk and get a negative once in awhile, but I try to see what it was for and most importantly look at any response the seller gave after getting the negative. Attitude is everything. Most dealers will try to work out an issue before it reaches the need for negatives. I know I would rather have a happy returning customer than somebody getting stuck with a card they don't like.

While everybody has to start with zero feedback, watch for the folks with low feedback who are all of a sudden selling some rare card that they got from Grandpa. They obviouly don't know what they are doing or what they have so why should you be the one to take a chance on it? While you may miss the rare deal in one of a hundred chances, is it really worth the risk? If it seems to good to be true, it almost always is. I also look to see if sellers have gotten their feedback from buying or selling, what they are buying or selling (videos and CDs only?), and even the feedback of the people who have been their customers. If their feedbacks are coming from lots of folks with less than 10 feedbacks of their own, that differs from several feedback from people with 500 or more. Experienced buyers will flock to the good dealers.

Don't be afraid to ask the seller lots of questions and ask for more scans. Their willingness to work with you, their communications and candid answers will tell you a lot. I would not do this a lot for $5 cards, but if you are spending some high dollars take your time to be informed.

Find somebody you trust who has more experience, and bounce an auction off them for an opinion. Asking on the board may bring more attention to the item (translated as competing bids) than you wish, but a couple of buddies will help.

I got taken to the cleaners once on ebay for a sizable amount. But I learned a lot from it, and due to the lesson have profited greatly from the experience.

Ted
He who so shall, so shall he who!