Over the past seven years ebay has changed dramatically, yet I've been burned for less than $200 after 600+ transactions. The supply of OEM Honda stuff has gotten thin, cheapie PRC lookalikes predominate the listings anymore and ebay doesn't give a rat's ass about anything but collecting money.
It is still possible to deal through ebay with satisfactory results. Make no mistake, it is seat-of-the-pants flying. Above all, it's up to you to know what you're after and what you're viewing in photos. There are some truly honorable sellers and some real A-holes
. Feedback, length of time on ebay, items sold/bought can tell you a great deal about a seller. When in doubt, walk away. Forget about restitution, except as a last resort, it's a hassle and the odds are against you. Best bet is to weed out any seller/item that might be shaky.
- More than 1 negative feedback in the past 6 months
- Less than 6-12 months on ebay
- Unclear or missing photos...if it's not 100% clear in pix, don't expect it to look better when it arrives. A picture really can be worth 1000 words, if you know what to look for.
- Discrepancies/holes in the details...an honest & knowledgeable seller will note any problems and won't want to disappoint. If the seller can't tell you what's being sold, then how do you now what you might get for your money?
- Tonnage merchants...a seller with 10,000+ feedbacks is unlikely to be in tune with what he's selling, making it more like buying blind at a garage sale.
- Shill auctions...usually more applicable to complete bikes and feeds off of auction hysteria. If the price is more than you're willing to pay, don't bid.
There's some gray area, as DV mentioned. Sometimes honest sellers lack photgraphic and ad writing talents, still not your responsibility to compensate for what sellers lack. Repop parts are a crapshoot, some are sold on ebay by established vendors, the vast majority are listings of fly-by-nighters. Have realistic expectations, anticipate the worst, hope for the best; reality will probably fall between the two extremes. Too good to be true? It probably is. Otherwise, I'd have a dozen of those "Honda quality" $300 chinese engines on the shelf waiting for upcoming projects