For the record, I am 83 years old and not a seller at this point and probably will not be ever. I have purchased many of the items on eBay for myself. It has been my experience over the last 12 months or so in which I have purchased some 150-200 items on eBay as gifts to friends or as items I wanted for myself, that one must pay strict attention to all the data/descriptions that the sellers put in their eBay ads. Many problems can be hidden maybe not intentionally but over looked conveniently. First, if they only show one photo of a product, this may mean there is something wrong with the whole item and that photo is NOT clear conveniently, especially in figurines, decanter cars, and many other fine type art items. I have seen where the seller says there is a chipped finger or nose or ear or what have you but it is just exquisite anyway. How can the item be so beautiful if it is damaged ? NO matter how minimal it is. In several cases, items I had purchased whereby the seller says the item is in excellent condition and then when you receive the item, it isn't because they didn't really know what to look for in the way of hairline cracks or especially repaired items that were shall we say professionally repaired yet repaired. Second, one must make sure they, the sellers, understand how they should pack these very delicate items as many sellers do not understand so consequently the item arrives broken. Why do you think they want YOU to purchase insurance? Many sellers don't really care if the item is broken in shipment because they say in their eBay ads that they will not be responsible for broken items that happen during the shipping process so you must buy insurance???. But what if you really wanted that item and have looked for many weeks just for it and the seller ships it their way, not packed with care. I received decanter cars whereby the seller packs them (porcelain) on top of each other and with only newspaper in between and wouldn't you know they arrived broken. In this case the seller refunded my money. But what if I really wanted those items to complete my collection or to add to? I don't appreciate receiving any item broken especially when had it been packed properly the item/items would have arrived safely. Now, the most important thing I have found in buying on eBay is, I am sad to say, the sellers in some cases are using SHILLS. If you don't know what a SHILL is you had better look it up. The seller will use a friend or fellow seller to bid on the item to get your bid up to your maximum amount you want to pay for this item. Very cleverly hidden in many cases. EBay says, they are addressing the problem but I believe it runs rampant among many sellers. What I am really trying to say to all potential buyers is that when they decide to bid on any item that they peruse all the information thoroughly and all the photos and if something looks wrong with the item that they the buyer asks the seller these questions. Many sellers ask far too much for shipping but they say this is because they must use extra precaution in shipping but why is it that most of the sellers can ship at lesser shipping costs and have packed the item/items securely and they arrive safely.. A good thought when buying on eBay. Don't get me wrong. EBay is a great place to find almost anything your heart desires but one must unfortunately use precaution when bidding. Not all sellers are honest. Just out for the buck. Thank you and I hope this will be helpful to many of the potential eBay buyers. Forrest
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