Is e-baya feedback reliable?

[ZowieHowie]

Im going to buy an item from someone on the forums, and he has great e-bay feedback (350+), but does not have heatware. Would this worry you? I said I would pay 1/2 before he ships, and the other half after I receive the item, but the seller wants it all up front. Opinions please

 

[minendo]

Personally, I see eBay references as worthless anywhere but eBay. Every evaluation site has its faults.

 

[ghostman]

Contact him through ebay to make sure he's not just pointing you to some random dude's feedback. I guess it also depends if he's a new member and such. If you don't feel comfortable with it, I'd end the deal.

 

[DurocShark]

egay is fine for egay....

I generally won't consider that feedback when dealing with someone...

 

[DaiShan]

I dont' like ebay evals because of the 80 character limit they place on your evaluations, what can I say in 80 characters that gives any type of inclination about the character of the receiver of the rating? I would get a physical address + land line phone number from the other party, good for all sides

 

[Garet Jax]

Depending on the value of the item, I would ask him to list the item on ebay with a Buy It Now price of what you agreed on (+ a little for the list fee and transaction fee). The you can buy it from him using ebay policies as a sort of protection.

Ultimately, though feedback is worthless if you don't get the item you paid for.