Ever seen a "buy it now" auction, where the price is unbelieveably low, but the shipping price is outrageously high? You know why? Its not because the seller wants to "give up a good deal" or wants to just get rid of excess merchandise, more likely than not, the seller wants to get over on you. Most sellers who have done this have had problems before with their customer(s), with the merchandise they sold. The sellers advertise these things as such, to 1. Make it nearly impossible to retrieve your full amount spent on the item( the high shipping price) because you do not, in most cases, get back the shipping costs, just the "buy it now" price that was listed. Ebay and paypal do not require the seller to refund the shipping/handling costs associated with the transaction, so you may pay $1 for the item, but you may also lose the "$30 shipping cost" the buyer knows you will have a problem with the item, so they charge you so little in the buy it now price, so when you complain, their excuse is, I sold it for $1, what do you expect for that? You wouldn't expect to get a 46" flat screen tv for $100 in perfect working condition, and a $200 shipping and handling cost, their has to be something wrong with it besides the "I want more space in the house, need to get rid of it, or I just bought a newer brand flat screen etc, etc. 2. The seller wants to cheat out on their taxes owed on the sale, and make their money on the shipping and handling cost(which is tax-free). Make sure to be alert on "buy it now" listings that are so cheap, also be aware, some sellers also have friends who have ebay accounts bid on their auctions, in order to boost the price, and interest in the item. To be more careful with this, before you bid, check the bidder's location, time as an ebay account holder, and the amount of feedbacks they have(the more, the safer as long as the bidder has a 99% feedback score or better) and ALWAYS USE PAYPAL, and make sure the item has "free paypal buyer protection" in the listing. Some sellers don't accept paypal because they hate to be held accountable for wrongdoing in their transactions(having to reimburse) and having paypal have access to their funds(bank account) to reimburse the buyer in cases of wrongdoing. With listings that accept paypal, but instead of "free paypal buyer protection" it says "shop without sharing your financial info", paypal offers you the choice to buy protection on the transaction. Also remember, you get (3) paypal buyer protections per 12 months(as long as you're a registered paypal user), and if you have used all 3 up in a 12 month or less period, you can buy protection from paypal for the purchase(in certain cases) see paypal buyer protection policies for info on what is/is not covered