I've been a long time buyer and seller on eBay. I've sold RMKs, BMKs, Swiss Army knives as well as books, CDs, toys, art and other collectibles. Overall, my experiences have been very good, though the 'headaches' are usually bad ones. While there are buyers looking to game the system, fortunately they seem to be few and far between; most of my buyers have been great folks who it was a pleasure to 'meet'.

I agree, however, with the comments of Rocky and Larry. eBay has steadily become much more buyer-friendly with their return (particularly the "Item not as described" policy) and inspection (30 days) policies. I see it as "keeping up with Amazon" which offers returns for any (or no) reason, and a 30 day (or more) inspection period. While these policies may help build up the confidence of buyers, and present no issues for full-time retailers (who may offer such policies on their own), they are often problematic for part-time sellers or simply folks selling a collection or cleaning out their attic. "As is" or "no returns" presently means very little (or nothing) on eBay.

Unfortunately, there are few viable alternatives to eBay for a seller who does not have a commercial website. Selling knives on this website is an excellent alternative (and a very cost-effective option as well), but you can sell virtually anything on eBay and reach an audience of millions of potential buyers.

So, while eBay presents some headaches, and seems to get more expensive (for sellers) all the time, in many ways it's the only game in town.

Bob