Protecting Yourself Before You Buy

The first line of defense against frauds and cheats is to intelligently choose the people you deal with. On eBay, the best way to do this is via the Feedback system.

You should always check a seller's feedback rating before you bid. If it's overwhelmingly positive, you can feel safer than if the seller has a lot of negative feedback. For even better protection, click the seller's name in the item listing to view his Member Profile, where you can read individual feedback comments. Be smart and avoid those sellers who have a history of delivering less than what was promisedwhich you can tell by reading what other members had to say about him.

Note

To learn more about feedback and the Member Profile page, see Chapter 3, "Understanding and Using Feedback."

You can also use the Member Profile page to view the user's ID history (shifty users sometimes change IDs frequently) and other items for sale. You can even email the seller to ask for more information; just click the Contact Member button. If the seller won't work with youor if the information doesn't check outthen don't deal with him!