This came up as an issue on an IPOD discussion, and I thought it deserved attention. (I searched previous topics, and no related conversations turned up. If they exist, sorry.)

Any e-bay technology order nightmares? Any positive experiences? How do you feel about buying tech from e-bay?

My first puchase was a wireless phone with a car charger and hands-free included for sixty dollars. The phone worked fine for about three days. After that, it consistently had problems until a friend gave me her retired to use. Namely, it stopped answering calls about half the time. I'd hear them, try to answer, and a black screen would emerge. Key entry made no difference.

The seller was a San Diego resident who I rated before the phone malfunctioned.

My next tech purchase was a wireless card from a dealer with a small business setup. The card works great, and was guaranteed or cash back. Upon visiting the outside site for the dealer, though, I found I paid $1 more after shipping than the price of the unit after shipping from the site. I don't care about the buck. But did the dealer have an account that intentionally pushed the bid to a profitable margin?

Any opinions?