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During my 5 plus years buying and selling on ebay I have had my share of bad experiences, from one degree to another, with both sellers and buyers, and from each and every one of them I have learned something new about proper etiquette, safety, or simply smart business, on ebay. Without taking a long walk down memory lane I will share with you a recent problem that I ran into, which has made me extremely cautious about buying on ebay, particularly costly or valuable items.

I started my Christmas shopping weeks ago, as I do every year, and ebay is always my first stop shopping spot! I have found more than my share of excellent deals on the presents my sons always ask for- video games and wrestling figures. This year my oldest son put, in bold letters, in bright red ink, the words PSP at the very top of his Christmas Wish List. For those of you who aren't familiar with the latest trends if video gaming this is a hand held system which is copied from the popular Sony Playstation system, basically, as the name states, a Portable Playstation. These nifty little systems are quite fun, I have been told, and are all the rage with preteen boys, and my son desperately wants one for Christmas. I first checked them out at Wal Mart and Sears, where I learned they were outrageously expensive, and way out of my budget. So I turned to my favorite shopping source- ebay- and was quick to find out that they were just as expensive on there, with the exception of the used systems which had problems. I searched for days until I found one that seemed to be perfect, the new slim version, complete with extras, free shipping, and it was ending in just a few minutes with the bidding hovering at ninety odd dollars. I quickly began the bidding process until it reached $106, where I was outbid and the item ended. I was bummed, but it was short lived, as I received a second chance offer just a few minutes later. I jumped on it, bought the PSP, and paid right away a total of $119 in my Canadian currency.

Parents know the elevation that comes from knowing that you have exactly what your child requested for Christmas, and I was ecstatic. Mom of the year award, here I come. Being a single Mom on a tight budget meant that sometimes, although not too often, my boys couldn`t get just what they asked for, despite my pinching pennies, saving, and sacrificing anything that I might need or want. But this time my oldest son would get exactly what he wanted, as would my youngest since I had also found

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