One thing I love about ebay is that I can usually find what I need there even if the item has long since been discontinued. Could not find a single B&M store with a replacement stylus for my Handspring Deluxe. Ebay - no problem!

I don't lose any sleep over the snipers. I simply bid my max and that's the end of it. If someone else wants to overpay by outbidding me, more power to them. I can simply wait for the next auction, and there's almost always one around the corner unless you're bidding on a Babe Ruth home run ball.

Buying on ebay is like anything else - you need to do your homework first. There are some great deals, and there are some really bad deals where you see used items selling for more than you would pay for a new item. The sheer # of dumb buyers who overpay for electronics never ceases to amaze me.

As for fraud, I've been pretty fortunate to avoid the scammers. But again, you have to do your homework, i.e. check feedback, and use common sense (if a deal looks too good to be true it probably is). As for the flip side, I find it sad that I had to restrict payment options after someone bounced a $25 check. But I don't begrude the commission to 3% to paypal - it't not much worse than some of the VI/MC merchant fees.