You know the old saying "If It Looks Too Good To Be True, It Usually Is" yet all of us that know this expression still may believe that it is their lucky day when they see a deal that "Should Be Too Good To Be True". So why do we keep falling for these scams? Is it greed? Stupidity? or our constant desire to get a "Better Deal".

I know some of us love to coupon and see how much we can save at the supermarket, especially during double and triple coupon days. Others will get up at 4 AM on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to run and be the first online to save a few bucks on a gadget being sold from 5 AM until 11 AM that day.

Of course the older and wiser generation must prove to those that don't have the years of experience and knowledge, that these Scams are just that, scams. The store offering that $300 flat screen TV at 5 AM, only has 10 of them or less and they are gone within minutes of the store opening. The deals on eBay for that hard to get XBox 360 at those unreal prices of $400 by a seller with 10 positive feedbacks and an un seemingly endless supply of them is also a scam.

Many people over the past 8 years or so that eBay has been operating, have found purchasing those unreal deals on eBay, or at other places, have only been scammed out of their hard earned money. If they had stopped to think about the reality of the offers, they would have come to the only intelligent conclusion they could have, it is it is "Too Good To Be True". They must know that these deals are unreal and that there has to be something wrong. Maybe they think this stuff "Fell Off A Truck" and that they must be buying "Hot Merchandise" and are willing to do so to save some money...how sad these people must be to think this or even want to buy stolen merchandise, but these are usually the ones that get taken by the con artists. Remember, con men love to play on peoples greed...so be aware of this and guard against it.

For years the photographic industry was plagued with so many Bait and Switch operations that the major photo magazines had to start their own policing of their advertisers. If it had the Popular Photography seal of approval it meant that this publication checked into the vendor, didn't get complaints from its subscribers and found the prices listed in the advertisers ads were real.

I am sure most of you have found that those days of magazine ads and Bait and Switch have now moved over to the internet and eBay being the largest sales operation of its type in the world, has become victim to this type of deceit. Instead of calling a dealer who advertises a product for a very low price and then hits you for all the extras (that are really not extras and should be included in the manufacturers package) or the ones that charge less then anyone else and catch you on crummy and overpriced accessories that you must buy are just some of their tricks.

It is common amongst these thieves to charge exorbident shipping and handling which is actually where they will make the money on the sale. Now that should sound familiar to all you buyers who go to buy a memory card that weighs 3 ounces and cost less then a dollar to ship and get hit with a $20 shipping and handling fee on top of a OK price on the card. When you add the two costs up, it should be better then you can purchase it locally or even on a web site. Always take the cost of the item and add the S&H fee to arrive at your final Delivered Price.

There is many cases and you can read my guides regarding intentional higehr shipping and handling fees, but you need to read that guide to understand where and why it is OK. The short answer is the seller might be cutting down on his insertion and other costs by doing it this way and again the buyer should look at the total Delivered Costs and not just the cost of the item or the S&H alone.

I have seen it over and over again on eBay and can tell you they are all out there. The sharks are looking for the dumb and dumber buyer, you know the ones we used to call "Country Bumpkins". The guy that doesn't check it all out "Before" placing his bid or Buy It Now offer on eBay.

The big difference between calling a dealer on the phone and finding out they are crooks, from buying an item on eBay and not reading or understanding all the fine print, is that once you make the offer to buy the item and hit that Bid or Buy It Now button, you have entered into a binding contract and must follow through on the deal.

That means when you purchase that $10 item that you know is worth $20 and then find out the shipping and handling is $25 and you will end up paying more then what you could pay in a local store, there is nothing you can do but pay the crook his money. If you don't, you will not only get negative feedback from the crook, but also get a Non-Paying bidder strike from eBay and when you get three of these you can be suspended from buying or selling on eBay.

The eBay system is not perfect and they keep trying very hard to stop this from happening. They have encouraged sellers to offer money back guarantees on products, which I do on almost all my auctions, except for older "As Is" merchandise. They now allow the buyer and seller to call off the deal by mutual agreement and will refund the Final Value fee or commission they have charged the seller on the deal if both agree to the cancellation. They even try to educate the buyers and sellers and this new Guides section is a great step in the right direction, Kudo's to eBay for their hard work.

They have even added features like "Mutual Withdrawal of Neutral or Negative Feedback" which is a great positive step. But much more still needs to be done.

We all have to resist the temptation to get something for nothing...it just won't happen. We all have to resist those auctions or deals on eBay that offer an item that is worth $10 for 99¢, unless of course the total is still below the $10 total value of the item delivered. Again, when you see the Too Good To Be True Prices, always look at all the other costs to deliver it to you. This includes the shipping and handling and any mandatory insurance the seller adds to the final cost to you.

Look for those sellers who have a stellar reputation. Not only in the number of feedback, but the quality of the feedback. Not only is a large number of positives proof he is a good guy, go in and check to see how many neutrals and negatives he received. Then compute the percentage. I think if a seller has more then a 1% negative or neutral feedback on his record, he is not worth doing business with, no matter how inexpensive the item.

Look at what people write in their feedback and read in between the lines. After reading a number of them you will have a very good profile on the type of individual the seller really is. I invite you all to examine my profile and read the feedback and see what you come away with after doing so. I will bet you will understand exactly how I operate my business if you do.

I also like to go a little deeper before committing to a purchase and will even look at the items the seller has sold. If I see lots of positive feedback and then see it is all on $1 items and now the seller is offering those hot XBoxes at $400, I will also stay clear. Some sellers will build a profile fast by selling cheap items so they can get 100 or more positives fast and then go in for the kill advertising a $1000 computer for $400 and of course he won't deliver it but will sell 20 or more at that price and run for the hills once the money hits his bank account.

Ebay and buying online is a great opportunity for buyers to shop and save money, but for those that are greedy, always looking for the bargain, those that are not diligent in their research, are the ones that will surely get burnt.

No guarantee from eBay or Pay Pal is a substitution for your own good sense. Trying to collect on a bad deal is usually greeted with an eBay form letter advising you that you agreed to the sellers terms when you purchased the item and their is nothing they can do.

So be careful, look beyond the price of the item, remember that you are dealing with individuals from all parts of the globe who have found eBay a great place for them to make some fast money and blow town. Sometimes it makes good sense to pay a reputable seller a few dollars more for an item so you can sleep at night knowing full well you will receive the item promised and for the price you agreed on paying.

Remember to always reward these sellers the only way we can as buyers...with continued business and of course positive feedback. The feedback system helps all of us to determine the good guys from the bad guys.

Please take a moment to read some of my other Guides now on eBay. I think you will find them quite helpful. Don't forget to let me know if you find my Guides helpful. Your votes have made me the 6th most popular reviewer on eBay and it is your encouragement that will enable me to continue to write these guides.

Safe trading,

Len