Ebay have quite good protection in place now. As a buyer it is so much more difficult to get ripped off now than some years ago. And anything that doesn't match the seller's description can be returned for a full refund.
I actually got scammed one time a couple of years ago, ( 1 transaction in several hundred) on the purchase of an iPod that was never dispatched by the seller and eBay took the hit and compensated me in full. If you pay by Paypal you are also heavily protected as a buyer.
I have succesfully purchased (all new) Sony DSLR, a Samsung Galaxy Ace, 3 iPods, about 10 Radley handbags all new and without fault and several pieces of expensive pottery from as far afield as Australia and the USA, over the last 10 years without any problems. In all cases I saved considerable sums on retail prices.
