when ebay first hit the scene years ago, i was scared to buy something from the auction site. what guarantees did i have that whatever i won would get to me? what guarantee was there that it was what was described? it felt like online shopping all over again.

after ebay purchased paypal, their guarantee of dispute resolution felt safer.

and now, within the last few months, i have become a big ebay shopper. i don’t hesitate anymore to make purchases on ebay and it is one of the first places i go to look for things. the things that i look for on ebay do tend to be smaller things, though. they usually do end up being much cheaper than what i can find at other places.

it’s a good thing that i only go to ebay to find stuff that i’m already looking to buy instead of going to ebay to find stuff to buy. that’s how people end up with toothpick collections.