that's what I thought, he sounds pretty (read as perfectly) reliable, and I really want that assault vest, especially at the price I've bid

You should "snipe" at the end of the auction to make sure you win. Like 10 seconds before it ends, bid so no one else gets a chance.

Ive bought a few things from ebay only had trouble once I paid for the thing but the guy never mailed me the thing. So I had my parents(I have to use thier credit card) tell the credit card agency we didn't buy the thing so the guy didn't get the money.

im a dodgy bastard an ive sold crap on ebay so keep that in mind.
use the seller ratings.

just sold a PC system and the buyer bitched about fkn everything.... really unhappy with it...... he got exactly what he paid for exactly as it was described..... his only recourse is to write me a bad rating on ebay which will disappear after 6 months.... im not likely to sell my brand new P4 within 6 months.

my dad uses ebay every day and hasn't had problems yet