Whether you are a new Buyer or Seller, there are things you need to be aware of to make a safe enjoyable experience.

Selling:
    1. I recommend you get two user ID's, one for buying and the other for selling. Only use your selling ID for listing items and following through with the sale.

    2. Become verified with Paypal to be able to accept funds after the sale.

    3. Accept other forms of payments from buyers such as Postal Money Orders and Bank Checks. I state right in the listings that I accept theses forms of payments but that there will be a delay do to the waiting period to make sure it clears.

    4. Never end an auction early. If you have a buying wanting you to end your auction early, good chances your item is worth a lot more and you will end up getting more by just letting it ride itself out. If you decide to end it early the normal response is A... you just upset the would be buyers watching your auction and B... this buyer tries to push you to do a sale outside of the eBay system that offers NO protection for either of you.

    5. Take advantage of the free tools from eBay such as Turbo Lister and work your way up.

    6. Become a good seller and offer great customer service. Always follow up on questions prior too and after the auction. Communication is the key to eBay's success and the lack of it is when problems erupt.

    7. Offer reasonable S&H. You are going to see a lot of listings selling a widget for .99 cents with $15.00 S&H when in reality it only costs 1.25. EBay has a policy on excessive S&H and it is a good read. Know and understand what it costs to ship items.

I like USPS for the ease of use. I can order boxes and materials that are free right from home and have it delivered. The majority of the items I ship go Priority and I like using Paypal to do on-line shipping. If you are shipping outside the US you will need customs forms that can be picked up at your local PO or ordered on-line. If it is under 4 pounds, you can ship it airmail letter post and over has to go Parcel.

If you want to insure the package, it has to go Parcel Post. You may want to bookmark the USPS site for reference, your going to use it a lot. For added protection, only ship to a confirmed address. This must be posted in your auction ( Only ships to a Confirmed Address) or it won't hold water. Never ship to Nigeria or Africa.

Buying:

    1. The best protection on eBay is using paypal backed by a credit card.

    2. Know what you are willing to pay and place that as your maximum bid.

    3. If you enjoy the thrill of the auction, you may want to join the ranks of snipping. Waiting till the last few seconds to place your bid. There are programs out there that will do it for you.

    4. If you receive an item that is not  as described (SNAD) or never received it (INR), first contact the seller to see if things can be worked out to make it right. Most sellers want you as a return customer as well as having you happy to tell friends. Never mention anything about feedback in these correspondences unless you want the seller to go on the defensive.

If this doesn't seem to get you anywhere, file using the dispute console. Once this has started, keep all correspondences within this area. Let Paypal work first before filing a chargback on your credit card.

    5. Don't bid on items that do not show S&H or is excessive. Always ask about combined shipping and handling prior to bidding. The worst time to do this is after the fact. Read the full description and the Terms of Sale (TOS)

For both Buyers and Sellers: Do onto others as you would hope they would do onto you. Be fair and honest and have fun along the way. Read the Community boards and post question if after you do a search and it comes up noting. If it is happing to you, good chances it also taking place with others. We need to police ourselves.