I've bought about 50 items off ebay to date ... not much compared to others, but, quite a bit. I ALWAYS pay through paypal using a credit card .. I never use my bank account ... always a credit card. I've had two problems in the past, and, both times my credit card company credited my account back. One time I never received shipment and another time it was a bogus item.
Generally speaking, read the reviews of the seller. Not just recent reviews, but, over the past six months. Also, maybe watch out for "new" sellers .. if it's expensive maybe make sure he's been around for a bit and has lots of good reviews. If it's cheaper stuff then it may just be someone trying to get rid of stuff .. so, he may be a new quy ..
I've had some great buying (and selling) experience just by being careful and doing a little research on who you're buying from. And remember, if it's too good to be true it most likely is
