After having participated in the eBay marketplace for several years now, there are three tools that are indispensible to both buyers and sellers: Ratings, Reviews & Guides. eBay has recently added the Reviews & Ratings, and a better service for the community is hard to imagine. In the world of eBay, it is definitely a "buyers beware" scenario, but sellers also need to be alert, watchful and wary.

FEEDBACK has been around for a long time now, and is much more than just a number! If you are a BUYER, it is critical for you to not only look at the details of the auction listings, but to check the sellers ratings. Keep in mind that many buyers are hesitant to leave a negative feedback for a seller, even if it's deserved, for a variety of reasons. READ some of the comments. LOOK at the statistics of any negative or neutral remarks showing. CHECK to see what type of comments they've left for others. BE WARY of any changes of pattern that may indicate a negative situation that you may want to avoid.

For SELLERS, the same basic issues hold true. By reviewing this information as soon as possible after the close of auctions you can get a picture of the type of person you are dealing with (all of MINE are GREAT!) and potentially avoid problems that could otherwise occur. It may alert you to those that are newer and need a bit of guidance and attention. It can also alert you to those that communicate poorly, so that you can take extra steps to be sure that every stage of the sales process is communicated to THEM clearly. Obviously, this may not be practical to high volume sellers, but for the majority of us it can be invaluable.

And it must be mentioned that for both buyers and sellers, feedback is the front line of defense against fraud. Let's face it. They're out there, and the very things that make eBay a great marketplace also make it vulnerable to these unscrupulous ones.

REVIEWS are helpful for buyers, for obvious reasons. If you are contemplating purchasing an "X" brand computer, for example, you can check the reviews and see what others who have purchased this brand have to say. They can also give you tips and hints about some specifics you may not have considered. For sellers, it can be a great guide to discovering how the buying public may be feeling about particular manufacturers, companies and products. If you are contemplating purchasing some of those "X" brand computers for resale and find out that they are terrible, you might want to reconsider.

GUIDES are primarily useful to buyers, and are some of the greatest things since sliced bread! eBay does provide many guides that are helpful, with great info. But the really valuable ones are those written by the buyers and sellers, those on the front lines, so to speak. Let's use that brand "X" computer again, but we'll make it a notebook with a particular configuration. You've checked it out in the reviews and most of what you've read, and understood, sounded good! But then you find a GUIDE about laptops, and find that the higher processor speeds can be a huge energy drain, and may not do what you'd expect. So you start to reevaluate what you need, and discover that brand "Y", or a notebook with a different configuration, can do what you need for less money. Now you're set to go find your best deal!

Information, information, information! Whether you have bought a $2.00 item and been stunned by a $10.00 shipping and handling fee, or paid several hundred dollars for a refurbished what's it only to find out after the fact that a refurbished ALWAYS means problems, the devil is in the detail. Do your homework, get your info, and go forth to buy wisely!

You DO have the power to write your own happy endings!