Can't believe all the idiots that write reviews & guides to help protect the rest of us from scammers. It's simple; thru ebay ask seller for a land line ph#, verify it thru reverse phone directory.com, contact a real person that you can understand and set terms for pick-up and payment that follow plain old good business sense. Hide your email address, for $$$ items use a mutually agreeable escrow service/bank or pick it up yourself and pay cash in full. No deposits, no waiting for checks to clear, etc.. Ebay feedback should take care of the clowns that back out of auctions. Look at ironplanet.com to see the right way to auction equipment.