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it would be cheaper to go through first class.

In relation to the first part, you should be fully knowledgeable about what you are buying on ebay. Sometimes sellers don't write their descriptions very well or they're mistaken on what they are selling. It's up to you to question them as much as possibly if the description of the item sounds funny. Otherwise when you get the item, it's totally different that what you expected. In the case of my parents, they were out looking for instruments to buy for me and my siblings when we were in band. I was the hardest one because the I played an instrument called the Baritone horn or Euphonium. Essentially a minature tuba. what happened was my parents found a seller who said that he was selling a new Baritone Horn for a rather cheap price. It was pricey, but probably cheaper than whatever the music shops sold. When we got the package, we were stunned. It wasn't a baritone horn because it was way too small. After consulting my intermediate band teacher, my parents have found that they had bought an uncommon instrument called an Alto horn. They sent a e-mail to the seller that he had sent the wrong instrument and that he falsely advertised the wrong instrument. The reply to the e-mail was rather asinine: I have been doing this for fifteen years and I know what I am selling. I sold you a Baritone Horn. Now butt out.

Other practices that have been noted are the sellers receiving payment and not sending the goods. It used to be a problem before, but Ebay has changed their policy to deal with that. Still, the way to avoid that is not to buy from people that don't have too many feedback. I usually look to see if they have at least a hundred feedbacks before I'll bid on their auction. I'll also look at their percentage of positive feed backs. I would say that around 90% is probably a reliable seller.

All in all, Ebay is not really to be feared. Just like a car, you need to understand the general rules before you go off on your own. Otherwise it can be catastrophic. If anything, there's always Amazon.

Learn more about this author, James Shimoda.
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