thought on eBay?

A lot of good advice in this thread, especially on the packing issue. In August, I bought a Paradigm CC-450 center speaker that arrived with thebinding-post assembly torn completely loose due to improper packing. I was at home, but in the rear of my house when it was delivered, and could not get to the door in time to meet the delivery person. They basically dropped the box from what I am guessing was knee-height or higher onto the cement floor of my front porch/stoop. There was another CC-450 in equally good condition (both were on ebay), so I messaged the seller, telling him the tale of the first transaction and stressing the importance of proper packing. He assured me he knew how to pack to prevent damage, so I pulled the trigger and bought the speaker. It arrived a few days later with the exact same damage, again due to insufficient/improper packing. Usually the key to safe transit lies in double-boxing and making sure the item has no wiggle-room inside of the inner box, unless the original box and packing materials are available. Fortunately, I was refunded in both of these cases.

I used eBay to purchase a brand new amp. I paid 5k for it. The retail price was $7,995. I had no issues. I registered the amp to start the warranty process as well. The amp did have a glitch occur about 1 month after the warranty expired but Yamaha honored it and paid for freight and service. They even sent me a new used box so I could mail it in for service since the box had been destroyed (my wife while I was out of town). Something triggered the amp which then went into protection mode. They reset it, tested it for two weeks and found nothing wrong. After I got it back I enjoyed it for several months without another issue. Then I decided to sell it. I sold it on eBay. I believe having the new box helped me to sell the amp quickly. It sold within 24 hours. I don't recall having a serious problem buying or selling on eBay.

The larger purchases I have made in the audio area were all done on audio boards where feedback relates solely to audio gear, not to someone in Singapore pumping  hundreds of $1 items through and giving themselves glowing feedback under fictitious buyer names.

The eBay money back guarantee only applies to 30 days after the sale is transacted.  So if you purchase something from overseas and it doesn't show up or if it is not promised to be delivered in less than a month then avoid it.  I took a risk on a $10 item, was in constant communication with the seller, it was tracked to a US customs location,  and never arrived.  After the seller told me they were reshipping the item I waited some more.  I finally got sick of the wait contacted eBay they told me tough luck.  I wouldn't do it for a high dollar item.
I have purchased several nice pieces domestically but nothing over $500 dollars.
Just my 2 cents worth here.

As a long time and frequent seller on eBay, I want to give a shout out to my buyers. All have been great and quick to provide feedback if they had any questions. My goal is 100% satisfaction and I really appreciate the positive feedback when I get it.

I feel the audiophile community is a great one to work with. Everybody wants the same thing: great sounding music.

I concur about packaging. Original packaging is always best. If I don't pack it up, I've had excellent work by UPS staff. You just need to show interest and ask questions about how they plan to do it.