Much of what you read on these guides are very helpful. But then you think could this happen to me? It will if you let it.A quick Story...

A friend of mine contacted me knowing that I love eBay, they told me of a Kawasaki Mule (very low miles, sellers father had past away), that they had bid on and lost at the last minute. Then the seller contacted them saying that the deal fell through because of lack of funding and it was still for sale. The seller told them that they should send him the payment through Money-Gram .The Mule was in a Ebay Storage facility (Ebay does not have a storage facility) and eBay would hold the money until they had the Mule. Long story short I told them to leave it alone but guess what, they fell for it. Come to find out the seller had a through away cell phone and had a phony e-mail address registered for them to contact them and he had their $4500.00.

The local authorities could not help very much with this matter since it is very time consuming, and not enough laws on the books the prosecute like there should be.

Now that is a very expensive Lesson. Can you afford that? I can't.

I have bought several big ticket items on ebay $5,000.00 motorcycle, $12,000.00 car.Both times I worked out a deal where I paid very low down payment and the balance when I picked it up.It is more important to view the item before it is paid for just to make sure the seller did not misrepresent the item.Your opinion of the condition may not be the same as the sellers.

#1. Research the seller(Feedback, Contact Previous Buyers,etc) VERY IMPORTANT

# 2. If  a price is too good to be true more than likely it is.

#3. Any Decent eBay Seller will be willing to work with you on the down payment and pick-up. Never agree to pay a rediculous down payment. Work out this type detail before the end of the auction.

#4. NEVER.. NEVER send money order, Money Gram for the Deposit, USE PAYPAL.( It is the safest way) Deposit through Pay-Pal, the balance on pick-up

#5. Work out the details of when you are to pick up the item and stick with it, showing the buyer you are for real.

#6.If you have contacted the seller and you have a phone number you can go a web site and do a reverse lookup and see if the number is correct and also get a address. Go to your favorite search engine and type in " Reverse Look-Up".This is very helpful.

#7. Never respond to an e-mail on your personal e-mail address regarding the purchase of a ebay item, use "My messages" on your ebay page. This has happened to me, but I did not fall for it.

#8. Never Assume anything, do not hesitate to ask the seller for more information or detailed pictures.

#9. If anyway possible view the item before the end of the auction.

#10. REMEMBER!!!!! If it too good to be true more than likely it is.

#11. Second Chance offers...Only respond to these offers through" My messages" on your ebay page.With that being said always be careful.

Ebay is a fun place and with everyone watching out for each other these scam artist may go somewhere else, they are only going to stay if they can steal a dollar. If you see a fradulent list report it. They are pretty easy to pick out. If you get a suspicious e-mail on your personal account report it to ebay. They will check it out !!!