As the title says, Ihad a good experiance on ebay. When Iam sending someone Ihave never dealt with some of my money, Iget a little nervous. What Ibought was a kit that is at least 10 years out of production. Maybe more. What Irecieved is a kit that has a little yellowing on the box but otherwise inventories like new. So if you ever have the opportunity to deal with a dude by the name of Infisherman on ebay you can do it with some confidence. Good luck fellas.</p>

Knock on (balsa) wood, I've never been burned on eBay. I follow a few criteria.

1. If it's too good to be true - it is.
2. Know what you want is worth on the open market.
3. Don't be suckered into a last minute bidding war - know your top offer and stick to it.
4. Don't buy from people with low feedback numbers or too many neutral or negative replies.
5. Make sure there is a reasonable return policy.
6. Look for good, detailed pictures of the real item for sale, not "file photos", etc.

Sounds like you have it down to a science.

Not a science, since an agreed-on price is one reached by a seller who doesn't want to sell and a buyer who doesn't want to buy. It's all done with mirrors.

Of your list, I have violated all EXCEPT #4.
I never buy from a "new" seller who has only a small handful of transactions, especially if those transactions are for just a couple of dollars or so. Many scammers sign up and establish "cred" by selling really cheap stuff for a bit, and then they put up an expensive item for the big scam.

I was had only once in all the years I've bought over Ebay, and that was by a crook who had commandeered a legitimate user's account who had gone idle for a while. So the seller's account actually was a good account, but was hijacked by a crook just long enough to scam me and (from what I understand) three other people before the account was locked.

DR1Driver's rules are good.
I will add:

Always use PayPal.
I have had two problems, PayPal cam through both times.

Remember to add the freight into the cost.
Some like to add high freight to low costs because they don't pay eBay on freight.
Sometimes the sum of the two don't make sense.

Why pay a stranger the same you would pay someone you know.
It makes no sense to me to take the risk paying an unknown source when you can get
the same price from someone you know and trust such as Tower or Horizon.

I like eBay!

Good Luck,
KW_Counter

seen too many people pay more for an item on ebay than they can buy it in a store, why pay full retail for something by looking at a picture, and it is used with no warranty or return policy? sometimes, the best deal is the one you walk away from

I'm surprized this thread hasnt been yanked by a moderator , since RCU has its own classified section.....Rog

Spot on good advice! But I will go a little further. Only buy kits if the CONTENTS are well photographed. I have bought a box of balsa wood sheeting some one "called" a kit. It was OK because the 1/16" sheet balsa was worth ..almost ...what I paid. The lesson was priceless!
This applies to any online purchases, I only use Paypal too.

I like to buy the OOP kits sometimes. I have a Topflight Holy Smoke kit NIB that is waiting to be built. This can be a fun part of the hobby just as always BE CAREFUL.

Use paypal that is hooked up to your credit card. If paypal can't help you then your credit card can. I have had to do it. Set of wheels for a bike that were said to be straight but were not. Paypal could not help me but VISA came thru in the end. Money back and I had the wheel straightened for a modest fee at a wheel company.

this is a good rule of thumb its about the same as I use when bidding/buying on ebay, I would add if your really interested in a particular item ask questions of the seller, most honest sellers will get right back to you, and if there is any problems you can reference the emails you have recieved in your dispute.

I bid on a kit a while back and asked the seller if it was complete he had replied that he thought it was, well after recieving it it was a disaster missing nearly half the parts,after comunicating this he issued me a full refund including my shipping when I offered to return the box he said to keep it and was sorry he sold me the item,I left him a positive feedback, since he went out of his way to make good on the deal.

I should also add I have purchased on RCU and sold items as well, it always pays to ask questions of a seller if it seems like there might be a problem, its as simple as, why are you selling the item in the first place.

Good points, OzMo. I like the older OOP kits, too. I did buy one OOB HOB F-86 Sabre kit that came missing the wing rib sheets. Fortunately, since I've scratch-built a lot, I was able to take the end view of the wingtip and wing root and interpolate the ribs in between.