There may be some truth in what you say, but one thing is for sure. This is a huge oversimplification!

I've been buying and selling for years on ebay...not problem one. Maybe I'm just lucky. I'm dead careful about what I buy though and if there's the slightest doubt then I pass. I just bought an '87 Super Sport from there (pics to come) and it was actually better than it looked in the ad. When selling, I just do what any red blooded American businessman does...calculate the fees and pass them on to the buyer. I only ship to the lower 48 though and that's written in stone. There's too much hassle otherwise.

One of the founders already cashed out, he sold his stake in CL to ebay. If I remember correctly Ebay owns 25% of CL.

I've had one problem, deadbeat seller a LONG time ago, before the days of PayPal. Seller never sent my item, I contacted eBay, two days later a USPS MO gets FedExed to me. Go figure.

I guess Alaska and Hawaii are the red-headed stepchildren of states?! I've started including Canada and the UK in my listings. Online customs forms are pretty easy and you can pretty much walk in to the PO and walk out. With the customs forms filled out my only function difference is I can't just drop the boxes off in the after hours drop box. Might add some of the less twitchy countries in the EU too. A bigger audience can't hurt.

And if my package falls off the dog sled?? Just kidding...I don't ship there because of the length of time it takes...most buyers are antsy and want their stuff immediatly. And I've read too many horror stories about Canada and Australia. I don't need to sell anything that bad.

Has this been said? It may depend on what kind of stuff/components you're selling, and the crowd it draws. I've never had too many problems but I'd rather sell than buy on ebay. Lots of people flogging stuff in "excellent" condition, which isn't. Just had my very first non-paying bidder, in ten years on ebay. But, it was an old Cinelli stem that didn't realize much so, I'd rather keep it anyway.